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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies
12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Through joint venture arrangements with two private real estate funds, the Company previously invested in two joint ventures which were formed to own and operate hotels in Hawaii. As part of the joint venture arrangements, the Company entered into contribution agreements with the majority owners, which owners had guaranteed certain recourse liabilities under third-party loans to the joint ventures. The guarantees of the joint venture loans guaranteed each of the subsidiaries’ obligations under its third party loans for as long as those loans remain outstanding (i) in the event of certain types of fraud, breaches of environmental representations or warranties, or breaches of certain “special purpose entity” covenants by the subsidiaries, or (ii) in the event of bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings of the subsidiaries. The Company agreed that, in the event a majority owner is required to make any payments pursuant to the terms of these guarantees of joint venture loans, it will contribute to the majority owner an amount based on its proportional commitment in the applicable joint venture. The Company estimates that the maximum potential amount for which the Company could be liable under the contribution agreements is $16.9 million, which represents its pro rata share of the $86.4 million of total debt that is subject to the guarantees. As of June 30, 2013, the Company had not recorded any liability in the condensed consolidated balance sheet associated with the contribution agreements.

The Company is self-insured up to a stop loss for certain losses related to workers’ compensation claims and general liability claims through September 30, 2012, and for certain losses related to employee medical benefits through December 31, 2012. The Company’s insurance program has subsequently transitioned to a low or no deductible program. The Company has purchased stop-loss coverage in order to limit its exposure to any significant levels of claims relating to workers’ compensation, employee medical benefits and general liability for which it is self-insured.

The Company has entered into employment agreements with certain officers, which provide for severance payments upon certain events, including certain terminations in connection with a change of control.

The Company, in the ordinary course of business, is involved in certain legal actions and claims on a variety of matters. It is the opinion of management that such legal actions will not have a material effect on the results of operations, financial condition or liquidity of the Company.