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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies
16. Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

The Company is committed to making rental payments under noncancelable operating leases covering various facilities and equipment. Many of the Company’s operating leases for facilities contain renewal options. These renewal options vary, but the majority include clauses for various term lengths and prevailing market rate rents.

Future minimum lease payments required under noncancelable operating leases, including minimum concession fees charged by airport authorities, which in many locations are recoverable from vehicle rental customers, as of December 31, 2012, are as follows:

 

          Amount       

2013

     506    

2014

     343    

2015

     260    

2016

     201    

2017

     140    

Thereafter

     615    
  

 

 

 
   $ 2,065    
  

 

 

 

The future minimum lease payments in the above table have been reduced by minimum future sublease rental inflows in the aggregate of $6 million for all periods shown in the table.

The Company maintains concession agreements with various airport authorities that allow the Company to conduct its car rental operations on site. In general, concession fees for airport locations are based on a percentage of total commissionable revenue (as defined by each airport authority), subject to minimum annual guaranteed amounts. These concession fees are included in the Company’s total rent expense and were as follows for the years ended December 31:

 

             2012                      2011                      2010          

Rent and minimum concession fees

   $ 600        $ 535        $ 473    

Contingent concession expense

     155          104          114    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     755          639          587    

Less: sublease rental income

     (5)         (5)         (5)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 750        $ 634        $ 582    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Commitments under capital leases, other than those within the Company’s vehicle rental programs, for which the future minimum lease payments have been reflected in Note 15—Debt Under Vehicle Programs and Borrowing Arrangements, are not significant.

 

The Company leases a portion of its vehicles under operating leases, which extend through 2015. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has guaranteed up to $37 million of residual values for these vehicles at the end of their respective lease terms. The Company believes that, based on current market conditions, the net proceeds from the sale of these vehicles at the end of their lease terms will be equal to or exceed their net book values and therefore has not recorded a liability related to guaranteed residual values.

Contingencies

In connection with the Separation, the Company completed the spin-offs of Realogy and Wyndham on July 31, 2006 and completed the sale of Travelport, Inc. (“Travelport”) on August 23, 2006. In connection with the spin-offs of Realogy and Wyndham, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement, pursuant to which Realogy assumed 62.5% and Wyndham assumed 37.5% of certain contingent and other corporate liabilities of the Company or its subsidiaries, which are not primarily related to any of the respective businesses of Realogy, Wyndham, our former Travelport subsidiary and/or the Company’s vehicle rental operations, and in each case incurred or allegedly incurred on or prior to the Separation (“Assumed Liabilities”). Realogy is entitled to receive 62.5% and Wyndham is entitled to receive 37.5% of the proceeds from certain contingent corporate assets of the Company, which are not primarily related to any of the respective businesses of Realogy, Wyndham, Travelport and/or the Company’s vehicle rental operations, arising or accrued on or prior to the Separation (“Assumed Assets”). Additionally, if Realogy or Wyndham were to default on its payment of costs or expenses to the Company related to any Assumed Liabilities, the Company would be responsible for 50% of the defaulting party’s obligation. In such event, the Company would be allowed to use the defaulting party’s share of the proceeds of any Assumed Assets as a right of offset.

The Company does not believe that the impact of any resolution of contingent liabilities constituting Assumed Liabilities should result in a material liability to the Company in relation to its consolidated financial position or liquidity, as Realogy and Wyndham each have agreed to assume responsibility for these liabilities.

The Company is also named in various litigation that is primarily related to the businesses of its former subsidiaries, including Realogy, Wyndham and Travelport and their current or former subsidiaries. The Company is entitled to indemnification from such entities under the Separation Agreement for any liability resulting from such litigation.

In accordance with the terms of the Separation Agreement, Realogy posted a letter of credit in April 2007 for the benefit of the Company to cover its estimated share of the Assumed Liabilities discussed above, subject to adjustment, although there can be no assurance that such letter of credit will be sufficient or effective to cover Realogy’s actual obligations if and when they arise.

In October 2009, a judgment was entered against the Company in the amount of $16 million following the completion of a jury trial for damages related to breach of contract in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2003, involved breach of contract and other claims by one of the Company’s licensees related to the acquisition of its Budget vehicle rental business in 2002. The Company believes the verdict in this case is unsupported by the evidence. In addition to the judgment for damages, in June 2010, the district court also entered an order against the Company in the amount of $3 million, in favor of the plaintiff’s motions for pre-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees. The Company has filed an appeal of the judgment and attorneys’ fees awarded with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Additionally, the Company is also involved in claims, legal proceedings and governmental inquiries related, among other things, to its vehicle rental operations, including, among others, contract and licensee disputes, wage-and-hour claims, competition matters, insurance claims, intellectual property claims and other regulatory, environmental, commercial and tax matters. Litigation is inherently unpredictable and, although the Company believes that its accruals are adequate and/or that it has valid defenses in these matters, unfavorable resolutions could occur, which could materially impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Commitments to Purchase Vehicles

The Company maintains agreements with vehicle manufacturers under which the Company has agreed to purchase approximately $5.1 billion of vehicles from manufacturers over the next 12 months. The majority of these commitments are subject to the vehicle manufacturers’ satisfying their obligations under their respective repurchase and guaranteed depreciation agreements. The purchase of such vehicles is financed primarily through the issuance of vehicle-backed debt and cash received upon the disposition of vehicles.

Other Purchase Commitments

In the normal course of business, the Company makes various commitments to purchase other goods or services from specific suppliers, including those related to capital expenditures. None of the purchase commitments made by the Company as of December 31, 2012 (aggregating approximately $168 million) was individually significant. These purchase obligations extend through 2017.

Concentrations

Concentrations of credit risk at December 31, 2012, include (i) risks related to the Company’s repurchase and guaranteed depreciation agreements with domestic and foreign car manufacturers, including General Motors Company, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Group LLC, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor Corporation, Kia Motors America, Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. and Renault S.A., and primarily with respect to receivables for program cars that have been disposed but for which the Company has not yet received payment from the manufacturers (see Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) and (ii) risks related to Realogy and Wyndham, including receivables of $64 million and $40 million, respectively, related to certain contingent, income tax and other corporate liabilities assumed by Realogy and Wyndham in connection with the Separation.

Asset Retirement Obligations

The Company maintains a liability for asset retirement obligations. An asset retirement obligation is a legal obligation to perform certain activities in connection with the retirement, disposal or abandonment of assets. The Company’s asset retirement obligations, which are measured at discounted fair values, are primarily related to the removal of underground gas storage tanks at its rental facilities. Liabilities accrued for asset retirement obligations were $26 million and $28 million at December 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Standard Guarantees/Indemnifications

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into numerous agreements that contain standard guarantees and indemnities whereby the Company indemnifies another party, among other things, for breaches of representations and warranties. In addition, many of these parties are also indemnified against any third-party claim resulting from the transaction that is contemplated in the underlying agreement. Such guarantees or indemnifications are granted under various agreements, including those governing (i) purchases, sales or outsourcing of assets or businesses, (ii) leases of real estate, (iii) licensing of trademarks, (iv) access to credit facilities and use of derivatives and (v) issuances of debt or equity securities. The guarantees or indemnifications issued are for the benefit of the (i) buyers in sale agreements and sellers in purchase agreements, (ii) landlords in lease contracts, (iii) licensees under licensing agreements, (iv) financial institutions in credit facility arrangements and derivative contracts and (v) underwriters and placement agents in debt or equity security issuances. While some of these guarantees extend only for the duration of the underlying agreement, many survive the expiration of the term of the agreement or extend into perpetuity (unless subject to a legal statute of limitations). There are no specific limitations on the maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these guarantees, nor is the Company able to develop an estimate of the maximum potential amount of future payments to be made under these guarantees as the triggering events are not subject to predictability. With respect to certain of the aforementioned guarantees, such as indemnifications provided to landlords against third-party claims for the use of real estate property leased by the Company, the Company maintains insurance coverage that mitigates its potential exposure.

Other Guarantees

The Company has provided certain guarantees to, or for the benefit of, subsidiaries of Realogy, Wyndham and Travelport, which, as previously discussed, were disposed in 2006. These guarantees relate primarily to various real estate operating leases. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company may be required to make under the guarantees relating to these leases is estimated to be approximately $91 million, the majority of which expire by the end of 2014. At December 31, 2012, the liability recorded by the Company in connection with these guarantees was approximately $2 million. To the extent that the Company would be required to perform under any of these guarantees, the Company is entitled to indemnification by Realogy, Wyndham and Travelport, as applicable. The Company monitors the credit ratings and other relevant information for Realogy, Wyndham and Travelport’s parent company in order to assess the status of the payment/performance risk of these guarantees.