Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Sep. 27, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

12. Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

In the normal course of business, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, including patent infringement claims, product liability matters, employment disputes, disputes on agreements, other commercial disputes, environmental matters, antitrust claims, and tax matters, including non-income tax matters such as value added tax, sales and use tax, real estate tax, and transfer tax. Although it is not feasible to predict the outcome of these proceedings, based upon our experience, current information, and applicable law, we do not expect that the outcome of these proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, will have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

Environmental Matters

We are involved in various stages of investigation and cleanup related to environmental remediation matters at a number of sites. The ultimate cost of site cleanup is difficult to predict given the uncertainties regarding the extent of the required cleanup, the interpretation of applicable laws and regulations, and alternative cleanup methods. As of fiscal year end 2019, we concluded that we would incur investigation and remediation costs at these sites in the reasonably possible range of $15 million to $43 million, and we accrued $18 million as the probable loss, which was the best estimate within this range. We believe that any potential payment of such estimated amounts will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

Leases

We have facility, land, vehicle, and equipment leases that expire at various dates. Rental expense under these operating leases was $162 million, $141 million, and $147 million for fiscal 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. At fiscal year end 2019, future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating lease obligations were as follows:

	(in millions)
Fiscal 2020	$	117
Fiscal 2021		102
Fiscal 2022		81
Fiscal 2023		67
Fiscal 2024		55
Thereafter		118
Total	$	540

See “Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 2 for information regarding our adoption of ASC 842, Leases, in fiscal 2020.

Guarantees

In disposing of assets or businesses, we often provide representations, warranties, and/or indemnities to cover various risks including unknown damage to assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability for investigation and remediation of environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. We do not expect that these uncertainties will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

At fiscal year end 2019, we had outstanding letters of credit, letters of guarantee, and surety bonds of $309 million.

We sold our SubCom business during fiscal 2019. In connection with the sale, we contractually agreed to honor certain performance guarantees and letters of credit related to the SubCom business. See Note 4 for additional information regarding these guarantees and the divestiture of the SubCom business.