Contingencies and Commitments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Contingencies and Commitments

(20) Contingencies and Commitments

We are parties in a variety of legal actions arising out of the normal course of business. In particular, such legal actions affect our insurance and reinsurance businesses. Such litigation generally seeks to establish liability directly through insurance contracts or indirectly through reinsurance contracts issued by Berkshire subsidiaries. Plaintiffs occasionally seek punitive or exemplary damages. We do not believe that such normal and routine litigation will have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Berkshire and certain of its subsidiaries are also involved in other kinds of legal actions, some of which assert or may assert claims or seek to impose fines and penalties. We believe that any liability that may arise as a result of other pending legal actions will not have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

We lease certain manufacturing, warehouse, retail and office facilities as well as certain equipment. Rent expense for all operating leases was $1,288 million in 2011, $1,204 million in 2010 and $701 million in 2009. The increase in 2010 was due to the BNSF acquisition. Minimum rental payments for operating leases having initial or remaining non-cancelable terms in excess of one year are as follows. Amounts are in millions.

2012	2013		2014		2015		2016		After     2016		Total
$1,169	$	1,044	$	915	$	813	$	738	$	4,209	$	8,888

Several of our subsidiaries have made commitments in the ordinary course of business to purchase goods and services used in their businesses. The most significant of these relate to our railroad, utilities and energy businesses. As of December 31, 2011, commitments under all such subsidiary arrangements were approximately $10.8 billion in 2012, $4.3 billion in 2013, $3.3 billion in 2014, $3.2 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2016 and $10.3 billion after 2016.

In the first quarter of 2011, we acquired an additional 16.6% of the outstanding common stock of Marmon, thus increasing our total ownership interest to 80.2%. The cost of this additional share purchase was approximately $1.5 billion. The purchase of these shares was accounted for as an acquisition of noncontrolling interests. Accordingly, the difference of $614 million between the consideration paid and the prior carrying amount of the noncontrolling interests acquired was recorded as a reduction to Berkshire’s shareholders’ equity in 2010. Berkshire will acquire substantially all of the remaining noncontrolling interests in Marmon in 2013 or 2014. However, the consideration ultimately payable is contingent upon future operating results of Marmon and the per-share cost could be greater than or less than the price paid in 2011.

Pursuant to the terms of shareholder agreements with noncontrolling shareholders in certain of our other less than wholly-owned subsidiaries, we may be obligated to acquire their equity ownership interests. The consideration payable for such interests is generally based on the fair value. If we acquired all such outstanding noncontrolling interests as of December 31, 2011, the cost would have been approximately $4 billion. However, the timing and the amount of any such future payments that might be required are contingent on future actions of the noncontrolling owners and future operating results of the related subsidiaries.