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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Acquisition- and Divestiture-Related
The Company's Level 3 liabilities at March 31, 2021 consisted of contingent purchase consideration related to the two acquisitions that occurred during the fiscal year 2020. The contingent purchase consideration related to the two acquisitions represent amounts deposited into escrow accounts, which were established to cover damages NetScout may have suffered related to any liabilities that NetScout did not agree to assume or as a result of the breach of representations and warranties of the sellers as described in the acquisition agreements. The contingent purchase consideration of $0.7 million and $1.0 million related to the Gigavation and Eastwind acquisitions, respectively were included as accrued other in the Company's consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2020. The $0.7 million related to the Gigavation acquisition was paid to the seller in February 2021. The $1.0 million related to the Eastwind acquisition was paid to the seller in April 2020.
During fiscal year 2019, the Company paid $0.5 million and $5.0 million of contingent liabilities to the sellers of Efflux Systems, Inc. (Efflux) and Simena, LLC (Simena), respectively related to prior acquisitions.
Legal
From time to time, NetScout is subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the amount of ultimate expense with respect to any current legal proceedings and claims, if determined adversely, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
As previously disclosed, in March 2016, Packet Intelligence LLC (Packet Intelligence or Plaintiff) filed a Complaint against NetScout and two subsidiary entities in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asserting infringement of five United States patents. Plaintiff's Complaint alleged that legacy Tektronix GeoProbe products, including the G10 and GeoBlade products, infringed these patents. NetScout filed an Answer denying Plaintiff's allegations and asserting that Plaintiff's patents were, among other things, invalid, not infringed, and unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. In October 2017, a jury trial was held to address the parties' claims and counterclaims regarding infringement of three patents by the G10 and GeoBlade products, invalidity of these patents, and damages. On October 13, 2017, the jury rendered a verdict finding in favor of the Plaintiff and that Plaintiff was entitled to $3,500,000 for pre-suit damages and $2,250,000 for post-suit damages. The jury indicated that the awarded damages amounts were intended to reflect a running royalty. In September 2018, the Court entered judgment and "enhanced" the jury verdict in the amount of $2.8 million as a result of a jury finding. The judgment also awards pre- and post-judgment interest, and a running royalty on the G10 and GeoBlade products until the expiration of the patents at issue, the last date being June 2022. Following the entry of final judgment, on June 12, 2019, NetScout filed its Notice of Appeal. On July 14, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision vacating the $3,500,000 pre-suit damages award, affirming the $2,250,000 post-suit damages award, and remanding to the district court to determine what, if any, enhancement should be awarded. On March 15, 2021, NetScout filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, which was subsequently denied, challenging, among other issues, the basis for enhanced damages and the patentability of the claimed technology. NetScout continues to avail itself of its legal options. NetScout has concluded that the risk of loss associated with the post-suit damages award is "probable" in accounting terms, regardless of the options NetScout may pursue, and that the risk of loss associated with pre-suit damages is now remote. Accounting rules require NetScout to provide an estimate for the range of potential liability. NetScout currently estimates that the range of liability is the sum of post-suit damages, plus pre- and post-judgment interest amounts and royalties owed on post-trial sales of the accused G10 and GeoBlade products. Any potential enhancement is not reasonably estimable but is likely within the range of $0 to $2,800,000.
Unconditional Purchase Obligations
At March 31, 2021, the Company had unconditional purchase obligations of $55.3 million, which represent estimated open purchase orders to purchase inventory as well as commitments for products and services used in the normal course of business.