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Contingencies and Commitments
6 Months Ended
Jun. 15, 2012
Contingencies and Commitments

8. CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS

Guarantees

We issue guarantees to certain lenders in connection with the provision of third-party financing for our sales of vacation ownership products for the Luxury and Asia Pacific segments. The terms of guarantees to lenders generally require us to fund if the purchaser fails to pay under the term of its note payable. Prior to the Spin-Off, Marriott International guaranteed our performance under these arrangements. Subsequent to the Spin-Off, Marriott International continues to hold a standby letter of credit related to the Asia Pacific segment guarantee. If Marriott International is required to fund any draws by lenders under this letter of credit it would seek recourse from us. Marriott International no longer guarantees our performance with respect to third-party financing for sales of products in the Luxury segment. We are entitled to recover any funding to third-party lenders related to these guarantees through reacquisition and resale of the vacation ownership product. Our commitments under these guarantees expire as notes mature or are repaid. The terms of the underlying notes extend to 2022.

The following table shows the maximum potential amount of future fundings for financing guarantees where we are the primary obligor and the carrying amount of the liability for expected future fundings.

 

($ in millions)

Segment

   Maximum Potential      Liability for Expected  
   Amount of Future Fundings
at June 15, 2012
     Future Fundings at
June 15, 2012
 

Asia Pacific

   $ 20       $ —     

Luxury

     3         1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financing guarantees where we are the primary obligor

   $ 23       $ 1   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

We included our liability for expected future fundings of the financing guarantees in our Balance Sheets in the Other caption within Liabilities.

Prior to the Spin-Off, Marriott International also guaranteed our performance using letters of credit under certain agreements necessary to operate our Europe segment. Subsequent to the Spin-Off, Marriott International continues to hold $2 million (€1 million) of standby letters of credit related to these guarantees. If Marriott International is required to fund any draws under these letters of credit it would seek recourse from us.

In addition to the guarantees we describe in the preceding paragraphs, in conjunction with financing obtained for specific projects or properties owned by joint ventures in which we are a party, we may provide industry standard indemnifications to the lender for loss, liability or damage occurring as a result of the actions of the other joint venture owners or our own actions.

Commitments and Letters of Credit

In addition to the guarantees we note in the preceding paragraphs, as of June 15, 2012, we had the following commitments:

 

   

$2 million (€1 million) of other purchase commitments that we expect to fund over the next two years, as follows: $1 million in each of 2013 and 2014.

 

   

We have various contracts for the use of information technology hardware and software that we use in the normal course of business. Our commitments under these contracts were $2 million, which we expect will be paid in 2012.

 

   

Commitments to subsidize vacation ownership associations were $4 million, which we expect will be paid in 2012.

Surety bonds issued as of June 15, 2012 totaled $93 million, the majority of which were requested by federal, state or local governments related to our operations.

 

Additionally, as of June 15, 2012, we had $5 million of letters of credit outstanding under our four-year $200 million revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Corporate Credit Facility”).

Loss Contingencies

Certain of our subsidiaries are defendants in a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco in which the plaintiffs, 11 owners at our Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, San Francisco property, question the adequacy of disclosures made regarding bonds issued for the project under California’s Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 and their payment obligations with respect to such bonds. In June 2012, the trial judge issued a tentative decision on phase one of the proceeding in favor of the plaintiffs, concluding on the basis of several theories that the plaintiffs are entitled to, among other relief, rescission of their purchase contracts and punitive damages in an amount to be determined. The decision is not yet final, and the total amounts that we may be required to pay to the plaintiffs in this matter are not estimable at this time due to the current procedural status of the case, as well as the uncertainties with respect to the Court’s conclusion and assessment of damages, if any. If the decision does become final, we intend to vigorously appeal the decision. Two other lawsuits are pending in which 11 other owners assert similar claims. To date, we have accrued approximately $7 million for these matters based on amounts that are currently estimable, of which we accrued $2 million in the second quarter of 2012.

Other

We estimate the cash outflow associated with completing the phases of our existing portfolio of vacation ownership projects currently under development will be approximately $156 million, of which $14 million is included within liabilities on our Balance Sheet. This estimate is based on our current development plans, which remain subject to change, and we expect the phases currently under development will be completed by 2016.