Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Contingencies [Abstract]

Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Contingencies

Legal and Regulatory Matters

In view of the inherent unpredictability of legal and regulatory matters, particularly where the damages sought are substantial or indeterminate or when the proceedings or investigations are in the early stages, we cannot determine with any degree of certainty the timing or ultimate resolution of legal and regulatory matters or the eventual loss, fines, penalties or business impact, if any, that may result. We establish reserves for legal and regulatory matters when those matters present loss contingencies that are both probable and can be reasonably estimated. The actual costs of resolving legal and regulatory matters, however, may be substantially higher than the amounts reserved for those matters, and an adverse outcome in certain of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements in particular quarterly or annual periods. During the third quarter of 2020 we accrued amounts for certain legal and regulatory matters for which losses were considered to be probable of occurring based on our best estimate of the most likely outcome. It is reasonably possible actual losses could be significantly different from our current estimates. In addition, there are some matters for which it is reasonably possible that a loss will occur, however we cannot estimate a range of the potential losses for these matters.

The following discussion describes material developments in previously disclosed material legal and regulatory matters that occurred in the nine months ended September 30, 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 and regulatory matters 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. We recorded an additional reserve for this matter in the third quarter of 2020.