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Legal Proceedings
6 Months Ended
Oct. 27, 2012
Legal Proceedings

(19) Legal Proceedings

The Company is involved in a variety of claims, suits, investigations and proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, including actions with respect to contracts, intellectual property, taxation, employment, benefits, securities, personal injuries and other matters. The results of these proceedings in the ordinary course of business are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

The Company records a liability when it believes that it is both probable that a liability will be incurred, and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company evaluates, at least quarterly, developments in its legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued and makes adjustments as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both probability and the estimated amount of a loss or potential loss. The Company may be unable to reasonably estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss for a particular legal contingency for various reasons, including, among others: (i) if the damages sought are indeterminate; (ii) if proceedings are in the early stages; (iii) if there is uncertainty as to the outcome of pending proceedings (including motions and appeals); (iv) if there is uncertainty as to the likelihood of settlement and the outcome of any negotiations with respect thereto; (v) if there are significant factual issues to be determined or resolved; (vi) if the proceedings involve a large number of parties; (vii) if relevant law is unsettled or novel or untested legal theories are presented; or (viii) if the proceedings are taking place in jurisdictions where the laws are complex or unclear. In such instances, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the ultimate resolution of such matters, including a possible eventual loss, if any. With respect to the legal matters described below, the Company has determined, based on its current knowledge, that the amount of loss or range of loss, that is reasonably possible including any reasonably possible losses in excess of amounts already accrued, is not reasonably estimable. However, legal matters are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond the Company’s control. As such, there can be no assurance that the final outcome of these matters will not materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

The following is a discussion of the material legal matters involving the Company.

In re Barnes & Noble Stockholder Derivative Litigation (Consolidated Cases Formerly Captioned Separately as: Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System v. Riggio et al.; Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority v. Riggio et al.; City of Ann Arbor Employees’ Retirement System v. Riggio et al.; Louise Schuman v. Riggio et al.; Virgin Islands Government Employees’ Retirement System v. Riggio et al.; Electrical Workers Pension Fund, Local 103, I.B.E.W. v. Riggio et al.)

Between August 17, 2009 and August 31, 2009, five putative shareholder derivative complaints were filed in Delaware Court of Chancery against the Company’s directors. The complaints generally allege breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment in connection with the Company’s entry into a definitive agreement to purchase Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, which was announced on August 10, 2009 (the Transaction). The complaints generally seek damages in favor of the Company in an unspecified amount; costs, fees and interest; disgorgement; restitution; and equitable relief, including injunctive relief. On September 1, 2009, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an Order of Consolidation consolidating the five lawsuits (the Consolidated Cases) and directing plaintiffs to file a consolidated amended complaint. In a related development, on August 27, 2009, the Company received a demand pursuant to Delaware General Corporation Law, Section 220, on behalf of the Electrical Workers Pension Fund, Local 103, I.B.E.W., a shareholder, seeking to inspect certain books and records related to the Transaction. On September 18, 2009, this shareholder filed a shareholder derivative complaint in Delaware Court of Chancery against certain of the Company’s directors alleging breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment and seeking to enjoin the consummation of the Transaction. On October 6, 2009, the plaintiffs in the Consolidated Cases filed a motion seeking to consolidate the later-filed sixth case with the Consolidated Cases. On November 3, 2009, a Consolidated Complaint was filed in the Consolidated Cases. On December 11, 2009, the court entered an order consolidating all actions and appointing co-lead counsel for plaintiffs. The Company and defendants filed motions to dismiss the Consolidated Complaint on January 12, 2010. Plaintiffs filed an Amended Consolidated Complaint on March 16, 2010. The Company and defendants filed motions to dismiss the Amended Consolidated Complaint on April 30, 2010. Plaintiffs filed their response to the motion to dismiss on June 2, 2010. Oral argument on the motions to dismiss was held on October 21, 2010. Following those arguments, the Court denied the Company’s motion to dismiss, denied in part and granted in part the motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Leonard Riggio, Stephen Riggio and Lawrence Zilavy, and denied in part and granted in part the motion to dismiss filed by the remaining defendants, dismissing all claims asserted against Directors George Campbell, Jr. and Patricia Higgins. All defendants except Leonard Riggio moved for summary judgment on December 21, 2011. Briefing on those motions was completed by March 2, 2012. The Court ruled on those motions on March 27, 2012, denying summary judgment as to Defendants Lawrence Zilavy and Michael Del Giudice and granting summary judgment as to, and dismissing all claims against, Defendants Stephen Riggio, Irene R. Miller, Margaret T. Monaco and William Dillard, II. On June 13, 2012, all remaining defendants agreed to settle all remaining claims, subject to receipt of court approval (the Settlement). In the Settlement, the sellers in the Transaction agreed to waive $22,750 of the purchase price by waiving a corresponding principal amount (and interest on) of the junior seller note issued by the Company to the sellers as part of the purchase price of the Transaction. At a hearing on September 4, 2012, the Court approved the Settlement, and the Consolidated Cases were dismissed, on the merits, with prejudice. The court awarded $7,000 in attorney’s fees to plaintiffs to be paid by the Company. Based upon the finalization of these court awarded attorney fees, the Company reversed $4,657 of a previously estimated settlement accrual through selling and administrative expenses in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. This accrual was initially recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Upon approval, the $22,750 reduction in purchase price was recorded as a credit to additional paid in capital. In addition to the reduction in purchase price, $1,542 of interest due to the sellers was forfeited and recorded as a credit to additional paid in capital during the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Lina v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., and Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. et al.

On August 5, 2011, a purported class action complaint was filed against Barnes & Noble, Inc. and Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. in the Superior Court for the State of California making the following allegations against defendants with respect to salaried Store Managers at Barnes & Noble stores located in the State of California from the period of August 5, 2007 to present: (1) failure to pay wages and overtime; (2) failure to pay for missed meal and/or rest breaks; (3) waiting time penalties; (4) failure to pay minimum wage; (5) failure to provide reimbursement for business expenses; and (6) failure to provide itemized wage statements. The claims are generally derivative of the allegation that these salaried managers were improperly classified as exempt from California’s wage and hour laws. The complaint contains no allegations concerning the number of any such alleged violations or the amount of recovery sought on behalf of the purported class. The Company was served with the complaint on August 11, 2011. On August 30, 2011, the Company filed an answer in state court, and on August 31, 2011 it removed the action to federal court pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d). On October 28, 2011, the district court granted plaintiff’s motion to remand the action back to state court, over the Company’s opposition. On November 7, 2011, the Company petitioned the Ninth Circuit for an appeal of the district court’s remand order. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s remand order on May 18, 2012. The parties are currently engaged in pre-certification discovery. The state court has not yet set a date for plaintiff’s anticipated motion for class certification, and it has not yet set a trial date.

 

Barnes & Noble, Inc. and Barnesandnoble.com llc v. LSI Corporation and Agere Systems, Inc.

On June 6, 2011, Barnes & Noble, Inc. filed a complaint against LSI Corporation (LSI) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. 11-CV-2709 EMC. The complaint sought a declaratory judgment that Barnes & Noble, Inc. does not infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 5,546,420; 5,670,730; 5,862,182; 5,920,552; 6,044,073; 6,119,091; 6,404,732; 6,452,958; 6,707,867 and 7,583,582. Barnes & Noble, Inc. amended the complaint on August 10, 2011 to add barnesandnoble.com llc as a plaintiff, to add Agere Systems, Inc. (Agere) as a defendant, to add a cause of action seeking a declaratory judgment that neither Barnes & Noble, Inc. nor barnesandnoble.com llc infringes U.S. Patent No. 7,477,633, and to add causes of action seeking a declaratory judgment that each of the eleven patents-in-suit is invalid. On November 1, 2011, LSI and Agere answered the amended complaint and asserted counterclaims against Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc, alleging infringement of the eleven patents-in-suit. On November 28, 2011, Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc answered the counterclaims and asserted several affirmative defenses, including the defense that seven of the patents-in-suit are unenforceable as a result of standard-setting misconduct. As required by the District Court’s Local Patent Rules, LSI and Agere served their Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions on July 2, 2012. In that disclosure, LSI and Agere asserted infringement of only six of the eleven patents that it had previously accused Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc of infringing. The District Court has set certain pretrial dates in the case, including a claim construction hearing beginning on April 29, 2013. The District Court has not yet set a trial date in the case.

Dustin Torrez, an individual, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Barnes & Noble, Inc.

On October 11, 2011, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Francisco against the Company. The complaint is styled as a California state-wide class action. It alleges violations of California Civil Code section 1747.08 (the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971) due to the Company’s alleged improper requesting and recording of zip codes from California customers who used credit cards as payment. The complaint was re-filed in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Francisco on December 23, 2011 as a separate action. The Summons and Complaint have not been served on the Company for either action. On February 10, 2012, the plaintiff filed a request that the action filed in December be dismissed with prejudice.

Kevin Khoa Nguyen, an individual, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Barnes & Noble, Inc. 

On April 17, 2012, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Orange against the Company. The complaint is styled as a nationwide class action and includes a California state-wide subclass based on alleged cancellations of orders for HP TouchPad Tablets placed on the Company’s website in August 2011. The lawsuit alleges claims for unfair business practices and false advertising under both New York and California state law, violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act under California law, and breach of contract. The complaint demands specific performance of the alleged contracts to sell HP TouchPad Tablets at a specified price, injunctive relief, and monetary relief, but does not specify an amount. The Company submitted its initial response to the complaint on May 18, 2012, and moved to compel plaintiff to arbitrate his claims on an individual basis pursuant to a contractual arbitration provision on May 25, 2012. The court denied the Company’s motion to compel arbitration, and the Company has appealed that denial to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Company has also moved to stay proceedings pending appeal of the denial of the motion to compel arbitration, moved to dismiss the complaint, and moved to transfer the action to New York. The court has not yet ruled on the motion to stay, motion to dismiss, or motion to transfer.

Deep9 Corporation v. Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc

On January 1, 2011, Deep9 Corporation (Deep9) filed a complaint against Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The complaint alleges that Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 5,937,405 and 6,377,951. On February 1, 2011, Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc filed an answer denying infringement and asserting several affirmative defenses. At the same time, Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc filed counterclaims seeking a declaratory judgment that neither Barnes & Noble, Inc. nor barnesandnoble.com llc infringes the patents-in-suit and that each of the two patents-in-suit is invalid. The District Court issued an order regarding claim construction on January 10, 2012 and amended that order on January 24, 2012. On September 21, 2012, the District Court granted Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement as to both of Deep9’s patents-in-suit, and entered judgment in favor of Barnes & Noble, Inc. and barnesandnoble.com llc. On October 16, 2012, Deep9 filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Deep9’s appeal currently is pending.

Technology Properties Limited et al. v. Barnes & Noble Inc., et al.

On July 24, 2012, Technology Properties Limited, LLC, Phoenix Digital Solutions, LLC, and Patriot Scientific Corporation (collectively, TPL) submitted a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), captioned Certain Wireless Consumer Electronics Devices and Components thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-853, requesting that the ITC institute an investigation pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The complaint alleges that the sale for importation into the United States, the importation, and/or the sale within the United States after importation of Barnes & Noble, Inc.’s NOOKTM products infringe certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,809,336. The complaint also asserts similar claims against the products of 23 other Respondents. The complaint requests that the ITC issue a permanent exclusion order and a permanent cease-and-desist order with respect to these products. On August 21, 2012, the ITC issued a Notice of Institution of Investigation and delegated authority for factfinding on the public interest to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing the case. On September 24, 2012, Barnes & Noble filed a response to the complaint, denying that its products infringe the ‘336 patent and denying that it has engaged in any action that would constitute unlawful sale for importation into the United States, importation, or sale within the United States after importation. Barnes & Noble also asserted ten affirmative defenses. The ALJ subsequently set a procedural schedule that governs the investigation, with the following important dates: fact discovery ends on February 22, 2013; initial expert reports are due March 27, 2013; and expert discovery ends on May 1, 2013. The trial is scheduled for June 3 to June 14, 2013, with a final initial determination due by September 6, 2013, and a target date for ITC resolution of the investigation on January 6, 2014. On September 28, 2012, Co-Respondent Sierra Wireless filed a motion seeking to terminate the investigation due to TPL’s alleged lack of candor toward the ITC in failing to disclose ongoing California state court litigation that calls into question the proper ownership of the ‘336 patent. On October 16, 2012, Barnes & Noble and several Co-Respondents filed a motion to stay the investigation, asking the ALJ to provide sufficient time for the California state court to resolve the ownership dispute. Those motions are currently pending before the ALJ.

Also on July 24, 2012, TPL filed a complaint against Barnes & Noble, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint similarly alleges that Barnes & Noble is infringing the ‘336 patent through the importation and sale in the United States of NOOKTM products. The complaint also alleges that Barnes & Noble is infringing two other patents in the same patent family: U.S. Patent No. 5,440,749 and U.S. Patent No. 5,530,890. On September 21, 2012, TPL and Barnes & Noble filed a stipulation agreeing to stay the action pending final resolution of the ITC action. On September 26, 2012, the District Court granted the motion to stay.

PIN Pad Litigation

As previously disclosed, the Company discovered that PIN pads in certain of its stores had been tampered with to allow criminal access to card data and PIN numbers on credit and debit cards swiped through the terminals. Following public disclosure of this matter on October 24, 2012, the Company has been served with a complaint in one putative class action and understands that three additional putative class actions also have been filed. The complaints are brought in federal district courts in the Northern Districts of California and Illinois and allege on behalf of national and other classes of customers who swiped credit and debit cards in Barnes & Noble stores common-law claims such as claims for negligence, breach of contract and invasion of privacy, as well as statutory claims such as violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, state data breach notification statutes, and state unfair and deceptive practices statutes. The actions seek various forms of relief including damages, injunctive or equitable relief, multiple or punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest. The four actions of which the Company is aware, in order of filing, are: Nowak v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on October 27, 2012; Winstead v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on October 29, 2012; Honor et ano. v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 2, 2012; and Dieffenbach v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on November 9, 2012. The actions are all in their initial phases. It is possible that additional litigation arising out of this matter may be filed on behalf of customers, banks, payment card companies or stockholders seeking damages allegedly arising out of this incident and other related relief.

The Company also has received inquiries related to this matter from the Federal Trade Commission and seven state attorneys general. The Company has responded to these inquiries and is continuing to cooperate with them. In addition, payment card companies and associations may seek to impose fines by reason of the tampering and federal or state enforcement authorities may seek penalties or other remedies against the Company.

 

At this point the Company is unable to predict the developments in, outcome of, and economic and other consequences of pending or future litigation or state and federal inquiries.

Adrea, LLC

Adrea, LLC (Adrea), a joint venture of Sony, Philips, Discovery Networks and Intertrust, has expressed its belief that the Company must enter into a license for its portfolio of patents and patent applications that Adrea considers essential to eReader technology. The Company has expressed its disagreement to Adrea, and has not entered into a license agreement. As of November 15, 2012, no legal proceedings had been initiated.