Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Purchase Commitments

In some instances, the Company enters into commitments to purchase advertising and other items. Most of these agreements are fixed price purchase commitments. At December 31, 2011, the outstanding purchase commitments were $104.7 million, the majority of which related to advertising.

Lease Guarantees and Contingencies

In connection with the sale of Applebee's restaurants to franchisees and other parties, the Company has, in certain cases, guaranteed or had potential continuing liability for lease payments. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company has outstanding lease guarantees or is contingently liable for approximately $349.6 million and $149.7 million, respectively. This amount represents the maximum potential liability of future payments under these leases. These leases have been assigned to the buyers and expire at the end of the respective lease terms, which range from 2012 through 2048. In the event of default, the indemnity and default clauses in our sale or assignment agreements govern our ability to pursue and recover damages incurred. No material liabilities have been recorded as of December 31, 2011.

In 2004, Applebee's arranged for a third-party financing company to provide up to $250.0 million to qualified franchisees for loans to fund development of new restaurants, subject to its approval. The Company provided a limited guarantee of 10% of certain loans advanced under this program. The Company will be released from its guarantee if certain operating results are met after the restaurant has been open for at least two years. As of December 31, 2011, there were loans outstanding under this program to four franchisees for approximately $22.9 million, net of any guarantees from which the Company was released. This program expired on October 31, 2007; however, the Company's guarantee will remain outstanding until the provisions for release have been satisfied, as defined in the related agreement.

Litigation, Claims and Disputes

The Company is subject to various lawsuits, claims and governmental inspections or audits arising in the ordinary course of business. Some of these lawsuits purport to be class actions and/or seek substantial damages. In the opinion of management, these matters are adequately covered by insurance or, if not so covered, are without merit or are of such a nature or involve amounts that would not have a material adverse impact on the Company's business or consolidated financial statements.

Gerald Fast v. Applebee's

The Company is currently defending a collective action in United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Central Division filed on July 14, 2006 under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Gerald Fast v. Applebee's International, Inc., in which named plaintiffs claim that tipped workers in company restaurants perform excessive amounts of non-tipped work for which they should be compensated at the minimum wage. The court has conditionally certified a nationwide class of servers and bartenders who have worked in company-operated Applebee's restaurants since June 19, 2004. Unlike a class action, a collective action requires potential class members to “opt in” rather than “opt out.” On February 12, 2008, 5,540 opt-in forms were filed with the court.

In cases of this type, conditional certification of the plaintiff class is granted under a lenient standard. On January 15, 2009, the Company filed a motion seeking to have the class de-certified and the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, both of which were denied by the court.

The parties stipulated to a bench trial which was set to begin on September 8, 2009 in Jefferson City, Missouri. Just prior to trial, however, the court vacated the trial setting in order to submit key legal issues to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals for review on interlocutory appeal. On April 21, 2011, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the trial court's denial of the Company's motion for summary judgment.  On July 6, 2011, the Eighth Circuit denied the Company's petition for rehearing. 

On October 4, 2011, the Company filed a petition for certiorari asking the United States Supreme Court to review the decision of the Eighth Circuit. On January 17, 2012, the Supreme Court declined to review the case.  The bench trial is currently scheduled to begin on September 10, 2012.

The Company believes it has meritorious defenses and intends to vigorously defend this case. An estimate of the possible loss, if any, or the range of the loss cannot be made and, therefore, the Company has not accrued a loss contingency related to this matter.

Letters of Credit

The Company provides letters of credit, primarily to various insurance carriers to collateralize obligations for outstanding claims. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately $15.7 million of unused letters of credit outstanding. These letters expire on various dates in 2012 and are automatically renewed for an additional year if no cancellation notice is submitted.