Contingencies Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Contingencies [Abstract]

Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

14. Contingencies

Litigation

The following discussion describes material developments in previously disclosed material legal proceedings that occurred in the three months ended March 31, 2020. Refer to Part II, Item 8, Footnote 21, “Contingencies” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, for a full description of our material pending legal proceedings at that time.

Ramirez v. Trans Union LLC

On February 27, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Ramirez v. Trans Union LLC, (No. 3:12-cv-00632-JSC, United States District Court for the Northern District of California), which affirmed in part and reversed and vacated in part the trial court’s judgment, holding that the punitive damages award was excessive in violation of constitutional due process. The appeals court remanded the case to the trial court with instructions to reduce the punitive damages award from approximately $52.0 million ($6,353.08 per class member) to approximately $32.0 million ($3,936.88 per class member). On April 8, 2020, the Ninth Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We determined that punitive damages were probable and reasonably estimable and recorded an estimated liability at March 31, 2020, in an amount equal to the portion of the punitive damages award affirmed by the Ninth Circuit and a partially offsetting insurance receivable, with expense of $30.5 million recorded in selling, general and administrative expense. We also recorded a related tax benefit of $7.6 million in our provision for income taxes.