Commitments, Contingencies, And Uncertainties

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments, Contingencies, And Uncertainties

Commitments, Contingencies, and Uncertainties

ABF Lawsuit

On November 1, 2010, ABF Freight System, Inc. (“ABF”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas against several parties, including our subsidiaries YRC Inc., New Penn Motor Express, Inc. and USF Holland Inc. and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the local Teamster unions that are party to the National Master Freight Agreement (“NMFA”), alleging violation of the NMFA due to modifications to the NMFA that provided relief to our subsidiaries without providing the same relief to ABF. The complaint sought to have the modifications to the NMFA declared null and void and damages of $750.0 million from the named defendants. We believe the allegations are without merit.

On December 17, 2010, the District Court dismissed the complaint. ABF appealed the dismissal on January 18, 2011 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. On July 6, 2011, the Court of Appeals vacated the District Court's dismissal of the litigation on jurisdictional grounds and remanded the case back to the District Court for further proceedings. ABF filed an amended complaint on October 12, 2011, containing allegations consistent with the original complaint. Our subsidiaries filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On August 1, 2012, the District Court dismissed ABF's amended complaint without prejudice. ABF has appealed the dismissal to the Court of Appeals, and oral arguments were conducted on April 10, 2013. Although we believe we have meritorious defenses to this case, the ultimate outcome of this matter cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Therefore, we have not recorded any liability for this matter.

Bryant Holdings Securities Litigation

On February 7, 2011, a putative class action was filed by Bryant Holdings LLC ("Bryant") in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on behalf of purchasers of our common stock between April 24, 2008 and November 2, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking damages under the federal securities laws for statements and/or omissions allegedly made by us and the individual defendants during the Class Period which plaintiffs claimed to be false and misleading.

The individual defendants are former officers of our Company. No current officers or directors were named in the lawsuit.

The parties participated in voluntary mediation between March 11, 2013 and April 15, 2013. The mediation resulted in an agreement in principle, which is subject to the execution of a mutually acceptable definitive agreement and approval by the court.  Court approval cannot be assured. Substantially all of the payments contemplated by the settlement will be covered by our liability insurance. The self-insured retention on this matter has been accrued as of March 31, 2013.

Other Legal Matters

We are involved in other litigation or proceedings that arise in ordinary business activities. We insure against these risks to the extent we deem prudent, but no assurance can be given that the nature or amount of such insurance will be sufficient to fully indemnify us against liabilities arising out of pending and future legal proceedings. Many of these insurance policies contain self-insured retentions in amounts we deem prudent. Based on our current assessment of information available as of the date of these financial statements, we believe that our financial statements include adequate provisions for estimated costs and losses that may be incurred within the litigation and proceedings to which we are a party.