COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	9 Months Ended
Sep. 28, 2014
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES In December 2008, carriers of The Fresno Bee filed a purported class action lawsuit against us and The Fresno Bee in the Superior Court of the State of California in Fresno County captioned Becerra v. The McClatchy Company (“Fresno case”) alleging that the carriers were misclassified as independent contractors and seeking mileage reimbursement. In February 2009, a substantially similar lawsuit, Sawin v. The McClatchy Company, involving similar allegations was filed by carriers of The Sacramento Bee (“Sacramento case”) in the Superior Court of the State of California in Sacramento County. Both courts have certified the class in these cases. The class consists of roughly 5,000 carriers in the Sacramento case and 3,500 carriers in the Fresno case. The plaintiffs in both cases are seeking unspecified damages for mileage reimbursement. With respect to the Sacramento case, in September 2013, all wage and hour claims were dismissed and the only remaining claim is an equitable claim under the California Civil Code for mileage. In the Fresno case, in March 2014, all wage and hour claims were dismissed and the only remaining claim is an equitable claim for mileage reimbursement under the California Civil Code. The court in the Sacramento case has trifurcated the trial into three separate phases: the first phase addressed independent contractor status, the second phase will address liability, if any, and the third phase will address damages, if any. On September 22, 2014, the court in the Sacramento case issued a tentative decision following the first phase, finding that the carriers that contracted directly with The Sacramento Bee during the period from February 2005 to July 2009 were misclassified as independent contractors. We have asked for clarification of the tentative decision and the decision is under review. When a final decision is issued, we will have an opportunity to object. The court has not yet established a date for the second and third phases of trial concerning whether The Sacramento Bee is liable to the carriers in the class for mileage reimbursement or owes any damages. The court in the Fresno case has bifurcated the trial into two separate phases: the first phase will address independent contractor status and liability for mileage reimbursement and the second phase will address damages, if any. The first phase of the Fresno case is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014. We are defending these actions vigorously and expect that we will ultimately prevail. As a result, we have not established a reserve in connection with the cases. While we believe that a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows from these claims is unlikely, given the inherent uncertainty of litigation, a remote possibility exists that future adverse rulings or unfavorable developments could result in future charges that could have a material impact. We have and will continue to periodically reexamine our estimates of probable liabilities and any associated expenses and make appropriate adjustments to such estimates based on experience and developments in litigation. Other than the cases described above, we are subject to a variety of legal proceedings (including libel, employment, wage and hour, independent contractor and other legal actions) and governmental proceedings (including environmental matters) that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. We are unable to estimate the amount or range of reasonably possible losses for these matters. However, we currently believe, after reviewing such actions with counsel, that the expected outcome of pending actions will not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements. No material amounts for any losses from litigation that may ultimately occur have been recorded in the condensed consolidated financial statements as we believe that any such losses are not probable. We have certain indemnification obligations related to the sale of assets including but not limited to insurance claims and multi-employer pension plans of disposed newspaper operations. We believe the remaining obligations related to disposed assets will not be material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. As of September 28, 2014, we had $33.2 million of standby letters of credit secured under the Amended Credit Agreement (see Note 4, Long-Term Debt, for further discussion).

6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

In December 2008, carriers of The Fresno Bee filed a purported class action lawsuit against us and The Fresno Bee in the Superior Court of the State of California in Fresno County captioned Becerra v. The McClatchy Company (“Fresno case”) alleging that the carriers were misclassified as independent contractors and seeking mileage reimbursement. In February 2009, a substantially similar lawsuit, Sawin v. The McClatchy Company, involving similar allegations was filed by carriers of The Sacramento Bee (“Sacramento case”) in the Superior Court of the State of California in Sacramento County. Both courts have certified the class in these cases. The class consists of roughly 5,000 carriers in the Sacramento case and 3,500 carriers in the Fresno case. The plaintiffs in both cases are seeking unspecified damages for mileage reimbursement. With respect to the Sacramento case, in September 2013, all wage and hour claims were dismissed and the only remaining claim is an equitable claim under the California Civil Code for mileage. In the Fresno case, in March 2014, all wage and hour claims were dismissed and the only remaining claim is an equitable claim for mileage reimbursement under the California Civil Code.

The court in the Sacramento case has trifurcated the trial into three separate phases: the first phase addressed independent contractor status, the second phase will address liability, if any, and the third phase will address damages, if any. On September 22, 2014, the court in the Sacramento case issued a tentative decision following the first phase, finding that the carriers that contracted directly with The Sacramento Bee during the period from February 2005 to July 2009 were misclassified as independent contractors. We have asked for clarification of the tentative decision and the decision is under review. When a final decision is issued, we will have an opportunity to object. The court has not yet established a date for the second and third phases of trial concerning whether The Sacramento Bee is liable to the carriers in the class for mileage reimbursement or owes any damages.

The court in the Fresno case has bifurcated the trial into two separate phases: the first phase will address independent contractor status and liability for mileage reimbursement and the second phase will address damages, if any. The first phase of the Fresno case is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014.

We are defending these actions vigorously and expect that we will ultimately prevail. As a result, we have not established a reserve in connection with the cases. While we believe that a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows from these claims is unlikely, given the inherent uncertainty of litigation, a remote possibility exists that future adverse rulings or unfavorable developments could result in future charges that could have a material impact. We have and will continue to periodically reexamine our estimates of probable liabilities and any associated expenses and make appropriate adjustments to such estimates based on experience and developments in litigation.

Other than the cases described above, we are subject to a variety of legal proceedings (including libel, employment, wage and hour, independent contractor and other legal actions) and governmental proceedings (including environmental matters) that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. We are unable to estimate the amount or range of reasonably possible losses for these matters. However, we currently believe, after reviewing such actions with counsel, that the expected outcome of pending actions will not have a material effect on our condensed consolidated financial statements. No material amounts for any losses from litigation that may ultimately occur have been recorded in the condensed consolidated financial statements as we believe that any such losses are not probable.

We have certain indemnification obligations related to the sale of assets including but not limited to insurance claims and multi-employer pension plans of disposed newspaper operations. We believe the remaining obligations related to disposed assets will not be material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

As of September 28, 2014, we had $33.2 million of standby letters of credit secured under the Amended Credit Agreement (see Note 4, Long-Term Debt, for further discussion).