Commitments And Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jul. 28, 2012

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is subject to various claims and contingencies related to lawsuits, taxes, insurance, regulatory and other matters arising out of the normal course of business. Actions filed against the Company from time to time include commercial, tort, intellectual property, customer, employment, data privacy, securities and other claims, including purported class action lawsuits. Management believes that the ultimate liability arising from such claims and contingencies, if any, is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

In July 2009, a complaint was filed against the Company for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint sought monetary damages, costs, attorneys' fees, and injunctive relief. A jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded damages of $9 million for infringement from 2007 through 2011. The Company is unable to estimate the range of possible losses related to future infringement through the patents' expiration in 2015. The Company intends to appeal the judgment and to vigorously defend against this action.

Guarantees

In connection with the disposition of certain businesses, the Company has remaining guarantees of approximately $66 million related to lease payments of Express, Limited Stores, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dick’s Sporting Goods and New York & Company under the current terms of noncancelable leases expiring at various dates through 2017. These guarantees include minimum rent and additional payments covering taxes, common area costs and certain other expenses and relate to leases that commenced prior to the disposition of the businesses. In certain instances, the Company’s guarantee may remain in effect if the term of a lease is extended.

The Company’s guarantees related to Express, Limited Stores and New York & Company require fair value accounting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in effect at the time of these divestitures. The guaranteed lease payments related to Express, Limited Stores and New York & Company totaled $42 million as of July 28, 2012, $49 million as of January 28, 2012 and $57 million as of July 30, 2011. The estimated fair value of these guarantee obligations was $3 million as of July 28, 2012, $4 million as of January 28, 2012 and $5 million as of July 30, 2011, and is included in Other Long-term Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company’s guarantees related to Abercrombie & Fitch and Dick’s Sporting Goods are not subject to fair value accounting, but require that a loss be accrued when probable and reasonably estimable based on GAAP in effect at the time of these divestitures. The Company had no liability recorded with respect to any of the guarantee obligations as it concluded that payments under these guarantees were not probable as of July 28, 2012, January 28, 2012 and July 30, 2011.