CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

CONTINGENCIES

CONTINGENCIES

17.          CONTINGENCIES

In the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to lawsuits, investigations, government inquiries and claims, including, but not limited to, product liability claims, advertising disputes and inquiries, consumer fraud suits, other commercial disputes, premises claims and employment and environmental, health, and safety matters.

The Company is not aware of any environmental, health or safety-related litigation or significant environmental, health and safety-related financial obligations or liabilities arising from current or former operations or properties that are likely to have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial position or results of operations. Liabilities or obligations, which could require the Company to make significant expenditures, could arise in the future, however, as the result of, among other things, changes in, or new interpretations of, existing laws, regulations or enforcement policies, claims relating to on- or off-site contamination, or the imposition of unanticipated investigation or cleanup obligations.

The Company records accruals for such contingencies when it is probable that a liability will be incurred and the loss can be reasonably estimated. Although MJN cannot predict with certainty the final resolution of these or other lawsuits, investigations and claims asserted against the Company, MJN does not believe any currently pending legal proceeding to which MJN is a party will have a material effect on the Company’s business or financial condition, although an unfavorable outcome in excess of amounts recognized as of March 31, 2012, with respect to one or more of these proceedings could have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations and cashflows or the periods in which a loss is recognized.