CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS

11. CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS

Commitments and Letters of Credit

As of March 31, 2020, we had the following commitments outstanding:

• We have various contracts for the use of information technology hardware and software that we use in the normal course of business. Our aggregate commitments under these contracts were $66 million, of which we expect $24 million, $20 million, $13 million, $7 million and $2 million will be paid in the remainder of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

• We have a remaining commitment to purchase an operating property, that we manage, located in New York, New York for $97 million. We expect to acquire the remaining units in the property, in their current form, in two transactions during 2021. See Footnote 3 “Acquisitions and Dispositions” for information on the purchase that occurred during the first quarter of 2020 and Footnote 16 “Variable Interest Entities” for additional information on this transaction and our activities relating to the variable interest entity involved in this transaction.

• We have a remaining commitment to purchase 88 vacation ownership units located in Bali, Indonesia for use in our Vacation Ownership segment, contingent upon completion of construction to agreed-upon standards. We expect to complete the acquisition in 2021 and to make the remaining payments with respect to these units when specific construction milestones are completed, as follows: $2 million in 2020 and $23 million in 2021.

• We have a remaining commitment to purchase an operating property, that we manage, located in San Francisco, California for $88 million. We expect to acquire the operating property over time and are committed to make payments for the operating property as follows: $32 million in 2021, $24 million in 2022, and $32 million in 2023. See Footnote 16 “Variable Interest Entities” for additional information on this transaction and our activities relating to the variable interest entity involved in this transaction and Footnote 3 “Acquisitions and Dispositions” for information on the purchase that occurred during the first quarter of 2020.

• During the first quarter of 2020, we assigned a commitment to purchase a property located in Waikiki, Hawaii to a third-party developer. If we are unable to negotiate a capital efficient inventory arrangement, we are committed to purchasing the property, in its current form, for $98 million in 2021. See Footnote 16 “Variable Interest Entities” for additional information on this transaction and our activities relating to the variable interest entity involved in this transaction.

Surety bonds issued as of March 31, 2020 totaled $103 million, the majority of which were requested by federal, state, or local governments in connection with our operations.

As of March 31, 2020, we had $3 million of letters of credit outstanding under our Revolving Corporate Credit Facility (as defined in Footnote 13 “Debt”). In addition, as of March 31, 2020, we had $5 million in letters of credit outstanding related to and in lieu of reserves required for several vacation ownership notes receivable securitization transactions outstanding. These letters of credit are not issued pursuant to, nor do they impact our borrowing capacity under, the Revolving Credit Facility.

We estimate the cash outflow associated with completing the phases of our existing portfolio of vacation ownership projects currently under development will be approximately $7 million, of which $4 million is included within liabilities on our Balance Sheet at March 31, 2020. This estimate is based on our current development plans, which remain subject to change, and we expect the phases currently under development will be completed by the end of 2021.

Guarantees

Certain of our rental management agreements in our Exchange & Third-Party Management segment provide for owners of properties we manage to receive specified percentages or guaranteed amounts of the rental revenue generated under our management. In these cases, the operating expenses for the rental operations are paid from the revenue generated by the rentals, the owners are then paid their contractual percentages or guaranteed amounts, and our vacation rental business either retains the balance (if any) as its fee or makes up the deficit. At March 31, 2020, our maximum exposure under fixed dollar guarantees was $27 million, of which $8 million, $9 million, $4 million, $2 million, $1 million and $3 million relate to the remainder of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and thereafter. Based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our rental operations, we declared the occurrence of a force majeure event under many of these agreements, generally effective as of April 1, 2020.  As a result, owner distributions made under such agreements will be paid on a net operating income basis, rather than as guaranteed amounts, until such time as force majeure event conditions abate.    

Loss Contingencies

In March 2017, RCHFU, L.L.C. and other owners at The Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands (“RCC Aspen Highlands”) filed a complaint in an action pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against us and certain third parties, alleging that their fractional interests were devalued by the affiliation of the RCC Aspen Highlands and other Ritz-Carlton Clubs with our points-based Marriott Vacation Club Destinations (“MVCD”) program. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, disgorgement, punitive damages, fees and costs.

In May 2016, a purported class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida by Anthony and Beth Lennen against us and certain third parties. The complaint challenged the characterization of the beneficial interests in the MVCD trust that are sold to customers as real estate interests under Florida law, the structure of the trust, and associated operational aspects of the trust. The plaintiffs sought declaratory relief, an unwinding of the MVCD product, and punitive damages. In August 2019, the District Court granted our motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissed the case. The plaintiffs have appealed the ruling.

In December 2016, Flora and Bruce Gillespie and other owners and former owners of fractional interests at the Fifth and Fifty-Fifth Residence Club located within The St. Regis, New York (the “St. Regis NY Club”) filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against ILG, certain of its subsidiaries, and certain third parties alleging that the sale of less than all interests offered in the fractional offering plan, the amendment of the plan to include additional units, and the rental of unsold fractional interests by the plan’s sponsor breached the relevant agreements and harmed the value of plaintiffs’ fractional interests. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, rescission, disgorgement, fees and costs. On May 21, 2020, the court granted our motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case.

In February 2017, the owners’ association for the St. Regis NY Club filed a separate suit against ILG and certain of its subsidiaries in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which was amended to add Marriott International and Starwood as additional defendants in March 2017. The lawsuit was subsequently transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The operative complaint alleged that the sponsor of the St. Regis NY Club (St. Regis Residence Club, New York, Inc.), the St. Regis NY Club manager (St. Regis New York Management, Inc.), and certain affiliated entities, as well as Marriott International and Starwood, breached their fiduciary duties related to sale and rental practices, and further alleged tortious interference with the management agreement, unjust enrichment, and anticompetitive conduct. The amended complaint also alleged anticompetitive conduct in connection with the renewal of the St. Regis NY Club management agreement. The plaintiff sought declaratory relief in connection with the Starpoint conversion program and the exchange program at the St. Regis NY Club, unspecified damages, and disgorgement of payments under the management and purchase agreements. In March 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed the case with prejudice.

In February 2019, the owners’ association for the St. Regis NY Club filed a separate lawsuit in the Supreme Court for the State of New York, New York County, Commercial Division against ILG and several of its subsidiaries and certain third parties. The operative complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties related to sale and rental practices, aided and abetted certain breaches of fiduciary duty, engaged in self-dealing as the sponsor and manager of the club, tortiously interfered with the management agreement, was unjustly enriched, and engaged in anticompetitive conduct. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages, punitive damages and disgorgement of payments under the management and purchase agreements.

In April 2019, a purported class-action lawsuit was filed by Alan and Marjorie Helman and others against us in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Thomas alleging that their fractional interests were devalued by the affiliation of The Ritz-Carlton Club, St. Thomas and other Ritz-Carlton Clubs with our MVCD program. The lawsuit was subsequently removed to the U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages, disgorgement of profits, fees and costs.

In May 2019, the G.A. Resort Condominium Association Inc., the owners’ association for the fractional owners at the Hyatt Residence Club Grand Aspen resort (“HRC Grand Aspen”) filed a lawsuit against us in the District Court for the County of Pitkin, Colorado relating to the transfer of ownership of developer-owned fractional interests at HRC Grand Aspen to the HPC Trust Club for sale and use as a part of the Hyatt Residence Club Portfolio Program. The lawsuit was subsequently removed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The plaintiff is seeking termination of the management agreement with the owners’ association, the annulment of certain amendments to governing documents at HRC Grand Aspen, the removal of fractional interests at HRC Grand Aspen from the HPC Trust Club, unspecified damages, disgorgement of profits, fees and costs.

We believe we have meritorious defenses to the claims in each of the above matters and intend to vigorously defend each matter.

In the ordinary course of our business, various claims and lawsuits have been filed or are pending against us. A number of these lawsuits and claims may exist at any given time. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may give rise to various claims and lawsuits from owners, members and other parties. We record and accrue for legal contingencies when we determine that it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. In making such determinations, we evaluate, among other things, the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and, when it is probable that a liability has been incurred, our ability to make a reasonable estimate of loss. We review these accruals each reporting period and make revisions based on changes in facts and circumstances.

We have not accrued for any of the pending matters described above and we cannot estimate a range of the potential liability associated with these pending matters, if any, at this time. We have accrued for other claims and lawsuits, but the amount accrued is not material in the aggregate. For matters not requiring accrual, we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of such matters, individually and in the aggregate, will materially harm our financial position, cash flows, or overall trends in results of operations based on information currently available. However, legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and while we believe that our accruals are adequate and/or we have valid defenses to the claims asserted, unfavorable rulings could occur that could, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or operating results.

Leases That Have Not Yet Commenced

During the first quarter of 2020, we entered into a finance lease arrangement for our new global headquarters in Orlando, Florida. The new office building is expected to be completed in 2021, at which time the lease term will commence and a right-of-use asset and corresponding liability will be recorded on our balance sheet. The initial lease term is approximately 16 years with total lease payments of $129 million for the aforementioned period. Subsequent to the first quarter of 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our ongoing evaluation of future space needs, we entered into a standstill arrangement with the developer/lessor. The agreement provides for a standstill on certain project spending for several months, extends certain deliverable dates pertaining to the development and lease, and grants MVW a limited termination option in exchange for reimbursement of certain developer soft costs.