NOTE 21. Commitments and Contingencies

Guarantees and Commitments

The Company has guaranteed approximately $54 million for subsidiary lease payments under various arrangements generally spanning between one and ten years in duration, and $6 million for affiliate credit lines and other credit support agreements. In connection with an agreement entered in 2009 with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation ("PBGC"), the Company agreed to provide a guarantee by certain affiliates of certain contingent pension obligations of up to $30 million, the term of this guarantee is dependent upon certain contingent events as set forth in the PBGC Agreement.

Purchase Obligations

In January 2003, the Company commenced a 10-year outsourcing agreement with International Business Machines (“IBM”) pursuant to which the Company outsources most of its information technology needs on a global basis, including mainframe support services, data centers, customer support centers, application development and maintenance, data network management, desktop support, disaster recovery and web hosting (“IBM Outsourcing Agreement”). During 2006, the IBM Outsourcing Agreement was modified to change the service delivery model and related service charges. Expenses incurred under the IBM Outsourcing Agreement were approximately $13 million during the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, $4 million during the three–month Successor period ended December 31, 2010, and $18 million during the nine–month Predecessor period ended October 1, 2010.

Effective February 18, 2010, the date of the Court order, the Debtors entered into a settlement agreement with IBM (the “Settlement Agreement”), assumed the IBM Outsourcing Agreement, as amended and restated pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and agreed to the payment of cure amounts totaling approximately $11 million in connection therewith. The service charges under the IBM Outsourcing Agreement as amended and restated pursuant to the Settlement Agreement are expected to aggregate approximately $22 million during the remaining term of the agreement, subject to changes based on the Company’s actual consumption of services to meet its then current business needs. The outsourcing agreement may also be terminated for the Company’s business convenience under the agreement for a scheduled termination fee.

Operating Leases

At December 31, 2012, the Company had the following minimum rental commitments under non-cancelable operating leases: 2013 — $30 million; 2014 — $26 million; 2015 — $21 million; 2016 — $17 million; 2017 — $14 million; thereafter — $81 million. Rent expense was $44 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, $44 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, $11 million for the three-month Successor period ended December 31, 2010, and $33 million for the nine-month Predecessor period ended October 1, 2010.

Litigation and Claims

Several current and former employees of Visteon Deutschland GmbH (“Visteon Germany”) filed civil actions against Visteon Germany in various German courts beginning in August 2007 seeking damages for the alleged violation of German pension laws that prohibit the use of pension benefit formulas that differ for salaried and hourly employees without adequate justification. Several of these actions have been joined as pilot cases. In a written decision issued in April 2010, the Federal Labor Court issued a declaratory judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the pilot cases. To date, more than 750 current and former employees have filed similar actions or have inquired as to or been granted additional benefits, and an additional 600 current and former employees are similarly situated. The Company's remaining reserve for unsettled cases is approximately $9 million and is based on the Company’s best estimate as to the number and value of the claims that will be made in connection with the pension plan. However, the Company’s estimate is subject to many uncertainties which could result in Visteon Germany incurring amounts in excess of the reserved amount of up to approximately $8 million.

The Company's operations in Brazil are subject to highly complex labor, tax, customs and other laws. While the Company believes that it is in compliance with such laws, it is periodically engaged in litigation regarding the application of these laws. As of December 31, 2012, the Company maintained accruals of approximately $8 million for claims aggregating approximately $138 million. The amounts accrued represent claims that are deemed probable of loss and are reasonably estimable based on the Company's assessment of the claims and prior experience with similar matters.

On May 28, 2009, the Debtors filed voluntary petitions in the Court seeking reorganization relief under the provisions of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Debtors’ chapter 11 cases have been assigned to the Honorable Christopher S. Sontchi and are being jointly administered as Case No. 09-11786. The Debtors continued to operate their business as debtors-in-possession under the jurisdiction of the Court and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and the orders of the Court until their emergence on October 1, 2010.

In December of 2009, the Court granted the Debtors' motion in part authorizing them to terminate or amend certain other postretirement employee benefits, including health care and life insurance. On December 29, 2009, the IUE-CWA, the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, CLC, filed a notice of appeal of the Court's order with the District Court. By order dated March 31, 2010, the District Court affirmed the Court's order in all respects. On April 1, 2010, the IUE filed a notice of appeal. On July 13, 2010, the Circuit Court reversed the order of the District Court as to the IUE-CWA and directed the District Court to, among other things, direct the Court to order the Company to take whatever action is necessary to immediately restore terminated or modified benefits to their pre-termination/modification levels. On July 27, 2010, the Company filed a Petition for Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc requesting that the Circuit Court review the panel’s decision, which was denied. By orders dated August 30, 2010, the Court ruled that the Company should restore certain other postretirement employee benefits to the appellant-retirees and also to salaried retirees and certain retirees of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW”). On September 1, 2010, the Company filed a Notice of Appeal to the District Court of the Court's decision to include non-appealing retirees, and on September 15, 2010 the UAW filed a Notice of Cross-Appeal. The appeals process includes mandatory mediation of the dispute. The Company subsequently reached an agreement with the original appellants in late-September 2010, which resulted in the Company not restoring other postretirement employee benefits of such retirees. On September 30, 2010, the UAW filed a complaint, which it amended on October 1, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan seeking, among other things, a declaratory judgment to prohibit the Company from terminating certain other postretirement employee benefits for UAW retirees after the Effective Date. The Company has filed a motion to dismiss the UAW's complaint and a motion to transfer the case to the District of Delaware, which motions are pending. As of January 11, 2013, the parties agreed to a settlement term sheet. The parties are currently working towards a final settlement agreement and preliminary approval of the settlement by the court. As of December 31, 2012, the Company maintains an accrual for claims that are deemed probable of loss and are reasonably estimable based on the pending settlement.

Product Warranty and Recall

Amounts accrued for product warranty and recall claims are based on management’s best estimates of the amounts that will ultimately be required to settle such items. The Company’s estimates for product warranty and recall obligations are developed with support from its sales, engineering, quality and legal functions and include due consideration of contractual arrangements, past experience, current claims and related information, production changes, industry and regulatory developments and various other considerations. The Company can provide no assurances that it will not experience material claims in the future or that it will not incur significant costs to defend or settle such claims beyond the amounts accrued or beyond what the Company may recover from its suppliers. The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in the product warranty and recall claims liability, inclusive of amounts of discontinued operations for the selected periods:



	Year Ended December 31
	2012			2011
	(Dollars in Millions)
Beginning balance	$	66		$	75
Accruals for products shipped	19			22
Changes in estimates	(6		)	(12		)
Settlements	(22		)	(19		)
Ending balance	$	57		$	66

Environmental Matters

The Company is subject to the requirements of federal, state, local and foreign environmental and occupational safety and health laws and regulations and ordinances. These include laws regulating air emissions, water discharge and waste management. The Company is also subject to environmental laws requiring the investigation and cleanup of environmental contamination at properties it presently owns or operates and at third-party disposal or treatment facilities to which these sites send or arranged to send hazardous waste. The Company is aware of contamination at some of its properties. These sites are in various stages of investigation and cleanup. The Company currently is, has been, and in the future may become the subject of formal or informal enforcement actions or procedures.

Costs related to environmental assessments and remediation efforts at operating facilities, previously owned or operated facilities, or other waste site locations are accrued when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of that liability can be reasonably estimated. Estimated costs are recorded at undiscounted amounts, based on experience and assessments, and are regularly evaluated. The liabilities are recorded in Other current liabilities and Other non-current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. At December 31, 2012, the Company had recorded a reserve of approximately $1 million for environmental matters. However, estimating liabilities for environmental investigation and cleanup is complex and dependent upon a number of factors beyond the Company’s control and which may change dramatically. Accordingly, although the Company believes its reserve is adequate based on current information, the Company cannot provide any assurance that its ultimate environmental investigation and cleanup costs and liabilities will not exceed the amount of its current reserve.

Other Contingent Matters

Various legal actions, governmental investigations and proceedings and claims are pending or may be instituted or asserted in the future against the Company, including those arising out of alleged defects in the Company’s products; governmental regulations relating to safety; employment-related matters; customer, supplier and other contractual relationships; intellectual property rights; product warranties; product recalls; and environmental matters. Some of the foregoing matters may involve compensatory, punitive or antitrust or other treble damage claims in very large amounts, or demands for recall campaigns, environmental remediation programs, sanctions, or other relief which, if granted, would require very large expenditures. The Company enters into agreements that contain indemnification provisions in the normal course of business for which the risks are considered nominal and impracticable to estimate.

Contingencies are subject to many uncertainties, and the outcome of individual litigated matters is not predictable with assurance. Reserves have been established by the Company for matters discussed in the immediately foregoing paragraph where losses are deemed probable and reasonably estimable. It is possible, however, that some of the matters discussed in the foregoing paragraph could be decided unfavorably to the Company and could require the Company to pay damages or make other expenditures in amounts, or a range of amounts, that cannot be estimated at December 31, 2012 and that are in excess of established reserves. The Company does not reasonably expect, except as otherwise described herein, based on its analysis, that any adverse outcome from such matters would have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, although such an outcome is possible.

Under section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, the filing of a bankruptcy petition automatically stayed most actions against a debtor, including most actions to collect pre-petition indebtedness or to exercise control over the property of the debtor’s estate. Substantially all pre-petition liabilities and claims relating to rejected executory contracts and unexpired leases have been settled under the Debtor’s plan of reorganization, however, the ultimate amounts to be paid in settlement of each those claims will continue to be subject to the uncertain outcome of litigation, negotiations and Court decisions for a period of time after the Effective Date.