COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Minimum Future Rental Payments

The Company leases certain equipment and facilities under operating leases expiring in various years through fiscal year 2022. Minimum future rental payments under non-cancelable operating leases having remaining terms in excess of one year as of September 30, 2013 are as follows:



Fiscal Year Ending March 31,	(in thousands)
2014 (remaining 6 months)	$	1,997
2015	1,920
2016	1,341
2017	730
2018	652
Thereafter	1,576
Total minimum future rental payments	$	8,216

Total rent expense for operating leases for the three and six months ended September 30, 2013 was $2.6 million and $4.1 million, respectively, which included $1.2 million and $1.5 million, respectively, related to early exit lease charges. Total rent expense for operating leases for the three and six months ended September 30, 2012 was $1.4 million and $2.8 million, respectively.

Unconditional Purchase Obligations

The Company utilizes several outsourcing partners to manufacture sub-assemblies for the Company’s products. These outsourcing partners acquire components and build product based on demand information supplied by the Company, which typically covers periods up to 270 days. The Company also obtains individual components for its products from a wide variety of individual suppliers. Consistent with industry practice, the Company acquires components through a combination of purchase orders, supplier contracts, and open orders based on projected demand information. As of September 30, 2013, the Company had outstanding off-balance sheet third-party manufacturing, component purchase, and other general and administrative commitments of $244.5 million.

Other Guarantees and Obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company may provide indemnifications of varying scope and terms to customers, vendors, lessors, business partners, purchasers of assets or subsidiaries and other parties with respect to certain matters, including, but not limited to, losses arising out of the Company's breach of agreements or representations and warranties made by the Company, services to be provided by the Company, intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties or, with respect to the sale of assets or a subsidiary, matters related to the Company's conduct of business and tax matters prior to the sale. From time to time, the Company indemnifies customers against combinations of loss, expense, or liability arising from various triggering events relating to the sale and use of its products and services. In addition, Plantronics also provides protection to customers against claims related to undiscovered liabilities, additional product liability, or environmental obligations. In addition, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and certain of its officers that will require the Company, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers. The Company maintains director and officer insurance, which may cover certain liabilities arising from its obligation to indemnify its directors and officers in certain circumstances. It is not possible to determine the aggregate maximum potential loss under these indemnification agreements due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Such indemnification agreements might not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, the Company has not incurred material costs as a result of obligations under these agreements and it has not accrued any liabilities related to such indemnification obligations in the condensed consolidated financial statements.

Claims and Litigation

On October 12, 2012, GN Netcom, Inc. sued Plantronics, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging violations of the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and Delaware common law. In its complaint, GN specifically alleges four causes of action: monopolization, attempted monopolization, concerted action in restraint of trade, and tortious interference with business relations. GN claims that Plantronics dominates the market for headsets sold into contact centers in the United States and that a critical channel for sales of headsets to contact centers is through a limited network of specialized independent distributors (“SIDs”). GN asserts that Plantronics attracts SIDs through Plantronics only distributor agreements and the use of these agreements is allegedly illegal. The Company denies each of the allegations in the complaint and is vigorously defending itself. Given the preliminary nature of the case, the Company is unable to estimate an amount or range of any reasonably possible losses resulting from these allegations.

In addition, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings arising in the normal course of conducting business. For such legal proceedings, where applicable, the Company has accrued an amount that reflects the aggregate liability deemed probable and estimable, but this amount is not material to the Company's financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. The Company is not able to estimate an amount or range of any reasonably possible additional losses because of the preliminary nature of many of these proceedings, the difficulty in ascertaining the applicable facts relating to many of these proceedings, the variable treatment of claims made in many of these proceedings, and the difficulty of predicting the settlement value of many of these proceedings; however, based upon the Company's historical experience, the resolution of these proceedings is not expected to have a material effect on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The Company may incur substantial

legal fees, which are expensed as incurred, in defending against these legal proceedings.