Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 28, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Insurance

The Company maintains numerous insurance programs with substantial limits for property damage (which includes business interruption) and third-party liability.  A certain amount of risk is retained by the Company on each of the liability and property programs.  The Company has a $25 million retention per occurrence for the non-catastrophic property program (such as a derailment) and a $50 million retention per occurrence for the liability and catastrophic property programs (such as hurricanes and floods).

While the Company believes its current insurance coverage is adequate to cover its damages, future claims could exceed existing insurance coverage or insurance may not continue to be available at commercially reasonable rates.

Legal

The Company is involved in litigation incidental to its business and is a party to a number of legal actions and claims, various governmental proceedings and private civil lawsuits, including, but not limited to, those related to environmental and hazardous material exposure matters, FELA claims by employees, other personal injury claims and disputes and complaints involving certain transportation rates and charges. Some of the legal proceedings include claims for compensatory as well as punitive damages and others are, or are purported to be, class actions. While the final outcome of these matters cannot be reasonably determined, considering, among other things, the legal defenses available and liabilities that have been recorded along with applicable insurance, it is currently the opinion of CSX management that none of these pending items will have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. An unexpected adverse resolution of one or more of these items, however, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or liquidity in that particular period.

NOTE 5.    Commitments and Contingencies, continued

The Company is able to estimate a range of possible loss for certain legal proceedings for which a loss is reasonably possible in excess of reserves established. The Company has estimated this range to be $2 million to approximately $20 million in aggregate at September 28, 2012. This estimated aggregate range is based upon currently available information and is subject to significant judgment and a variety of assumptions. Accordingly, the Company's estimate will change from time to time, and actual losses may vary significantly from the current estimate.

Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation

In May 2007, class action lawsuits were filed against CSXT and three other U.S.-based Class I railroads alleging that the defendants' fuel surcharge practices relating to contract and unregulated traffic resulted from an illegal conspiracy in violation of antitrust laws. The suit seeks treble damages allegedly sustained by purported class members as well as attorneys' fees and other relief. While we believe the case is without merit and recovery unlikely, plaintiffs are expected to allege damages at least equal to the fuel surcharges at issue. In November 2007, the class action lawsuits were consolidated and are now pending in federal court in the District of Columbia.

On June 21, 2012, the court certified the case as a class action. The decision was not a ruling on the merits of plaintiffs' claims, rather a decision to allow the plaintiffs to seek to prove the case as a class. The defendant railroads have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for permission to appeal the District Court's class certification decision. On August 28, 2012, the Court of Appeals referred the petition to a merits panel, and directed that the parties to the case submit briefs addressing both the petition and the merits of the appeal. The District Court currently is deciding whether to stay some or all proceedings pending the appellate court's decision on the defendants' petition for an appeal.

CSXT believes that its fuel surcharge practices were arrived at and applied lawfully and that the case is without merit. Accordingly, the Company intends to defend itself vigorously. However, penalties for violating antitrust laws can be severe, and an unexpected adverse decision on the merits could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or liquidity in that particular period or for the full year.