NOTE 11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal

We are sometimes involved in various disputes, lawsuits, warranty claims, environmental and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. Management makes assumptions and estimates concerning the likelihood and amount of any potential loss relating to these matters.

We are currently a party to various legal proceedings. We accrue a liability for litigation if an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. If an unfavorable outcome is probable and a reasonable estimate of the loss is a range, we accrue the best estimate within the range; however, if no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, the minimum within the range is accrued. Legal fees related to litigation are expensed as incurred. We do not believe that the ultimate outcome of these matters, either individually or in the aggregate, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or overall trends in results of operations; however, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties. Also, under our leases, tenants are typically obligated to indemnify us from and against all liabilities, costs and expenses imposed upon or asserted against us as owner of the properties due to certain matters relating to the operation of the properties by the tenant.

Commitments

At The Landmark at One Market, we lease, as lessee, a building adjacent to The Landmark under an operating lease effective through June 30, 2016, which we have the option to extend until 2026 by way of two five-year extension options.

At Waikiki Beach Walk, we sublease a portion of the building of which Quiksilver is currently in possession, under an operating lease effective through December 31, 2021, which we have the option to extend at fair rental value in the event the sublessor extends its lease for the space with the master landlord. The lease payments under the lease will increase by approximately 3.4% annually through 2017 and, thereafter, will be equal to fair rental value, as defined in the lease, through lease expiration.

Current minimum annual payments under the leases are as follows, as of March 31, 2013 (in thousands):


Year Ending December 31,
2013 (nine months ending December 31, 2013)	$	1,885
2014		2,569
2015		2,636
2016		1,709
2017		736	⁽¹⁾
Thereafter		2,961

Total	$	12,496

(1)	Lease payments on the Waikiki Beach Walk lease will be equal to fair rental value from March 2017 through the end of the lease term. In the table, we have shown the lease payments for this period based on the stated rate for the month of February 2017 of $61,690.

We have management agreements with Outrigger Hotels & Resorts or an affiliate thereof (“Outrigger”) pursuant to which Outrigger manages each of the retail and hotel portions of the Waikiki Beach Walk property. Under the management agreement with Outrigger relating to the retail portion of Waikiki Beach Walk (the “retail management agreement”), we pay Outrigger a monthly management fee of 3.0% of net revenues from the retail portion of Waikiki Beach Walk. Pursuant to the terms of the retail management agreement, if the agreement is terminated in certain instances, including our election not to repair damage or destruction at the property, a condemnation or our failure to make required working capital infusions, we would be obligated to pay Outrigger a termination fee equal to the sum of the management fees paid for the two calendar months immediately preceding the termination date. The retail management agreement may not be terminated by us or by Outrigger without cause. Under our management agreement with Outrigger relating to the hotel portion of Waikiki Beach Walk (the “hotel management agreement”), we pay Outrigger a monthly management fee of 6.0% of the hotel’s gross operating profit, as well as 3.0% of the hotel’s gross revenues; provided that the aggregate management fee payable to Outrigger for any year shall not exceed 3.5% of the hotel’s gross revenues for such fiscal year. Pursuant to the terms of the hotel management agreement, if the agreement is terminated in certain instances, including upon a transfer by us of the hotel or upon a default by us under the hotel management agreement, we would be required to pay a cancellation fee calculated by multiplying (1) the management fees for the previous 12 months by (2) (a) eight, if the agreement is terminated in the first 11 years of its term, or (b) four, three, two or one, if the agreement is terminated in the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth or fifteenth year, respectively, of its term. The hotel management agreement may not be terminated by us or by Outrigger without cause.

A wholly owned subsidiary of our Operating Partnership, WBW Hotel Lessee LLC, entered into a franchise license agreement with Embassy Suites Franchise LLC, the franchisor of the brand “Embassy Suites™,” to obtain the non-exclusive right to operate the hotel under the Embassy Suites^TM brand for 20 years. The franchise license agreement provides that WBW Hotel Lessee LLC must comply with certain management, operational, record keeping, accounting, reporting and marketing standards and procedures. In connection with this agreement, we are also subject to the terms of a product improvement plan pursuant to which we expect to undertake certain actions to ensure that our hotel’s infrastructure is maintained in compliance with the franchisor’s brand standards. In addition, we must pay to Embassy Suites Franchise LLC a monthly franchise royalty fee equal to 4.0% of the hotel’s gross room revenue through December 2021 and 5.0% of the hotel’s gross room revenue thereafter, as well as a monthly program fee equal to 4.0% of the hotel’s gross room revenue. If the franchise license is terminated due to our failure to make required improvements or to otherwise comply with its terms, we may be liable to the franchisor for a termination payment, which could be as high as $5.9 million based on operating performance through March 31, 2013.

We had a property management agreement with Langley Investment Properties, Inc. (“Langley”) pursuant to which Langley managed and operated Lloyd District Portfolio, and we paid Langley a monthly management fee of 3.5% of “gross receipts,” as defined in the property management agreement, as well as leasing commissions and construction oversight fees in certain situations. The property management agreement was terminated on February 1, 2013 by mutual consent of both parties. Langley continues to provide development consulting services to us through June 30, 2013 and leasing services to us through December 31, 2013 pursuant to a Development, Consulting, Leasing and Transition Services and Management Termination Agreement.

Our Del Monte Center property has ongoing environmental remediation related to ground water contamination. The environmental issue existed at purchase and remediation is expected to conclude within the next two years. The work performed is financed through an escrow account funded by the seller upon purchase of the property. We believe the funds in the escrow account are sufficient for the remaining work to be performed. However, if further work is required costing more than the remaining escrow funds, we could be required to pay such overage, although we may have a contractual claim for such costs against the prior owner or our environmental remediation consultant.

In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into tax protection agreements with certain limited partners of our Operating Partnership. These agreements provide that if we dispose of any interest with respect to Carmel Country Plaza, Carmel Mountain Plaza, Del Monte Center, Loma Palisades, Lomas Santa Fe Plaza, Waikele Center or the ICW Plaza portion of Torrey Reserve Campus, in a taxable transaction during the period from the closing of our initial public offering through January 19, 2018, we will indemnify such limited partners for their tax liabilities attributable to their share of the built-in gain that existed with respect to such property interest as of the time of our initial public offering and tax liabilities incurred as a result of the reimbursement payment. Subject to certain exceptions and limitations, the indemnification rights will terminate for any such protected partner that sells, exchanges or otherwise disposes of more than 50% of his or her common units. We have no present intention to sell or otherwise dispose of the properties or interest therein in taxable transactions during the restriction period. If we were to trigger the tax protection provisions under these agreements, we would be required to pay damages in the amount of the taxes owed by these limited partners (plus additional damages in the amount of the taxes incurred as a result of such payment).

As of March 31, 2013, the Company has accrued approximately $6.6 million for transfer taxes that the Company expected to incur on its California properties in connection with its initial public offering. The Company believes that it has filed all necessary forms with the requisite taxing authorities, but can offer no assurances that the taxing authorities will agree with the Company’s estimate above.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Our properties are located in Southern California, Northern California, Hawaii, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The ability of the tenants to honor the terms of their respective leases is dependent upon the economic, regulatory and social factors affecting the markets in which the tenants operate. Twelve of our consolidated properties are located in Southern California, which exposes us to greater economic risks than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio. Further, tenants in the retail industry accounted for 35.6% of total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2013. This makes us susceptible to demand for retail rental space and subject to the risks associated with an investment in real estate with a concentration of tenants in the retail industry. For the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, no tenant accounted for more than 10% of our total rental revenue.