Commitments And Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

Note 13 – Commitments and Contingencies

Unconsolidated Debt

Total debt of unconsolidated joint ventures and entities was $1.0 million and $663,000 as of September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011.  Our share of unconsolidated debt, based on our ownership percentage, was $343,000 and $221,000 as of September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011.  This debt is guaranteed by one of our subsidiaries to the extent of our ownership percentage.

Cinedigm Virtual Print Fee Agreement

On September 30, 2012, we entered into a long-term agreement with an affiliate of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. designed to allow us to collect Virtual Print Fees (“VPFs”) from film distributors with respect to digital content exhibited in our U.S. cinemas.   These VPFs are intended to assist exhibitors, such as ourselves, to pay for the cost of converting from film to digital projection, and reflect (to some extent) costs saved by distributors as a result of not needing to produce film prints of their movies.

2004 Injury Claim

In 2003, a slip and fall personal injury claim was asserted against us under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (QLD) associated with an incident which occurred in one of our Australian cinemas in 2000.  That claim, captioned Urquhart v. Reading Australia Pty Limited (case number 11678/03), is currently pending in the Supreme Court of Queensland, but has been essentially dormant until recently.  We are advised that the plaintiff is now claiming damages of more than $3.1 million (AUS$3.0 million), but has stated a willingness to compromise this claim at a lower amount.  The claim is not covered by insurance, as our insurance carrier at that time has gone bankrupt.  We are continuing to assess the plaintiff’s claim and have yet to receive all of the documentary evidence that plaintiff asserts supports her damage assessment.  Without this documentary evidence, at present, we are unable to accurately estimate the extent of any liability to us.  However, we do not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a materially adverse effect on our financial statements.  Although, we intend to vigorously defend against this claim, we can make no assurances that we will ultimately be successful in our defense of this matter.