COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES AND LEGAL MATTERS

Commitments — As of September 30, 2012, we had unconditional purchase obligations during the next five fiscal years as follows (in thousands):



Fiscal Year	Purchase Obligations
2013	$	404,100
2014	84,800
2015	72,400
2016	69,110
2017	51,400
Total	$	681,810

These obligations primarily represent amounts payable under purchase contracts for goods related to restaurant operations.

Legal matters — The Company is subject to normal and routine litigation brought by former, current or prospective employees, customers, franchisees, vendors, landlords, shareholders or others. The Company assesses contingencies to determine the degree of probability and range of possible loss for potential accrual in its financial statements. An estimated loss contingency is accrued in the financial statements if it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, assessing contingencies is highly subjective and requires judgments about future events. When evaluating contingencies, we may be unable to provide a meaningful estimate due to a number of factors, including the procedural status of the matter in question, the presence of complex or novel legal theories, and/or the ongoing discovery and development of information important to the matters. In addition, damage amounts claimed in litigation against us may be unsupported, exaggerated or unrelated to possible outcomes, and as such are not meaningful indicators of our potential liability. The Company regularly reviews contingencies to determine the adequacy of the accruals and related disclosures. The ultimate amount of loss may differ from these estimates. Although the Company currently believes that the ultimate outcome of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on the results of operations, liquidity or financial position of the Company, it is possible that the results of operations, liquidity, or financial position of the Company could be materially affected in any particular future reporting period by the unfavorable resolution of one or more of these matters or contingencies.