Litigation and Environmental Matters

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Litigation and Environmental Matters

Litigation and Environmental Matters

Note 4 — Litigation and Environmental Matters

Abbott has been identified as a potentially responsible party for investigation and cleanup costs at a number of locations in the United States and Puerto Rico under federal and state remediation laws and is investigating potential contamination at a number of company-owned locations.  Abbott has recorded an estimated cleanup cost for each site for which management believes Abbott has a probable loss exposure.  No individual site cleanup exposure is expected to exceed $3 million, and the aggregate cleanup exposure is not expected to exceed $15 million.

There are a number of patent disputes with third parties who claim Abbott’s products infringe their patents.  On February 21, 2012, the United States Supreme Court denied Centocor Inc.’s and New York University’s petition to review a February 2011 Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decision reversing a $1.67 billion judgment in favor of Centocor and New York University on a patent they claimed Abbott’s HUMIRA infringed. This decision concludes the case.

The United States Department of Justice, through the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and various state Attorneys General investigated Abbott’s sales and marketing activities for Depakote.  The government sought to determine whether any of these activities violated civil and/or criminal laws, including the Federal False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and the Anti-Kickback Statute in connection with Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement to third parties.  The state Attorneys General offices sought to determine whether any of these activities violated various state laws, including state consumer fraud/protection statutes.  Abbott recorded charges of $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2011 and $100 million in the first quarter of 2012 related to civil and criminal claims arising from this matter.  In May 2012, Abbott reached resolution of all Depakote-related federal claims, Medicaid-related claims with 49 states and the District of Columbia, and consumer protection claims with 45 states and the District of Columbia.  The settlement of the federal claims is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.  In the second quarter of 2012, Abbott paid approximately $800 million of the $1.6 billion settlement and expects to pay the remainder in the second half of 2012.  The payments are material to Abbott’s cash flows in 2012.

Excluding the settlement of Depakote-related claims, Abbott estimates the range of possible loss for its other legal proceedings and environmental exposures to be from approximately $90 million to $115 million.  The recorded accrual balance at June 30, 2012 for these other proceedings and exposures was approximately $95 million.  This accrual represents management’s best estimate of probable loss, as defined by FASB ASC No. 450, “Contingencies.” Within the next year, legal proceedings may occur that may result in a change in the estimated loss accrued by Abbott.  While it is not feasible to predict the outcome of all such proceedings and exposures with certainty, management believes that their ultimate disposition should not have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s financial position, cash flows, or results of operations.