Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Employment agreements. We have entered into employment agreements with our corporate officers and certain other key employees with durations ranging from one to three years. Significant contract provisions include minimum annual base salaries, healthcare benefits, bonus compensation if performance measures are achieved and non-compete provisions. These contracts are primarily “at will” employment agreements, under which the employee or we may terminate employment. If we terminate any of these employees without cause, we are obligated to pay the employee payments as specified in their individual employment agreement. As of January 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012, minimum aggregate severance benefits totaled $6.7 million and $6.5 million, respectively.

Legal proceedings. In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal proceedings and other matters that are complex in nature and have outcomes that are difficult to predict.  We record accruals for such contingencies to the extent that we conclude that it is probable that a loss will be incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.  No estimate of the reasonably possible loss or range of loss in excess of amounts accrued, if any, can be made at this time regarding the matters specifically described below because the inherently unpredictable nature of legal proceedings may be affected by various factors, including: (i) the damages sought in the proceedings are unsubstantiated or indeterminate; (ii) discovery or other material legal proceedings are incomplete; (iii) the proceeding is in its early stages and there is insufficient information available to assess the viability of the stated grounds; (iv) the matters present legal uncertainties; (v) there are significant facts in dispute; or (vi) the trier of fact is granted latitude by applicable law to apply judgment.  Our assessment of each matter may change based on future unexpected events.  An unexpected adverse judgment in any pending litigation could cause a material impact on our business operations, gaming licenses, intellectual property, results of operations or financial position.  Unless otherwise expressly stated, we believe costs associated with litigation will not have a material impact on our financial position or liquidity, but may be material to the results of operations in any given period.  We assume no obligation to update the status of pending litigation after the date of this Form 10-Q, except as may be required by applicable law, statute or regulation.

TableMAX – In April 2009, TableMAX IP Holdings, Inc. and TableMAX Gaming, Inc. filed a complaint (the “First Complaint”) against us in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.  This case is a patent infringement claim alleging that our Table Master  product infringes U.S. Patents 5,688,174, 6,921,337 and 7,201,661.  The First Complaint sought injunctive relief and an unspecified amount of damages, including claims for attorneys’ fees, costs, increased damages and disbursements.  In August 2009, TableMAX Holdings, Inc. and TableMAX Gaming, Inc. voluntarily dismissed the First Complaint.  On the same date, TableMAX IP Holdings, Inc., TableMAX Gaming, Inc. and Vegas Amusement, Inc. (the alleged owner of Patents 5,688,174, 6,921,337 and 7,201,661) (collectively “TableMAX”), filed a new complaint (the “New Complaint”) making materially the same allegations as in the First Complaint.  In August 2009, TableMAX filed an amended complaint (the “Second Complaint”), which was materially the same as the New Complaint, except that the plaintiffs added a claim that Table Master infringes U.S. Patent 7,575,512, which was issued on August 18, 2009.  In August 2009, the plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction in the Second Complaint that sought to enjoin future sales of Table Master.  In October 2009, the Court denied the Motion for Preliminary Injunction without hearing oral argument and also denied without prejudice our motions for summary judgment. During the discovery process, TableMAX made new allegations that certain of our Vegas Star products infringe one of the patents in the Second Complaint. In January 2010, TableMAX filed a Second Amended Complaint, which has materially the same allegations as the Second Complaint, except that it alleges that Vegas Star infringes all of the patents in suit.  However, a document produced in the discovery process appears to limit TableMAX's allegations of infringement regarding Vegas Star to only one of TableMAX's patents in suit.

The Court set the Markman hearing for December 2010.  In November 2010, the Court granted our Motion to Stay because of pending reexamination proceedings that were initiated at our request before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) as to all of the patents in suit.  Additionally, in June 2012, the USPTO granted our petitions to reexamine two of the patents in suit, which patents were previously granted a Reexamination Certificate.   At present, the case remains stayed.  The Company believes that it has meritorious defenses and intends to continue to vigorously defend this matter.

Macau Rapid Baccarat Patent Issue – In June 2009, customs officials from Macau SAR seized a Rapid Baccarat unit displayed by SHFL entertainment (Asia) Limited (“SHFL Asia”) at the G2E Asia Gaming Show.  This seizure related to a claim by Jay Chun (“Chun”) of alleged patent infringement.  In October 2009, the Office of the Public Prosecutor dismissed the investigation after a series of appeals and procedural developments.  Chun has appealed to the Investigation Judge and the proceedings were dismissed by the Investigation Judge. From this decision Chun has appealed to the Second Instance Court. The matter has been remanded from the Macau Second Instance Court to the Investigation Court “Tribunal de Instrução Criminal” for further proceedings.   On January 10, 2013, the Investigation Court formally served accusation on SHFL Asia.  According to the public records, in February 2013, the Trial Hearing was scheduled for April 18, 2013.    We believe that we have meritorious defenses and are vigorously defending this matter.

On or about May 4, 2012, Chun along with Natural Noble Limited (“Natural Noble”), which is a company that we believe may be controlled by Chun (collectively, the "Natural Noble Plaintiffs"), obtained an ex parte decision from a Macau court allegedly enjoining one of our subsidiaries.  The injunction was requested and ordered against an Australian entity allegedly named   Shuffle Master Asia Limited, which entity does not exist, rather than our subsidiary SHFL Asia.  The injunction sought to prevent us from displaying any products that infringe the Natural Noble Plaintiffs’ patents during the 2012 G2E Asia Gaming Show, even though the decision did not specify which of our products displayed at the G2E Asia Gaming Show would allegedly infringe such patents.  After initially agreeing with Macau customs officials’ request to cover our Rapid Table Games Multi Game product, we received court approval to post a bond of approximately $0.1 million to enable our subsidiary SHFL Asia to display the Rapid Table Games Multi Game product at the G2E Asia Gaming Show.  In November 2012, a higher court in Macau agreed to hear our appeal of the injunction, giving us the opportunity, for the first time, to contradict the facts and the arguments proffered by the Natural Noble Plaintiffs in support of the injunction, and to attempt to recover the bond of approximately $0.1 million and prove the lack of merit of the injunction. On February 20, 2013, the arguments of appeal have been submitted to the Macau Second Instance Court.

On June 4, 2012, the Natural Noble Plaintiffs and LT Game Limited, a company that we believe may be controlled by Chun (collectively, the “LT Game Plaintiffs”), filed a writ of summons with a Macau court seeking monetary damages and other civil relief as a result of the alleged infringement of the Natural Noble Plaintiffs’ patents by SHFL Asia and SHFL entertainment, Inc. at the 2012 G2E Asia Gaming Show.  We have submitted our defenses and counterclaims in this matter and are vigorously defending this matter.

In July 2012, LT Game International Ltd., a company that we believe may be controlled by Chun, filed a complaint against SHFL entertainment, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada alleging unfair competition and tortious interference with current and prospective business and contractual relations as a result of our alleged disparagement and misrepresentations regarding LT Game International Ltd.’s business, products and services.  The complaint seeks injunctive relief and an unspecified amount of damages, including claims for reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements, costs, statutory damages under the Lanham Act, treble damages and profits.  We believe that this complaint is without merit and we are vigorously defending this matter.

On October 5, 2012, SHFL Asia filed a lawsuit with a Macau court against the LT Game Plaintiffs and Paradise Entertainment, Inc. (collectively “Paradise Defendants”), a company that we believe is the ultimate parent company of LT Game Limited and Natural Noble.  This lawsuit seeks an injunction against the Paradise Defendants’ assertions of monopolistic rights, whereby the Paradise Defendants claim that their respective patents cover multi-game terminal betting as a concept or generic invention.  The lawsuit alleges that the Paradise Defendants have made statements of such monopolistic rights, publicly and to SHFL Asia’s customers, to the detriment of SHFL Asia’s business and such statements claim patent protection beyond the legal scope of patent protection in Macau.  The lawsuit further alleges that the Paradise Defendants’ patents are not novel, and thus the Paradise Defendants cannot restrict SHFL Asia and others from selling or using multi-game terminal betting products in Macau.  We believe that we have a meritorious case and are vigorously pursuing this claim.

We are also subject to a variety of other claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe the liabilities, if any, which may ultimately result from the outcome of such matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse impact on our financial position, liquidity or results of operations.