Commitments And Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments And Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments And Contingencies

(12) Commitments and Contingencies

At December 31, 2011, in addition to the $45,165,000 letters of credit secured by investments, Landstar had $33,499,000 of letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Agreement.

In June 2011, Landstar System, Inc. received a Civil Investigative Demand (the "CID") from the United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky issued pursuant to the False Claims Act. The CID requests documents and written interrogatories limited to freight hauled to or from Fort Campbell, Kentucky by certain subsidiaries of the Company and billed to the U.S. government. The Company submitted its response to the CID in August 2011. Since that time, the Company has cooperated fully, and intends to continue to cooperate fully with the U.S. Attorney.

On September 23, 2011, a jury sitting in a state court in Cobb County, Georgia, entered a damage award of approximately $40.2 million (such amount, plus pre-judgment interest and a portion of plaintiffs' attorney fees in an amount not yet determined are collectively referred to herein as the "Damage Award") against Landstar Ranger, Inc., Landstar System Holdings, Inc. and Landstar System, Inc. The Damage Award arises out of an accident that occurred in February, 2007, involving a truck owner-operator leased to Landstar Ranger, Inc. Under the terms of the commercial trucking insurance program that Landstar had in place in 2007, Landstar retained liability for up to $5 million with respect to the accident giving rise to the Damage Award. Landstar has third party insurance in place covering all amounts of the Damage Award in excess of such retention, including all related out-of-pocket expenses, such as the costs of an appeal bond, post-judgment interest and attorney fees comprising the Damage Award. The Company recorded a $5 million charge representing its self-insured retention in respect of this accident in the consolidated financial results of the Company in the 2007 first quarter. Accordingly, the Company's portion of the Damage Award was previously recorded and therefore did not reduce consolidated operating income or net income for the Company's 2011 fiscal year. Under the terms of the Company's insurance policies, the Company is the primary obligor of the amount of the Damage Award, and as such, the Company has reported a $40.2 million receivable from the third party insurance providers in other receivables and a corresponding liability of the same amount in insurance claims in the consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2011. The Company and its insurers intend to appeal the Damage Award. No assurances can be given regarding the outcome of such appeal, including the impact of the Damage Award on the premiums charged by the Company's third party insurers for commercial trucking insurance.

The Company is involved in certain claims and pending litigation, including those described herein, arising from the normal conduct of business. Based on knowledge of the facts and, in certain cases, opinions of outside counsel, management believes that adequate provisions have been made for probable losses with respect to the resolution of all such claims and pending litigation and that the ultimate outcome, after provisions therefor, will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company, but could have a material effect on the results of operations in a given quarter or year.