Litigation

3 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]


10. Litigation

Beginning in May 2019, various legal proceedings were filed and certain regulatory inquiries were commenced in connection with our provision and marketing of free online tax preparation programs. We believe that the allegations contained within these legal proceedings are without merit. We are vigorously defending our interests in the legal proceedings and responding to the inquiries. These proceedings include, among others, multiple putative class actions that were consolidated into a single putative class action in the Northern District of California in September 2019 (the “Intuit Free File Litigation”) and demands for arbitration that were filed beginning in October 2019. In August 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the putative class action claims be resolved through arbitration. Intuit entered into a proposed settlement agreement in November 2020 to resolve the putative class action, which was rejected by the court. On May 20, 2021, Intuit entered into an agreement that resolved the Intuit Free File Litigation on an individual non-class basis, without any admission of wrongdoing, for a non-material amount and, on May 26, 2021, it was dismissed on a non-class basis.

In June 2021, Intuit received a demand and draft complaint from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and certain state attorneys general relating to the ongoing inquiries described above. Although we believe that the allegations contained therein are without merit, if we are not able to reach a resolution, the FTC and one or more state attorneys general may seek resolution through litigation. The defense and resolution of this matter could involve significant costs to us.

As of October 31, 2021, there were approximately 123,000 individual arbitration claims pending and we could incur significant arbitration and legal fees associated with the defense of these claims. The amount of our fiscal 2022 to date and fiscal 2021 arbitration fees net of insurance proceeds and rebates is not material. The arbitration fees are unrelated to the underlying merits of the claims and are accrued for when services are rendered. We could incur additional arbitration fees of approximately $350 million in future periods. We are continuing to dispute the applicability and propriety of these fees. An immaterial number of claims have been resolved through the arbitration process to date and we expect that more claims will continue through the process.

In view of the complexity and ongoing and uncertain nature of the outstanding proceedings and inquiries, at this time we are unable to estimate a reasonably possible financial loss or range of financial loss that we may incur to resolve or settle the remaining matters.

To date, the legal and other fees we have incurred related to these proceedings and inquiries have not been material. The ongoing defense and any resolution or settlement of these proceedings and inquiries could involve significant costs to us.

Intuit is subject to certain routine legal proceedings, including class action lawsuits, as well as demands, claims, government inquiries and threatened litigation, that arise in the normal course of our business, including assertions that we may be infringing patents or other intellectual property rights of others. Our failure to obtain necessary license or other rights, or litigation arising out of intellectual property claims could adversely affect our business. We currently believe that, in addition to any amounts accrued, the amount of potential losses, if any, for any pending claims of any type (either alone or combined) will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. The ultimate outcome of any legal proceeding is uncertain and, regardless of outcome, legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on Intuit because of defense costs, negative publicity, diversion of management resources and other factors.