Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

Leases: Minimum rental commitments and minimum royalty requirements under all noncancellable operating leases, primarily quarry property, in effect at December 31, 2011 were (in thousands):

Years Ending December 31,
2012	$	5,836
2013	4,999
2014	4,744
2015	3,724
2016	3,293
Later years (through 2099)	13,538
Total	$	36,134

Operating lease rental expense was $9.0 million, $9.9 million and $13.6 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. 

Performance Guarantees

As discussed in Note 6, we participate in various construction joint venture partnerships. All partners in these joint ventures are jointly and severally liable for completion of the total project under the terms of the contract with the project owner. Although our agreements with our joint venture partners provide that each party will assume and pay its share of any losses resulting from a project, if one of our partners was unable to pay its share we would be fully liable under our contract with the project owner. Circumstances that could lead to a loss under these guarantee arrangements include a partner’s inability to contribute additional funds to the venture in the event that the project incurred a loss or additional costs that we could incur should the partner fail to provide the services and resources toward project completion that had been committed to in the joint venture agreement. At December 31, 2011, we had approximately $1.7 billion of construction revenue to be recognized on unconsolidated and line item construction joint venture contracts of which $725.3 million represented our share and the remaining $927.2 million represented our partners’ share. Due to the joint and several liabilities of joint venture arrangements, if one of our joint venture partners fails to perform, we and the remaining joint venture partners would be responsible for the outstanding work. We are not able to estimate other amounts that may be required beyond the remaining cost of the work to be performed. These costs could be offset by billings to the customer or performance bonds. See Note 10 for disclosure of the amounts recorded in our consolidated balance sheets.

Surety Bonds

We may provide contract guarantees related to our services or work. These guarantees are backed by various types of surety bonds, instruments that ensure we will perform our contractual obligations pursuant to the terms of our contract with the client. If our services or work under a guaranteed contract are later determined to have a material defect or deficiency, we may be responsible for repairs, monetary damages or other legal remedies. When sufficient information about a material defect or deficiency on a guaranteed contract is determined to be probable, we recognize the cost of repairs and monetary damages. Currently, we have no material defects or deficiencies for which losses have or need to be recognized.