Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Apr. 29, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Contingencies

14 Contingencies

Litigation

From time to time, the company is party to litigation in the ordinary course of business. Such matters are generally subject to uncertainties and to outcomes that are not predictable with assurance and that may not be known for extended periods of time. Litigation occasionally involves claims for punitive, as well as compensatory, damages arising out of the use of the company’s products. Although the company is self-insured to some extent, the company maintains insurance against certain product liability losses. The company is also subject to litigation and administrative and judicial proceedings with respect to claims involving asbestos and the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. Some of these claims assert damages and liability for personal injury, remedial investigations or clean-up and other costs and damages. The company is also occasionally involved in commercial disputes, employment or employment-related disputes, and patent litigation cases in which it is

asserting or defending against patent infringement claims. To prevent possible infringement of the company’s patents by others, the company periodically reviews competitors’ products. To avoid potential liability with respect to others’ patents, the company reviews certain patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and foreign patent offices. The company believes these activities help minimize its risk of being a defendant in patent infringement litigation.

The company records a liability in its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for costs related to claims, including future legal costs, settlements, and judgments, where the company has assessed that a loss is probable and an amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a probable loss is a range, the company records the most probable estimate of the loss or the minimum amount when no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount. The company discloses a contingent liability even if the liability is not probable or the amount is not estimable, or both, if there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss may have been incurred. In the opinion of management, the amount of liability, if any, with respect to these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will not materially affect the company's consolidated results of operations, financial position, or cash flows.

In situations where the company receives, or expects to receive, a favorable ruling related to a litigation settlement, the company follows the accounting standards codification guidance for gain contingencies. The company does not allow for the recognition of a gain contingency within its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements prior to the settlement of the underlying events or contingencies associated with the gain contingency. As a result, the consideration related to a gain contingency is recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements during the period in which all underlying events or contingencies are resolved and the gain is realized.

Litigation Settlement

On November 19, 2020, Exmark Manufacturing Company Incorporated ("Exmark"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and Briggs & Stratton Corporation (“BGG”) entered into a settlement agreement (“Settlement Agreement”) relating to the decade-long patent infringement litigation that Exmark originally filed in May 2010 against Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group, LLC (“BSPPG”), a former wholly-owned subsidiary of BGG (Case No. 8:10CV187, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska) (the “Infringement Action”). In the Infringement Action, Exmark alleged that certain mower decks manufactured by BSPPG infringed an Exmark mower deck patent. Despite favorable judgments in the Infringement Action in favor of Exmark, including with regard to awarded damages, actions by BGG during the second half of calendar year 2020 put in jeopardy the certainty and timing of the eventual receipt of the damages awarded to Exmark in the Infringement Action, including (i) the filing by BGG and certain of its subsidiaries for bankruptcy relief under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (“BGG Bankruptcy”); (ii) the sale of substantially all the assets (but not certain liabilities, including the Infringement Action) of BGG and its subsidiaries to a third-party pursuant to Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code; and (iii) a petition filed by BGG for a panel rehearing of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in the Infringement Action (“Rehearing Petition”).

As a result, on November 19, 2020, Exmark entered into the Settlement Agreement with BGG which provided, among other things, that (i) upon approval by the bankruptcy court, and such approval becoming final and nonappealable, BGG agreed to pay Exmark $33.65 million (“Settlement Amount”), (ii) BGG agreed to immediately withdraw the Rehearing Petition and otherwise not pursue additional appellate review regarding the Infringement Action, and (iii) after receipt of the Settlement Amount, Exmark agreed to release a supersedeas appeal bond that had been obtained by BGG to support payment of the damages awarded to Exmark in the Infringement Action. On November 20, 2020, BGG filed a motion to withdraw the Rehearing Petition and on December 16, 2020, the bankruptcy court approved the Settlement Agreement. During January 2021, the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the Settlement Amount was received by Exmark in connection with the settlement of the Infringement Action and at such time, the underlying events and contingencies associated with the gain contingency related to the Infringement Action were satisfied. As such, the company recognized in selling, general and administrative expense within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings during the first quarter of fiscal 2021 (i) the gain associated with the Infringement Action and (ii) a corresponding expense related to the contingent fee arrangement with the company's external legal counsel customary in patent infringement cases equal to approximately 50 percent of the Settlement Amount.