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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Minimum Future Rental Payments  

Minimum future rental payments under non-cancelable operating leases having remaining terms in excess of one year as of March 31, 2018 are as follows:
Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2018
 
(in thousands)

2019
 
$
2,556

2020
 
2,142

2021
 
1,823

2022
 
1,322

2023
 
823

Thereafter
 
1,304

Total minimum future rental payments
 
$
9,970


Total rent expense for operating leases was approximately $2.9 million, $2.8 million, and $2.6 million in Fiscal Years 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively.

Unconditional Purchase Obligations

The Company purchases services and components from a variety of suppliers and manufacturers. During the normal course of business and to manage manufacturing operations and general and administrative activities, the Company may enter into firm, non-cancelable, and unconditional purchase obligations for which amounts are not recorded on the consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2018, the Company had outstanding off-balance sheet third-party manufacturing, component purchase, and other general and administrative commitments of $190.0 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 of 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, the Company also provides indemnification to customers against claims related to undiscovered liabilities, additional product liability, or environmental obligations.  The Company has also entered into indemnification agreements with its directors, officers and certain other personnel 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 of the Company or certain of its affiliated entities. The Company maintains director and officer liability insurance, which may cover certain liabilities arising from its obligation to indemnify its directors, officers and certain other personnel in certain circumstances. It is not possible to determine the aggregate maximum potential loss under these agreements due to the limited history of prior claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular claim. Such indemnification obligations 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. ("GN") filed a complaint against the Company in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (“Court”), alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, Section 3 of the Clayton Act, and tortious interference with business relations in connection with the Company’s distribution of corded and wireless headsets. The case was assigned to Judge Leonard P. Stark. GN sought injunctive relief, total damages in an unspecified amount, plus attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as unspecified legal and equitable relief. GN generally alleged that the Company’s exclusive dealing arrangements with certain distributors stifled competition in the relevant market. In July 2016, the Court issued a sanctions order against Plantronics in the amount of approximately $4.9 million for allegations of spoliation of evidence.
The case was tried to a jury in October 2017, resulting in a verdict in favor of the Company. GN filed a motion for new trial in November 2017, and that motion was denied by the Court in January 2018. The Company filed a motion for attorneys’ fees in November 2017, and that motion was denied by the Court in January 2018. The Company also filed a motion for certain recoverable costs, and the parties stipulated to an amount of approximately $0.2 million which GN paid the Company. If the jury verdict were to be appealed and later overturned on appeal, the Company would have to repay that amount to GN.
On February 12, 2018, GN filed a notice of intent to appeal both the denial of the new trial motion and the Court’s July 2016 spoliation order. The Court has set a briefing schedule for the parties to file their appellate briefs.
In a letter dated May 1, 2017, the Company received a Notice of Proposed Debarment from the General Services Administration ("GSA") informing the Company that the GSA has proposed that the Company be debarred from participation in Federal procurement and non-procurement programs based on a spoliation order issued in the GN litigation matter.  The Company submitted a response to the GSA demonstrating that it is a responsible contractor and that a suspension or debarment is neither necessary to protect the government nor warranted. The GSA found “no cause” for debarment of Plantronics and terminated the proceeding against the Company in August 2017. The GSA required a letter of assurances be filed if additional issues arose, and that requirement was terminated following the successful jury verdict in October 2017.
In addition to the specific matter discussed above, 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 not accrued any amount because none have been deemed probable and estimable. 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.

Polycom Acquisition

On March 28, 2018, we entered into the Purchase Agreement to acquire Polycom for $2.0 billion. The Polycom Transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close by the end of the third calendar quarter of 2018.