Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

From time to time, j2 Global and its affiliates are involved in litigation and other legal disputes or regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of business. Any claims or regulatory actions against j2 Global and its affiliates, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming and costly, and could divert significant operational resources. The outcomes of such matters are subject to inherent uncertainties, carrying the potential for unfavorable rulings that could include monetary damages and injunctive relief.

On February 17, 2011, Emmanuel Pantelakis (“Pantelakis”) filed suit against a j2 Global affiliate in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (No. 11-50673), alleging that the j2 Global affiliate breached a contract relating to Pantelakis’s use of the Campaigner^® service. The j2 Global affiliate filed a responsive pleading on March 23, 2011 and responses to undertakings on July 16, 2012. On November 6, 2012, Pantelakis filed a second amended statement of claim, reframing his lawsuit as a negligence action. The j2 Global affiliate filed an amended statement of defense on April 8, 2013. Discovery has closed. A judicial pre-trial has been set for July 27, 2018.

On January 17, 2013, the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (“Commissioner”) issued a notice of assessment to a j2 Global affiliate for sales and use tax for the period of July 1, 2003 through December 31, 2011. On July 22, 2014, the Commissioner denied the j2 Global affiliate’s application for abatement. On September 18, 2014, the j2 Global affiliate petitioned the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board for abatement of the tax asserted in the notice of assessment (No. C325426). A trial was held on December 16, 2015. On May 18, 2017, the Appellate Board decided in favor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Company paid and expensed the tax assessment. The j2 Global affiliate has requested the findings of fact and conclusions of law from the Appellate Board.

On October 16, 2013, a j2 Global affiliate entered an appearance as a plaintiff in a multi-district litigation pending in the Northern District of Illinois (No. 1:12-cv-06286). In this litigation, Unified Messaging Solutions, LLC (“UMS”), a company with rights to assert certain patents owned by the j2 Global affiliate, has asserted five j2 Global patents against a number of defendants. While claims against some defendants have been settled, other defendants have filed counterclaims for, among other things, non-infringement, unenforceability, and invalidity of the patents-in-suit. On December 20, 2013, the Northern District of Illinois issued a claim construction opinion and, on June 13, 2014, entered a final judgment of non-infringement for the remaining defendants based on that claim construction. UMS and the j2 Global affiliate filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Circuit on June 27, 2014 (No. 14-1611). On December 8, 2017, the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the lower court.

On January 21, 2016, Davis Neurology, P.A. filed a putative class action against two j2 Global affiliates in the Circuit Court for the County of Pope, State of Arkansas (58-cv-2016-40), alleging violations of the TCPA. The case was ultimately removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (the “Eastern District of Arkansas”) (No. 4:16-cv-00682). On June 6, 2016, the j2 Global affiliates filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. On March 20, 2017, the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed all claims against the j2 Global affiliates. On April 17, 2017, Davis Neurology filed a notice of appeal. On June 20, 2017, Davis Neurology filed its appeal brief. On August 4, 2017 j2 Global affiliates filed a response brief. On August 21, 2017, Davis Neurology filed a reply brief. Oral argument was held January 11, 2018. j2 Global affiliates submitted a supplemental letter brief on January 31, 2018. Davis Neurology submitted a supplemental letter brief on February 15, 2018. The appeal is pending.

j2 Global does not believe, based on current knowledge, that the foregoing legal proceedings or claims, after giving effect to existing reserves, are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. However, depending on the amount and timing, an unfavorable resolution of some or all of these matters could have a material effect on j2 Global’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows in a particular period.

The Company has not accrued for any material loss contingencies relating to these legal proceedings because materially unfavorable outcomes are not considered probable by management. It is the Company’s policy to expense as incurred legal fees related to various litigations.

Credit Agreement

On December 5, 2016, j2 Global entered into a Credit Agreement (the Credit Agreement) with MUFG Union Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain other lenders from time to time party thereto (collectively, the Lenders). Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Lenders provided j2 Global with a credit facility of $225.0 million (the Credit Facility). On June 27, 2017, the Company paid off the entire line of credit of $225.0 million, in addition to interest and miscellaneous fees of $0.5 million and terminated the Credit Agreement.

Operating Leases

j2 Global leases certain facilities and equipment under non-cancelable operating leases which expire at various dates through 2025. Office and equipment leases are typically for terms of three to five years and generally provide renewal options for terms up to an additional five years. In most cases, the Company expects leases that expire will be renewed or replaced by other leases with similar terms. Future minimum lease payments at December 31, 2017 under non-cancelable operating leases (with initial or remaining lease terms in excess of one year) are as follows (in thousands):



	Lease Payments
Fiscal Year:
2018	$	18,589
2019	17,325
2020	13,721
2021	12,049
2022	11,199
Thereafter	13,258
Total minimum lease payments	$	86,141

Rental expense for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $15.3 million, $10.6 million and $9.0 million, respectively.

Sublease

Total sublease income for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $0.7 million and $0.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively. Total estimated aggregate sublease income to be received in the future is $9.0 million.

Non-Income Related Taxes

As a provider of cloud services for business, the Company does not provide telecommunications services. Thus, it believes that its business and its users (by using our services) are generally not subject to various telecommunication taxes. However, several state taxing authorities have challenged this belief and have and may continue to audit and assess our business and operations with respect to telecommunications and other sales taxes. In addition, the application of other indirect taxes (such as sales and use tax, business tax and gross receipt tax) to e-commerce businesses such as j2 Global and our users is a complex and evolving issue. The application of existing, new or future laws could have adverse effects on our business, prospects and operating results. There have been, and will continue to be, substantial ongoing costs associated with complying with the various indirect tax requirements in the numerous markets in which we conduct or will conduct business.

The Company is currently under audit for indirect taxes in several states and municipalities. On March 3, 2017, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance issued a notice of assessment for sales and use tax for the period of March 1, 2009 through February 28, 2014. We have reached a settlement with the Department which has expanded the period up to November 30, 2017. We have accrued $2.80 million as of December 31, 2017. On February 18, 2018, we paid $2.77 million to New York in settlement. On August 24, 2016, the Office of Finance for the City of Los Angeles notified us that they would commence an audit of business and communications taxes for the period of January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, which has concluded with no material impact. For other jurisdictions, we currently have no reserves established for these matters, as we have determined that the liability is not probable and estimable. However, it is reasonably possible that such a liability could be incurred, which would result in additional expense, which could materially impact our financial results.