Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

14. Commitments and Contingencies

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 styled 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, we 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 Court of Appeals issued its decision on the interlocutory appeal, affirming the trial court’s ruling that the tip credit is subject to a 20% limit on “related duties in a tipped occupation that are not themselves tip producing” based on guidance in the Department of Labor’s Field Operations Handbook. On May 5, 2011, the Company filed a petition for rehearing en banc with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which was denied on July 6, 2011 with four judges dissenting. 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 Court of Appeals.

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.

Lease Guarantees

In connection with the sale of Applebee’s restaurants or previous brands to franchisees and other parties, the Company has, in certain cases, guaranteed or had potential continuing liability for lease payments totaling $214.5 million as of September 30, 2011. 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 2011 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 September 30, 2011.