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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
15. Commitments and Contingencies

As part of our normal operations, one of our insurers issues surety bonds for us that are required by various education authorities that regulate us. We are obligated to reimburse our insurer for any of those surety bonds that are paid by the insurer. As of December 31, 2014, the total face amount of those surety bonds was approximately $19,000. As of December 31, 2014, we also had caused approximately $2,352 of letters of credit to be issued to our workers’ compensation insurers and one of our state regulatory agencies.

Our institutions’ failure to submit their 2013 audited consolidated financial statements and the 2013 compliance audits of their administration of the Title IV Programs in which they participate (“Compliance Audits”) to the ED by the due date resulted in sanctions imposed by the ED on our institutions that included, among other things, our institutions having to submit a letter of credit payable to the ED. We caused the ED Letter of Credit in the amount of $79,708 to be issued on October 31, 2014. The term of the ED Letter of Credit ends on November 4, 2019. As of December 31, 2014, the total amount of the outstanding letters of credit that we have caused to be issued was $82,060.

The ED Letter of Credit provides that the ED may draw on the ED Letter of Credit upon certification by the ED that the drafted funds will be used for one or more of the following purposes:

 

    to pay refunds of institutional or non-institutional charges owed to or on behalf of current or former students of our institutions, whether our institutions remain open or have closed;

 

    to provide for the “teach-out” of students enrolled at the time of closure of our institutions; and

 

    to pay any liabilities owing to the ED arising from acts or omissions by our institutions, on or before the expiration of the ED Letter of Credit, in violation of requirements set forth in the HEA, including the violation of any agreement entered into by our institutions with the ED regarding the administration of Title IV Programs.

Lease Commitments. We lease our non-owned facilities under operating lease agreements. A majority of the operating leases contain renewal options that can be exercised after the initial lease term. Renewal options are generally for periods of one to five years. All operating leases will expire over the next nine years and we expect that:

 

    most of those leases will be renewed or replaced by other leases in the normal course of business;

 

    we may purchase the facilities represented by those leases; or

 

    we may purchase or build other replacement facilities.

There are no material restrictions imposed by the lease agreements, and we have not entered into any significant guarantees related to the leases. We are required to make additional payments under the operating lease terms for taxes, insurance and other operating expenses incurred during the operating lease period.

Rent expense under our operating leases was:

 

    $46,268 in the year ended December 31, 2014;

 

    $53,212 in the year ended December 31, 2013; and

 

    $50,817 in the year ended December 31, 2012.

Future minimum rental payments required under our operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2014 are as follows:

 

2015

$ 41,207   

2016

  36,226   

2017

  27,617   

2018

  21,529   

2019

  15,235   

2020 and thereafter

  8,144   
  

 

 

 
$ 149,958   
  

 

 

 

 

Future minimum rental payments related to equipment leases are not significant.

Claims and Contingencies. We are also subject to various claims and contingencies, including those related to litigation, government investigations, business transactions, guarantee arrangements and employee-related matters, among others. We record a liability for those claims and contingencies, if it is probable that a loss will result and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Although we believe that our estimates related to any claims and contingencies are reasonable, we cannot make any assurances with regard to the accuracy of our estimates, and actual results could differ materially.

The following table sets forth the components of our recorded liability related to our claims and contingencies and where the amounts were included on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of the dates indicated:

 

     As of December 31,  
     2014      2013  

CUSO RSA

   $ 0       $ 116,923   

Other

     15,574         8,957   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

$ 15,574    $ 125,880   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other current liabilities

$ 14,976    $ 25,893   

Other liabilities

  598      99,987   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

$ 15,574    $ 125,880   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Other current liabilities primarily represented our estimate of the loss that we believed we would realize during the 12- month period following the dates indicated. The amounts included in Other liabilities primarily related to our estimated contingent liability for the CUSO RSA as of December 31, 2013 (prior to the CUSO Consolidation) and represented our estimate of the loss that we believed we would realize after the 12-month period following the dates indicated and over a period that could exceed ten years. See below for a discussion of the method by which we determined the amount of the contingent liability that we recorded related to our guarantee obligations under the CUSO RSA prior to the CUSO Consolidation.

The following table sets forth the activity with respect to our recorded liability related to our claims and contingencies in the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2014      2013  

Balance as of January 1

   $ 125,880       $ 126,978   

Increases (decreases) from:

     

Additional accruals:

     

CUSO RSA

     2,019         90,964   

Other

     36,634         18,768   

Payments, other, net of recoveries owed of $475 and $574(1)

     (29,542      (14,730

Payments under CUSO RSA, net of recoveries of $466 and 
$103(2)

     (9,139      (2,600

Payments under PEAKS Guarantee, net of estimated recoveries of $0 and $1,408

     (159,255      (1,005

Payments on Behalf of Borrowers

     (1,832      (11,499

Settlement payment – 2007 RSA

     0         (46,000

Elimination of PEAKS Trust intercompany transactions (3)

     161,087         11,118   

Elimination of PEAKS Guarantee accrual (4)

     0         (46,114

Elimination of CUSO intercompany transactions (5)

     4,583         0   

Elimination of CUSO RSA accrual (6)

     (114,861      0   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31

$ 15,574    $ 125,880   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Consists of payments for legal and other contingencies, net of recoveries from charged-off loans made under the CUSO Program that were owed, but had not been remitted, to us.
(2) Consists of payments made under the CUSO RSA, net of recoveries from charged-off CUSO Student Loans that we received or offset against payments owed under the CUSO RSA.
(3) We consolidated the PEAKS Trust in our consolidated financial statements as of February 28, 2013 and, as a result, we eliminated from our consolidated financial statements the amount of payments under the PEAKS Guarantee and Payments on Behalf of Borrowers that we made following the PEAKS Consolidation. See Note 8 – Variable Interest Entities, for a further discussion of the PEAKS Consolidation.
(4) As a result of the PEAKS Consolidation, we eliminated from our consolidated financial statements the contingent liability related to the PEAKS Guarantee that we had previously recorded.

 

(5) We consolidated the CUSO in our consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2014 and, as a result, we eliminated from our consolidated financial statements the amount of payments under the CUSO RSA that we made following the CUSO Consolidation. See Note 8 – Variable Interest Entities, for a further discussion of the CUSO Consolidation.
(6) As a result of the CUSO Consolidation, we eliminated from our consolidated financial statements the contingent liability related to the CUSO RSA that we had previously recorded.

We had guaranteed the repayment of private education loans made by a lender to our students in 2007 and early 2008 (the “2007 RSA”) that the lender charged off above a certain percentage of the total dollar volume of private education loans made under the 2007 RSA. In January 2013, we paid $46,000 in a settlement to absolve us from any further obligations with respect to our guarantee obligations under the 2007 RSA, which amount is included in the Settlement payment – 2007 RSA line item in the year ended December 31, 2013 in the table above.

Prior to the CUSO Consolidation, in order to determine the amount of the contingent liability to record related to our guarantee obligations under the CUSO RSA, we utilized estimates of, among other things, the projected repayment performance of the private education loans made under the CUSO Program, which projections involved numerous assumptions. We consulted with third-party consumer credit consulting firms in developing certain repayment assumptions. Based on those projections and other factors, we estimated the amount of payments that we expected to make and the amounts that we expected to be repaid to us.

In connection with determining the amount of the contingent liability to record related to our guarantee obligations under the CUSO RSA prior to the CUSO Consolidation, we also considered the payment options available to us under the CUSO Program, including our ability to make Discharge Payments under the CUSO RSA. To the extent that we projected that we would have sufficient funds available to make Discharge Payments under the CUSO RSA, we incorporated an assumption that we would make Discharge Payments into our estimate of the amount of payments that we expected to make when determining the contingent liability. If we did not believe that we would have sufficient funds available to make Discharge Payments, we assumed that we would make Regular Payments to satisfy our obligations under the CUSO RSA. We discounted the amount of those expected future monthly Regular Payments at a risk-free rate of interest. Making Discharge Payments results in us paying a lesser amount than we otherwise would have been required to pay under our guarantee obligations in future periods under the CUSO RSA and, therefore, results in an estimated contingent liability amount that is less than if we had assumed that we would make Regular Payments in future periods.

Under the CUSO RSA, we are entitled to all amounts that the CUSO recovers from loans in a particular loan pool made under the CUSO Program that have been charged off, until all payments that we made under the CUSO RSA with respect to that loan pool have been repaid to us by the CUSO. We discounted the amounts of recoveries that we expected would be repaid to us under the CUSO RSA at a risk-free rate of interest. The difference between the amount of the discounted guarantee payments that we expected to make and the discounted amount that we expected would be repaid to us under the CUSO RSA is recorded as the amount of our estimated contingent liability related to our guarantee obligations under the CUSO RSA, prior to the CUSO Consolidation.

In connection with estimating our recorded liability for claims and contingencies as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, we considered whether additional losses for claims and contingencies were reasonably possible, could be estimated and might be material to our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. As with any estimate, as facts and circumstances change, the recorded liability and estimated range of reasonably possible losses could change significantly. With respect to legal proceedings, we determined that we cannot provide an estimate of the possible losses, or the range of possible losses, in excess of the amount, if any, accrued, for various reasons, including but not limited to some or all of the following:

 

    there are significant factual issues to be resolved;

 

    there are novel or unsettled legal issues presented;

 

    the proceedings are in the early stages;

 

    there is uncertainty as to the likelihood of a class being certified or decertified or the ultimate size and scope of the class;

 

    there is uncertainty as to the outcome of pending appeals or motions; and

 

    in many cases, the plaintiffs have not specified damages in their complaint or in court filings.

We have presented legal and professional fees related to certain lawsuits, investigations and accounting matters as a separate line item in our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The amounts included in this line item represent expenses for various lawsuits, investigations and accounting matters that we believe are not representative of those normally incurred in the ordinary course of business. Certain of those lawsuits and investigations are described in detail, below. The expenses for the accounting matters included in this line item relate primarily to services identified as relating to accounting for, and the audit work performed in connection with, the consolidation of the PEAKS Trust and the restatement of our 2013 quarterly consolidated financial statements.

Guarantees. PEAKS Guarantee and Purchase Obligation. Under the PEAKS Guarantee, we guarantee payment of the principal and interest owed on the PEAKS Senior Debt, the administrative fees and expenses of the PEAKS Trust and a minimum required Asset/Liability Ratio. The PEAKS Guarantee contains, among other things, representations and warranties and events of default that we believe are customary for guarantees of this type. In addition, under the PEAKS Program, some or all of the holders of the PEAKS Senior Debt could require us to purchase their PEAKS Senior Debt, if the law is changed to reduce the maximum allowable percentage of our annual revenue derived from Title IV Program funds from 90% to 75% or less. At this time, we believe that the likelihood of such a change in the law is remote. Our guarantee and purchase obligations under the PEAKS Program remain in effect until the PEAKS Senior Debt and the PEAKS Trust’s fees and expenses are paid in full. At such time, we will be entitled to repayment of the amount of any payments we made under the PEAKS Guarantee (which do not include Payments on Behalf of Borrowers) to the extent that funds are remaining in the PEAKS Trust. The PEAKS Senior Debt matures in January 2020 and, therefore, we do not expect to begin receiving any repayment of amounts that we previously paid under the PEAKS Guarantee until February 2020.

We concluded that we were required to consolidate the PEAKS Trust in our consolidated financial statements beginning on February 28, 2013. See Note 8 – Variable Interest Entities, for a further discussion of the PEAKS Consolidation. As a result, the assets and liabilities of the PEAKS Trust have been included on, and all intercompany transactions have been eliminated from, our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2014 and 2013. While we no longer record a contingent liability for the PEAKS Guarantee on our Consolidated Balance Sheet beginning on February 28, 2013, our obligations under the PEAKS Guarantee remain in effect.

PEAKS Program Payments in 2014. In the year ended December 31, 2014, we made payments related to the PEAKS Program of approximately $161,100. Included in this amount were:

 

    the $40,000 payment we made in March 2014 pursuant to the PEAKS Letter Agreement, which is considered to be a payment under the PEAKS Guarantee;

 

    the payments totaling approximately $51,700 that we made from July 2014 through September 2014 to satisfy our obligation under the PEAKS Guarantee with respect to the increased minimum required Asset/Liability Ratio in prior periods;

 

    payments totaling approximately $64,900 that we made from October 2014 through December 2014 to satisfy our obligations under the PEAKS Guarantee with respect to the increased minimum required Asset/Liability Ratio in current and prior periods;

 

    payments totaling approximately $2,700 that we made from March 2014 through September 2014 to satisfy our obligations under the PEAKS Guarantee with respect to interest owed on the PEAKS Senior Debt and administrative fees and expenses of the PEAKS Trust; and

 

    Payments on Behalf of Borrowers of approximately $1,800 that we made in January 2014.

See also “—PEAKS Program and CUSO RSA Payments in Certain Periods” for additional information regarding certain payments we have made related to the PEAKS Program.

Projected PEAKS Guarantee Payments. We believe that it is probable that we will make additional payments under the PEAKS Guarantee and estimate that those payments may be approximately $29,800 in 2015, $4,300 in 2016 and $15,300 in 2020. The vast majority of these payments are expected to reduce the outstanding principal balance of the PEAKS Senior Debt, which would result in an outstanding principal balance of the PEAKS Senior Debt of approximately $59,400 as of December 31, 2015 and $0 as of January 31, 2020. See Note 12 – Debt, for a further discussion of the PEAKS Senior Debt. After the PEAKS Senior Debt matures in January 2020, the PEAKS Trust will continue to collect on PEAKS Trust Student Loans that remain in repayment and collect recoveries on PEAKS Trust Student Loans that have been charged off. The only obligation of the PEAKS Trust, at that time, will be the payment of the fees and expenses of the PEAKS Trust. As a result, we believe that, after that time, we may recover from the PEAKS Trust, in the aggregate, approximately $47,000 of the amount that we have paid or will pay under the PEAKS Guarantee. See below for information regarding the assumptions on which those estimates are based.

The estimated amount and timing of future payments and recoveries with respect to the PEAKS Guarantee discussed above and elsewhere in this report are only estimates, are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to change. As with any estimate, as facts and circumstances change, the estimated amounts and timing could change. We made a number of assumptions in preparing the estimates, which assumptions may not be correct. The assumptions included, among other things, the following:

 

    the repayment performance of the PEAKS Trust Student Loans, the proceeds from which will be used to repay the PEAKS Senior Debt and to pay the fees and expenses of the PEAKS Trust, and the performance of which also affects the Asset/Liability Ratio;

 

    the fact that those loans will consist of a large number of loans of individually immaterial amounts;

 

    the fact that the interest rate on the PEAKS Senior Debt is a variable rate based on the LIBOR plus a margin; and

 

    the amount of fees and expenses of the PEAKS Trust, much of which is based on the principal balance of the PEAKS Trust Student Loans.

CUSO RSA. On February 20, 2009, we entered into the CUSO RSA in connection with the CUSO Program. Under the CUSO RSA, we guarantee the repayment of the principal amount (including capitalized origination fees) and accrued interest payable on any private education loans that are charged off above a certain percentage of the private education loans made under the CUSO Program, based on the annual dollar volume. The total initial principal amount of private education loans that the CUSO purchased under the CUSO Program was approximately $141,000. No new private education loans were or will be originated under the CUSO Program after December 31, 2011, but immaterial amounts related to loans originated prior to that date were disbursed by the lender through June 2012. Our obligations under the CUSO RSA will remain in effect, until all private education loans made under the CUSO Program are paid in full. The standard repayment term for a private education loan made under the CUSO Program is ten years, with repayment generally beginning six months after a student graduates or three months after a student withdraws or is terminated from his or her program of study.

Pursuant to the CUSO RSA, we are required to maintain collateral to secure our guarantee obligation in an amount equal to a percentage of the outstanding balance of the private education loans disbursed to our students under the CUSO Program. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the total collateral maintained in a restricted bank account was approximately $8,600. This amount was included in Collateral deposits on our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of each of those dates. The CUSO RSA also requires that we comply with certain covenants, including that we maintain certain financial ratios which are measured on a quarterly basis and deliver compliance certificates on a quarterly basis setting forth the status of our compliance with those financial ratios. If we are not in compliance with those covenants at the end of each fiscal quarter, we are required to increase the amount of collateral maintained in the restricted bank account to a predetermined amount, until the end of a succeeding quarter at which we are in compliance with those covenants. The predetermined amount is based on the percentage of the aggregate principal balance of the private education loans made under the CUSO Program that exceeds a certain percentage as of the end of each fiscal quarter.

Under the CUSO RSA, we have the right to elect to make Discharge Payments with respect to private education loans made under the CUSO Program that have been charged off. The effect of a making a Discharge Payment related to a private education loan is to reduce the aggregate amount that we may have to pay under our guarantee obligations with respect to that loan. We have claimed as an offset against amounts owed to us under the Revolving Note amounts that would have the effect of discharging our obligations with respect to certain charged off loans under the CUSO RSA. In addition, in the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, we made Discharge Payments to the CUSO. Making Discharge Payments results in us paying amounts to the CUSO in advance of when a guarantee payment would be due, which would negatively impact our liquidity in a particular period, but results in us paying a lesser amount than we otherwise would have been required to pay under our guarantee obligation in future periods under the CUSO RSA. See Note 8 – Variable Interest Entities, for a further discussion of Discharge Payments.

We concluded that we were required to consolidate the CUSO in our consolidated financial statements beginning on September 30, 2014. See Note 8– Variable Interest Entities, for a further discussion of the CUSO Consolidation. As a result, the assets and liabilities of the CUSO have been included on, and all intercompany transactions have been eliminated from, our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2014. While we no longer record a contingent liability for the CUSO RSA on our Consolidated Balance Sheet beginning on September 30, 2014, our obligations under the CUSO RSA remain in effect.

CUSO RSA Payments in 2014. In the year ended December 31, 2014, we made payments under the CUSO RSA of approximately $9,139. Reflected in this amount were:

 

    Regular Payments of $7,028;

 

    a Discharge Payment of $2,577 that we made pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to CUSO RSA (as defined below); and

 

    $466 in recoveries from charged-off loans that were owed to us from the CUSO and that we applied to reduce the amount payable by us to the CUSO pursuant to our offset right.

In the year ended December 31, 2014, the CUSO did not remit to us $475 of recoveries from charged-off loans that were owed to us. See also “—PEAKS Program and CUSO RSA Payments in Certain Periods” for additional information regarding certain payments we have made related to the CUSO Program.

CUSO RSA Amendments. As a consequence of the restatement of our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, certain quarterly compliance certificates that we were required to deliver to the CUSO under the CUSO RSA were inaccurate. Those inaccuracies did not affect our compliance with the financial ratio covenants in the CUSO RSA as of March 31, 2013. We were not, however, in compliance with certain financial ratio covenants in the CUSO RSA as of June 30, 2013 or subsequent fiscal quarter measurement dates through September 30, 2014. Further, due to our failure to timely file our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2014, June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014, we did not timely deliver the required compliance certificates under the CUSO RSA with respect to those periods. As a result of our noncompliance with certain financial ratio covenants as of June 30, 2013 and subsequent fiscal quarter measurement dates through September 30, 2014, the amount of collateral required to be maintained in the restricted bank account would have been increased by approximately $2,600. On November 6, 2014, we entered into a Fourth Amendment to the CUSO RSA with the CUSO (the “Fourth Amendment to CUSO RSA”). The Fourth Amendment to CUSO RSA provides that we are not required to comply with certain financial ratio covenants under the CUSO RSA that we otherwise would not have been in compliance with from June 30, 2013 through September 30, 2014 and that we did not expect to be in compliance with as of December 31, 2014. In lieu of an increase in the required collateral under the CUSO RSA, we made a payment of $2,577 to the CUSO on November 12, 2014, pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to CUSO RSA, which payment was considered a Discharge Payment under the CUSO RSA.

 

On March 17, 2015, we entered into a Fifth Amendment to the CUSO RSA with the CUSO (the “Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA”). The Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA provides that we are not required to comply with certain financial ratio covenants under the CUSO RSA that we otherwise would not have been in compliance with from June 30, 2013 through: (i) March 31, 2015 related to our debt service ratio, and (ii) December 31, 2015 related to our current ratio. Additionally, the Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA provides that for any fiscal quarter end in which the CUSO (or its owned or managed assets) are consolidated into our financial statements that the financial covenant and persistence percentage provisions and the corresponding compliance certificate requirements will be based on our relevant quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC, but excluding the effects of any such consolidation. Furthermore, any financial statements for periods ending prior to March 17, 2015 that we are required to deliver to the CUSO, but have not been delivered as of that date, must be delivered to the CUSO on or before May 31, 2015. In lieu of an increase in the required collateral under the CUSO RSA, we made a payment of $2,709 to the CUSO on March 19, 2015 pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA, which payment was considered a Discharge Payment under the CUSO RSA.

Projected CUSO RSA Payments. We believe that it is probable that we will make additional payments under the CUSO RSA. We are entitled to all amounts that the CUSO recovers from loans in a particular loan pool made under the CUSO Program that have been charged-off, until all amounts that we made under the CUSO RSA with respect to that loan pool have been repaid to us by the CUSO. Pursuant to the CUSO RSA, we have the right to offset amounts that we owe under the CUSO RSA by the amount of recoveries from charged-off loans made under the CUSO Program that are owed, but have not been paid to us. The following table sets forth, in the periods indicated, our projections of the estimated amount of Regular Payments and Discharge Payments that we expect to pay (or that we expect will be owed by us, which amounts could be reduced prior to payment thereof by the amount of recoveries from charged-off loans owed to us as described in the immediately preceding sentence) and the estimated amount of recoveries from charged-off loans that we expect to be paid to us by the CUSO (or that we may utilize to offset a portion of the amounts of Regular Payments or Discharge Payments owed by us):

 

Year

   Estimated
Regular
Payments
     Estimated
Discharge
Payments
    Estimated
Total
Payments
     Estimated
Recoveries
 

2015

   $ 11,723       $ 2,709 (1)    $ 14,432       $ (1,393

2016

     15,895         0        15,895         (1,479

2017

     17,615         0        17,615         (1,545

2018 and later

     0         78,747        78,747         (1,580
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 
$ 45,233    $ 81,456    $ 126,689    $ (5,997
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Represents the Discharge Payment of $2,709 that we made on March 19, 2015 pursuant to the terms of the Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA.

We believe that the vast majority of the $78,747 of estimated payments projected to be paid after 2017 will be made by us in 2018. The estimated future payment amounts and timing related to the CUSO RSA assume, among other factors, that we do not make any Discharge Payments in 2015, 2016 or 2017 (other than the Discharge Payment made in March 2015 pursuant to the terms of the Fifth Amendment to CUSO RSA) and do make Discharge Payments to the fullest extent possible in 2018 and later years. If we do not make the Discharge Payments as assumed in 2018 and later years, we estimate that we would make approximately $100,273 of Regular Payments in 2018 through approximately 2026. Of this amount, approximately $18,600 to $20,000 would be paid annually in each of 2018 through 2021, and approximately $22,700 in the aggregate, would be paid in 2022 through 2026.

The estimated amount and timing of future payments and recoveries with respect to the CUSO RSA discussed above are only estimates, are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to change. As with any estimate, as facts and circumstances change, the estimated amounts and timing could change. We made a number of assumptions in preparing the estimates, which assumptions may not be correct. The assumptions included, among other things, the following:

 

    the repayment performance of the private education loans made under the CUSO Program;

 

    the timing and rate at which those private education loans will be paid;

 

    the changes in the variable interest rates applicable to those private education loans;

 

    the amounts and timing of collections in the future on those private education loans that have been charged off; and

 

    our ability to utilize the available options for payment of our obligations under the CUSO RSA.

 

PEAKS Program and CUSO RSA Payments in Certain Periods. The following table sets forth the approximate aggregate amount of guarantee payments, Discharge Payments and Payments on Behalf of Borrowers that were made related to the PEAKS Program and CUSO RSA and the amount of recoveries from charged-off loans paid to us by the CUSO, in the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  

Type of Payment (Receipt)

   2014     2013  

Guarantee:

    

PEAKS Program

   $ 159,255      $ 2,413 (1) 

CUSO RSA Regular Payments

     6,562 (2)(3)      1,791   

CUSO RSA Discharge Payments

     2,577        912   

Payments on Behalf of Borrowers

     1,832        11,499 (4) 

CUSO RSA-Recoveries from Charged-Off Loans

     0        (103
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

$ 170,226    $ 16,512   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Of this amount, $854 was paid prior to the PEAKS Consolidation.
(2) This amount is net of $466 of recoveries from charged-off loans owed to us that we offset against the amount we owed under the CUSO RSA.
(3) Of this amount, $4,556 was paid prior to the CUSO Consolidation.
(4) Of this amount, $532 was paid prior to the PEAKS Consolidation.

The CUSO did not remit to us, and we did not offset payments under the CUSO RSA for, the following amounts of recoveries from charged-off loans that were owed to us:

 

    $475 in the year ended December 31, 2014; and

 

    $574 in the year ended December 31, 2013.

We recorded the amount of recoveries from charged-off loans that were owed to us, but not paid or offset, as of December 31, 2013 in Prepaid expenses and other current assets on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. The amounts of recoveries from charged-off loans that were owed to us by the CUSO as of December 31, 2014 were not reflected on our consolidated financial statements, since those amounts were intercompany transactions that were eliminated from our financial statements as a result of the CUSO Consolidation.

We also offset the following amounts owed by us under the CUSO RSA against amounts owed to us by the CUSO under the Revolving Note, instead of making additional payments in those amounts:

 

    $0 in the year ended December 31, 2014; and

 

    $8,472 in the year ended December 31, 2013.

We recorded all of the amounts that we claimed as offsets against amounts owed to us under the Revolving Note in Other current liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2013. The amounts that we claimed as offsets against amounts owed to us under the Revolving Note as of December 31, 2014 were not recorded on our consolidated financial statements, since those amounts were intercompany transactions that were eliminated from our financial statements as a result of the CUSO Consolidation.

In the first quarter of 2013, we notified the CUSO that:

 

    we had determined that the CUSO was in default of its obligations to us under the loan and security agreement pursuant to which the Revolving Note was issued (the “CUSO Loan Agreement”);

 

    as a result of that default, all amounts under the Revolving Note were immediately due and payable; and

 

    we would not make payments under the CUSO RSA until we received credit for the full amount due us under the Revolving Note, based on the provisions of the CUSO Loan Agreement and the CUSO RSA that allow us to set off amounts owed by us under the CUSO RSA against amounts owed to us by the CUSO under the Revolving Note.

At that time, the outstanding amount of the Revolving Note due to us was approximately $8,200, representing principal and accrued interest. In response to our notification, the CUSO:

 

    denied that it had defaulted under the CUSO Loan Agreement and, therefore, our ability to accelerate the payment of the Revolving Note; and

 

    refused our demand to immediately pay the Revolving Note in full.

As a consequence, over the period from February 2013 through August 2013, we offset our then current payment obligations under the CUSO RSA and the amount of Discharge Payments we elected to make during that period against all of the CUSO’s obligations owed to us under the Revolving Note (the “Offset”).

We understand that the CUSO’s position is that the Offset was improper, because:

 

    it has not defaulted under the CUSO Loan Agreement; and

 

    even if it had defaulted under the CUSO Loan Agreement, the assets of the CUSO against which we could offset or exercise our other remedies, were limited.

We further understand the CUSO’s position to be that, because the Offset was improper, we are in default under the CUSO RSA. In April 2013, the CUSO notified us that it had taken control of the restricted account containing the cash collateral that we deposited to secure our obligations under the CUSO RSA (the “Collateral”). At that time, the amount of funds in that account was approximately $8,600. To our knowledge, the CUSO has taken no further action related to the Collateral. We believe that our good faith exercise of our right of offset provided for in the CUSO Loan Agreement and the CUSO RSA does not constitute an event of default under the CUSO RSA, and that the CUSO’s seizure of control of the restricted account containing the Collateral constitutes an additional default by the CUSO. We cannot assure you, however, that the Offset will ultimately be determined to have been proper. In the event of a default by us under the CUSO RSA related to the Offset, we may be required to pay to the CUSO approximately $9,200, net of approximately $1,049 of recoveries from charged-off loans that are owed, but have not been paid, to us. If, instead, the CUSO was to withdraw Collateral in that amount from the restricted bank account, we would be required to deposit that amount of cash in the account to maintain the required level of Collateral.

Assessment of Guarantee Contingent Liability. At the end of each reporting period prior to the CUSO Consolidation, we assessed whether we should recognize a contingent liability related to our guarantee obligations under the CUSO RSA and, if so, in what amount. The contingent liability was calculated by estimating the amount and timing of projected future payments that we expected to make under the CUSO RSA and the projected future amounts that we expected to be repaid to us by the CUSO from recoveries of charged-off loans and the timing of those repayments. As with any estimate, as facts and circumstances changed, the recorded liability changed.

In order to estimate the amount of the contingent liability, we made certain assumptions with respect to the performance of the CUSO Student Loans over the life of those loans. The life of a CUSO Student Loan may be in excess of ten years from the date of disbursement. Therefore, our estimates were based on assumptions for periods in excess of ten years, and those assumptions included, among other things, the following:

 

    the repayment performance of the CUSO Student Loans, which includes both payments on non-defaulted loans and recoveries from defaulted, or charged-off, loans;

 

    the timing and rate at which the CUSO Student Loans will be paid;

 

    the changes in the variable interest rates applicable to the CUSO Student Loans;

 

    the amounts and timing of collections that will be collected in the future on CUSO Student Loans that have defaulted; and

 

    our ability to utilize the available options for payment of our obligations under the CUSO RSA.

Because the amount of the contingent liability takes into consideration the projected repayment performance of the CUSO Student Loans that could extend for ten or more years, and the repayment performance data develops over a period that is several years from the date the loans were originated, we continually refined our assumptions based on new data and information. We consulted with third-party consumer credit consulting firms in determining certain repayment performance assumptions.

The projected future payments that we expected to make under the CUSO RSA were based on a methodology to forecast future default rates and amounts, which methodology utilized the historical amount of CUSO Student Loans that had defaulted. The historical default experience by itself, however, may not be indicative of the future default performance of the CUSO Student Loans. Therefore, we made certain assumptions regarding the expected future default performance of the loans. In estimating the projected future amounts that we expected to be repaid to us by the CUSO from recoveries from charged-off loans, we considered the actual collections on defaulted loans made under the CUSO Program, as well as other factors. As the CUSO Student Loans matured, additional data related to the repayment performance of the loans and other information regarding the loans became available to us that we utilized to estimate the related contingent liability. The assumptions used for our projections of future payments and recoveries have changed significantly over time as actual repayment performance became known, which resulted in changes to the estimated contingent liability.

We also considered our ability to utilize Discharge Payments for payment of our obligations under the CUSO RSA in our estimates of the contingent liability. Making Discharge Payments results in an estimated contingent liability amount that is less than if we had assumed we would make Regular Payments in future periods. As circumstances and our future cash flow projections changed over time, we adjusted our assumptions related to our ability to make Discharge Payments, which resulted in an increase in our estimated contingent liability amount in certain periods.

In addition, in certain prior reporting periods, there were disruptions in the servicing of a portion of the CUSO Student Loans, as well as indications that servicing activities were not being performed as required by the applicable servicing agreement, which we believe had a negative impact on the repayment performance of those loans. We cannot predict with any certainty whether other servicing disruptions or servicing issues will occur in the future.

Litigation. We are subject to various litigation. We cannot assure you of the ultimate outcome of any litigation involving us. Although we believe that our estimates related to any litigation are reasonable, deviations from our estimates could produce a materially different result. Any litigation alleging violations of education or consumer protection laws and/or regulations, misrepresentation, fraud or deceptive practices may also subject our affected campuses to additional regulatory scrutiny. The following is a description of pending litigation that falls outside the scope of litigation incidental to the ordinary course of our business.

On December 22, 2008, we were served with a qui tam action that was filed on July 3, 2007 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by a former employee (“relator”) on behalf of herself and the federal government under the following caption:United States of America ex rel. Debra Leveski v. ITT Educational Services, Inc. (the “Leveski Litigation”). We were served with the Leveski Litigation after the U.S. Department of Justice declined to intervene in the litigation. On June 3, 2008, the relator filed an amended complaint in the Leveski Litigation. On September 23, 2009, the court dismissed the Leveski Litigation without prejudice and gave the relator an opportunity to replead her complaint. On October 8, 2009, the relator filed a second amended complaint. In the second amended complaint, the relator alleges that we violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq ., and the HEA by compensating our sales representatives and financial aid administrators with commissions, bonuses or other incentive payments based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or federal financial aid. The relator alleges that all of our revenue derived from the federal student financial aid programs from July 3, 2001 through July 3, 2007 was generated as a result of our violating the HEA. The relator seeks various forms of recovery on behalf of herself and the federal government, including:

 

    treble the amount of unspecified funds paid to us for federal student grants;

 

    treble the amount of unspecified default payments, special allowance payments and interest received by lenders with respect to federal student loans received by our students;

 

    all civil penalties allowed by law; and

 

    attorney’s fees and costs.

A qui tam action is a civil lawsuit brought by one or more individuals (a qui tam “relator”) on behalf of the federal or state government for an alleged submission to the government of a false claim for payment. A qui tam action is always filed under seal and remains under seal, until the government decides whether to intervene in the litigation. Whenever a relator files a qui tam action, the government typically initiates an investigation in order to determine whether to intervene in the litigation. If the government intervenes, it has primary control over the litigation. If the government declines to intervene, the relator may pursue the litigation on behalf of the government. If the government or the relator is successful in the litigation, the relator receives a portion of the government’s recovery.

On August 8, 2011, the district court granted our motion to dismiss all of the relator’s claims in the Leveski Litigation for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and issued a judgment for us. On February 16, 2012, the relator in the Leveski Litigation filed a Notice of Appeal with the 7 th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the final judgment entered by the district court dismissing all claims against us. On March 26, 2012, the district court in the Leveski Litigation awarded us approximately $395 in sanctions against the relator’s attorneys for filing a frivolous lawsuit. Relator’s attorneys also appealed this award to the 7 th Circuit Court of Appeals. On July 8, 2013, the 7 th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s dismissal of the Leveski Litigation for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and the award of sanctions against relator’s attorneys. In addition, the 7 th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the Leveski Litigation back to the district court for further proceedings.

We have defended, and intend to continue to defend, ourselves vigorously against the allegations made in the complaint.

On March 11, 2013, a complaint in a securities class action lawsuit was filed against us and two of our current executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the following caption: William Koetsch, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. ITT Educational Services, Inc., et al. (the “Koetsch Litigation”). On April 17, 2013, a complaint in a securities class action lawsuit was filed against us and two of our current executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the following caption: Massachusetts Laborers’ Annuity Fund, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. ITT Educational Services, Inc., et al (the “MLAF Litigation”). On July 25, 2013, the court consolidated the Koetsch Litigation and MLAF Litigation under the following caption: In re ITT Educational Services, Inc. Securities Litigation (the “New York Securities Litigation”), and named the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund as the lead plaintiffs. On October 7, 2013, an amended complaint was filed in the New York Securities Litigation, and on January 15, 2014, a second amended complaint was filed in the New York Securities Litigation. The second amended complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“the Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by:

 

    our failure to properly account for the 2007 RSA, CUSO RSA and PEAKS Program;

 

    employing devices, schemes and artifices to defraud;

 

    making untrue statements of material facts, or omitting material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

 

    making the above statements intentionally or with reckless disregard for the truth;

 

    engaging in acts, practices, and a course of business that operated as a fraud or deceit upon lead plaintiffs and others similarly situated in connection with their purchases of our common stock;

 

    deceiving the investing public, including lead plaintiffs and the purported class, regarding, among other things, our artificially inflated statements of financial strength and understated liabilities; and

 

    causing our common stock to trade at artificially inflated prices and causing the plaintiff and other putative class members to purchase our common stock at inflated prices.

The putative class period in this action is from April 24, 2008 through February 25, 2013. The plaintiffs seek, among other things, the designation of this action as a class action, an award of unspecified compensatory damages, interest, costs and expenses, including counsel fees and expert fees, and such equitable/injunctive and other relief as the court deems appropriate. On July 22, 2014, the district court denied most of our motion to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. On August 5, 2014, we filed our answer to the second amended complaint denying all of the plaintiffs’ claims and the parties are currently engaged in discovery. Plaintiffs filed their motion for class certification on March 27, 2015. All of the defendants have defended, and intend to continue to defend, themselves vigorously against the allegations made in the second amended complaint.

On September 30, 2014, a complaint in a securities class action lawsuit was filed against us and two of our current executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the following caption: David Banes, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Kevin M. Modany, et al. (the “Banes Litigation”). On October 3, 2014, October 9, 2014 and November 25, 2014, three similar complaints were filed against us and two of our current executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the following captions: Babulal Tarapara, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. ITT Educational Services, Inc. et al. (the “Tarapara Litigation”), Kumud Jindal, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. Kevin Modany, et al.(the “Jindal Litigation”) and Kristopher Hennen, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. ITT Educational Services, Inc. et al. (the “Hennen Litigation”). On November 17, 2014, the Tarapara Litigation and the Jindal Litigation were consolidated into the Banes Litigation. On January 21, 2015, the Hennen Litigation was consolidated into that consolidated action (the “Indiana Securities Litigation”). On December 1, 2014, motions were filed in the Indiana Securities Litigation for the appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel. On March 16, 2015, the court appointed a lead plaintiff and lead counsel. Subsequently, the caption for the Indiana Securities Litigation was changed to the following: In re ITT Educational Services, Inc. Securities Litigation (Indiana).

On May 26, 2015, an amended complaint was filed in the Indiana Securities Litigation. The amended complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by knowingly or recklessly making false and/or misleading statements and failing to disclose material adverse facts about our business, operations, prospects and financial results. Plaintiffs assert that the defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme and course of business and that alleged misstatements and/or omissions by the defendants caused members of the putative class to purchase our securities at artificially inflated prices. The amended complaint includes allegations relating to:

 

    the performance of the PEAKS Program and the CUSO Program;

 

    our guarantee obligations under the PEAKS Program and the CUSO Program;

 

    our accounting treatment of the PEAKS Program and the CUSO Program;

 

    consolidation of the PEAKS Trust in our consolidated financial statements;

 

    the impact of the PEAKS Program and the CUSO Program on our liquidity and overall financial condition;

 

    our compliance with Department of Education financial responsibility standards; and

 

    our internal controls over financial reporting.

The putative class period in the Indiana Securities Litigation is from February 26, 2013 through May 12, 2015. The plaintiffs in the Indiana Securities Litigation seek, among other things, the designation of the action as a proper class action, an award of unspecified compensatory damages against all defendants, interest, costs, expenses, counsel fees and expert fees, and such other relief as the court deems proper. All of the defendants have defended, and intend to continue to defend, themselves vigorously against the allegations made in the amended complaint.

On May 8, 2013, a complaint in a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against three of our current executive officers and all but one of our current Directors in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the following caption: Sasha Wilfred, Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant ITT Educational Services, Inc. v. Kevin M. Modany, et al. (the “Wilfred Litigation”). On August 6, 2013, the parties agreed to stay the Wilfred Litigation until the New York Securities Litigation was dismissed with prejudice or the defendants filed an answer in the New York Securities Litigation. On September 8, 2014, the district court approved the parties’ agreement for an additional stay of the Wilfred Litigation, until the earlier of a final disposition of the New York Securities Litigation or 30 days after written notice terminating the stay was provided by any of the parties in the Wilfred Litigation to all other parties. On October 15, 2014, the plaintiff terminated the stay. Following plaintiff’s termination of the stipulated stay, an amended complaint was filed on November 17, 2014 that alleges, among other things, that the defendants violated state law, including breaching their fiduciary duties to us, grossly mismanaging us, wasting our corporate assets and being unjustly enriched, by:

 

    causing or allowing us to disseminate to our shareholders materially misleading and inaccurate information relating to a series of risk-sharing agreements through SEC filings, press releases, conference calls, and other public statements and disclosures;

 

    willfully ignoring obvious and pervasive problems with our internal controls and practices and procedures, and failing to make a good faith effort to correct these problems or prevent their recurrence;

 

    violating and breaching fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, reasonable inquiry, oversight, good faith and supervision;

 

    causing or allowing us to misrepresent material facts regarding our financial position and business prospects; and

 

    abandoning their responsibilities and duties with regard to prudently managing our businesses in a manner imposed upon them by law.

The amended complaint also refers to certain subsequent events, including the agreement that we entered into with Mr. Modany, dated August 4, 2014, setting forth terms of Mr. Modany’s resignation (the “Modany Letter Agreement”), the CFPB complaint against us, our submission of a letter of credit to the ED, and our receipt of a Wells Notice from the SEC.

The amended complaint seeks:

 

    unspecified damages;

 

    restitution;

 

    disgorgement of all profits, benefits and other compensation obtained by the individual defendants;

 

    an order directing us to take all necessary actions to reform and improve our corporate governance and internal procedures; and

 

    costs and disbursements, including attorneys’, accountants’ and experts’ fees, costs and expenses.

On January 5, 2015, the defendants moved to dismiss or stay the Wilfred Litigation.

On May 27, 2014, a complaint in a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against three of our current executive officers, all but one of our current Directors and one former Director in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware under the following caption: Janice Nottenkamper, Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant ITT Educational Services, Inc. v. Kevin M. Modany, et al. (the “Nottenkamper Litigation”). On November 14, 2014, an amended complaint was filed in the Nottenkamper Litigation. The amended complaint alleges, among other things, that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to us, were unjustly enriched, abused their control of us and grossly mismanaged us by:

 

    causing or allowing us to disseminate to our shareholders materially misleading and inaccurate information relating to a series of risk-sharing agreements through SEC filings, press releases, conference calls, and other public statements and disclosures;

 

    causing or allowing us to misrepresent material facts regarding student financing;

 

    willfully ignoring obvious and pervasive problems with our internal controls and practices and procedures, and failing to make a good faith effort to correct these problems or prevent their recurrence;

 

    violating and breaching fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, good faith, diligence and candor;

 

    causing or allowing us to misrepresent material facts regarding our financial position and business prospects; and

 

    abandoning and abdicating their responsibilities and duties with regard to prudently managing our businesses in a manner imposed upon them by law; and

 

    permitting Mr. Modany to resign as our Chief Executive Officer and allowing us to enter into the Modany Letter Agreement setting forth the terms of Mr. Modany’s resignation.

The amended complaint seeks:

 

    unspecified damages;

 

    restitution;

 

    disgorgement of all profits, benefits and other compensation obtained by the individual defendants;

 

    an order directing us to take all necessary actions to reform and improve our corporate governance and internal procedures; and

 

    costs and disbursements, including attorneys’, accountants’ and experts’ fees, costs and expenses.

On January 13, 2015, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Nottenkamper Litigation, as well as a separate motion to stay the litigation or to transfer the litigation to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. On April 29, 2015, the Nottenkamper Litigation was transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. On May 6, 2015, the Nottenkamper plaintiff moved to consolidate the Nottenkamper Litigation and the Wilfred Litigation.

On December 23, 2014, a complaint in a shareholder derivative lawsuit was filed against three of our current executive officers and all but three of our current Directors in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the following caption: Michelle Lawrence, Derivatively on Behalf of Nominal Defendant ITT Educational Services, Inc. v. Kevin M. Modany, et al. (the “Lawrence Litigation”). The complaint alleges among that the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties to us, abused their control, grossly mismanaged us and were unjustly enriched by:

 

    participating in misrepresentation of our business operations;

 

    failing to correct our public statements;

 

    failing to oversee our business and internal controls;

 

    causing us to issue false and misleading statements of material fact in our consolidated financial statements in our quarterly reports;

 

 

    subjecting us to multiple federal securities fraud class action lawsuits;

 

    causing us to restate our consolidated financial statements in our quarterly reports; and

 

    causing us to receive a Wells Notice from the SEC.

The complaint seeks:

 

    unspecified damages,

 

    restitution

 

    disgorgement of all profits, benefits and other compensation obtained by the individual defendants;

 

    an order directing us to take all necessary actions to reform and improve our corporate governance and internal procedure, including taking action to strengthen the Board’s supervision of operations, procedures for greater shareholder input and for effective oversight of compliance; and

 

    costs and disbursements, including attorneys’ and experts’ fees, costs and expenses.

On March 11, 2015, the district court approved the parties’ agreement to stay the Lawrence Litigation, until the earlier of 30 days after written notice of termination has been provided by any party or the Indiana Securities Litigation is dismissed with prejudice or an answer in the Indiana Securities Litigation is filed.

Although the Wilfred Litigation, Nottenkamper Litigation and Lawrence Litigation are each brought nominally on behalf of us, we expect to incur defense costs and other expenses in connection with those actions.

On May 18, 2012, we received a Civil Investigative Demand (the “Original CID”) from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”). In September 2013, the CFPB withdrew the Original CID, and we received a new Civil Investigative Demand (the “New CID”) from the CFPB. Both the Original CID and the New CID provided that the purpose of the CFPB’s investigation was, in part, “to determine whether for-profit post-secondary companies, student loan origination and servicing providers, or other unnamed persons have engaged or are engaging in unlawful acts or practices relating to the advertising, marketing, or origination of private student loans.” Both the Original CID and the New CID contained broad requests for oral testimony, production of documents and written reports related to private education loans made to our students, internal financing provided to our students and certain other aspects of our business. We provided documentation and other information to the CFPB, while preserving our rights to object to its inquiry.

On February 26, 2014, the CFPB filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the following caption: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. ITT Educational Services, Inc. (the “CFPB Litigation”). The complaint claimed, among other things, that we violated:

 

    Section 1036(a)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (the “CFPA”), 12 U.S.C. § 5536(a)(1), which prohibits unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and practices, from July 21, 2011 through December 2011, by:

 

    subjecting consumers to undue influence or coercing them into taking out private education loans through a variety of unfair acts and practices designed to interfere with the consumers’ ability to make informed, uncoerced choices;

 

    taking unreasonable advantage of consumers’ inability to protect their interest in selecting or using the private education loans; and

 

    taking unreasonable advantage of consumers’ reasonable reliance on us to act in the consumers’ interests; and

 

    the Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1601 et seq., and Regulation Z thereunder, 12 C.F.R. Part 1026, which require certain disclosures to be made in writing to consumers in connection with the extension of consumer credit, since March 2009, by failing to disclose a discount that constituted a finance charge.

We filed a motion to dismiss the CFPB Litigation on several grounds. On March 6, 2015, the court issued an order denying our motion in part and granting it in part, including dismissing the CFPB’s claim under the Truth in Lending Act. On April 8, 2015, we filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court for the Seventh Circuit from the order on the motion to dismiss. We have defended, and intend to continue to defend, ourselves vigorously against the remaining allegations made in the complaint.

On February 27, 2014, the New Mexico Attorney General filed a complaint against us in the District Court of New Mexico under the following caption: State of New Mexico, ex rel. Gary K King, Attorney General v. ITT Educational Services, Inc., et al. (the “New Mexico Litigation”). On April 4, 2014, we removed the New Mexico Litigation to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. In April 2014, the Attorney General filed a motion to remand the New Mexico Litigation to the District Court of New Mexico. The complaint alleges, among other things, that we engaged in a pattern and practice of exploiting New Mexico consumers by using deceptive, unfair, unconscionable and unlawful business practices in the marketing, sale, provision and financing of education goods and services in violation of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. In particular, the complaint contains allegations that:

 

    we misrepresented matters related to our nursing education program, including, without limitation, its programmatic accreditation status, the transferability of credits earned in the program and the curriculum of the program;

 

    we misrepresented the terms of the financial aid available to students and the cost of our programs;

 

    we engaged in unfair or deceptive trade practices;

 

 

    we failed to issue refunds; and

 

    our form enrollment agreement contained unenforceable and unconscionable provisions.

The complaint seeks:

 

    an order declaring portions of our enrollment agreement illusory, unconscionable and unenforceable;

 

    preliminary and permanent injunctive relief;

 

    disgorgement of unjust enrichment amounts;

 

    unspecified civil penalty amounts;

 

    restitution; and

 

    reasonable costs, including investigative costs.

We have defended, and intend to continue to defend, ourselves vigorously against the allegations made in the complaint.

On December 17, 2013, a complaint was filed against us in a purported class action in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles under the following caption: La Sondra Gallien, an individual, James Rayonez, an individual, Giovanni Chilin, an individual, on behalf of themselves and on behalf of all persons similarly situated v. ITT Educational Services, Inc., et al. (the “Gallien Litigation”). The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on February 13, 2014. The amended complaint alleges, among other things, that under California law, we:

 

    failed to pay wages owed;

 

    failed to pay overtime compensation;

 

    failed to provide meal and rest periods;

 

    failed to provide itemized employee wage statements;

 

    engaged in unlawful business practices; and

 

    are liable for civil penalties under the California Private Attorney General Act.

The purported class includes recruiting representatives employed by us during the period of December 17, 2009 through December 17, 2013. The amended complaint seeks:

 

    compensatory damages, including lost wages and other losses;

 

    general damages;

 

    pay for missed meal and rest periods;

 

    restitution;

 

    liquidated damages;

 

    statutory penalties;

 

    interest;

 

    attorneys’ fees, cost and expenses;

 

    civil and statutory penalties;

 

    injunctive relief; and

 

    such other and further relief as the court may deem equitable and appropriate.

We have defended, and intend to continue to defend, ourselves vigorously against the allegations made in the amended complaint.

Kevin M. Modany and Daniel M. Fitzpatrick are named in the New York Securities Litigation, Indiana Securities Litigation, Wilfred Litigation, Nottenkamper Litigation and Lawrence Litigation. John E. Dean is also named in the Wilfred Litigation, Nottenkamper Litigation and Lawrence Litigation.

On May 12, 2015, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action against us, our Chief Executive Officer, Kevin M. Modany, and our Chief Financial Officer, Daniel M. Fitzpatrick, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana under the following caption:United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. ITT Educational Services, Inc., Kevin M. Modany and Daniel M. Fitzpatrick (the “SEC Litigation”). As we previously disclosed, we received several SEC subpoenas beginning on February 8, 2013. The SEC’s subpoenas requested the production of documents and communications that, among other things, relate to our actions, disclosures, and accounting associated with the CUSO Program and the PEAKS Program. We provided the information requested, including testimony of senior employees. On August 7, 2014, we received a “Wells Notice” from the Staff of the SEC notifying us that the Staff had made a preliminary determination to recommend that the SEC file an enforcement action against us. According to the Staff, the enforcement action would allege violations of Sections 10(b), 13(a) and 13(b)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13 and 13a-15 under the Exchange Act. Under the SEC’s procedures, a recipient of a Wells Notice has an opportunity to respond in the form of a Wells submission that seeks to persuade the SEC that such an action should not be brought. We made submissions to the Staff in response to the Wells Notice we received that set forth why the factual record does not support the enforcement action recommended by the Staff and explained that any of our perceived shortcomings were acts taken in good faith. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer each made similar submissions.

The SEC Litigation relates to the matters addressed in the Wells Notice that we received, and the complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b), 13(a) and 13(b)(2) of the Exchange Act; Rules 10b-5, 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13 and 13a-15 under the Exchange Act; and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act. Among other assertions, the complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme and course of business and made various false and misleading statements to our investors relating to the CUSO Program and the PEAKS Program. The remedies sought by the SEC in the complaint include:

 

    a finding that each of the defendants committed the alleged violations;

 

    an injunction permanently restraining and enjoining each of the defendants from violating, directly or indirectly, the laws and rules alleged in the complaint;

 

    an order that Messrs. Modany and Fitzpatrick be permanently prohibited from acting as an officer or director of any public company;

 

    disgorgement of any and all ill-gotten gains, together with pre- and post-judgment interest, derived from the improper conduct alleged in the complaint;

 

    civil money penalties pursuant to Section 20(d) of the Securities Act and Section 21(d) of the Exchange Act in an amount to be determined by the court, plus post-judgment interest;

 

    an order that Messrs. Modany and Fitzpatrick reimburse us for all bonuses, incentive-based and equity-based compensation, and/or profits realized from their sale of our stock pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and

 

    such other relief as the court may deem just or appropriate.

We intend to defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations in the SEC’s complaint. Nevertheless, we cannot predict the outcome of any legal action or whether the matter will result in any settlement. We cannot assure you that the ultimate outcome of the SEC Litigation or any settlement will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows.

There can be no assurance that the ultimate outcome of the Leveski Litigation, New York Securities Litigation, Indiana Securities Litigation, Wilfred Litigation, Nottenkamper Litigation, Lawrence Litigation, CFPB Litigation, New Mexico Litigation, Gallien Litigation, SEC Litigation or other actions (including other actions under federal or state securities laws) will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Certain of our current and former officers and Directors are or may become a party in the actions described above and/or are or may become subject to government investigations. Our By-laws and Restated Certificate of Incorporation obligate us to indemnify our officers and Directors to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, provided that their conduct complied with certain requirements. We are obligated to advance defense costs to our officers and Directors, subject to the individual’s obligation to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that the individual was not entitled to indemnification. In addition, our indemnity obligation can, under certain circumstances, include indemnifiable judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with those actions and investigations.

Government Investigations. We are subject to investigations and claims of non-compliance with regulatory standards and other actions brought by regulatory agencies. The more significant pending investigations, claims and actions are described below. If the results of any investigations, claims and/or actions are unfavorable to us, we may be required to pay money damages or be subject to fines, penalties, injunctions, operational limitations, loss of eligibility to participate in federal or state financial aid programs, debarments, additional oversight and reporting, or other civil and criminal sanctions. Those sanctions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

On October 30, 2012, we received a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) from the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“MAG”). The MAG’s CID provides that the MAG is investigating allegations that we may have violated Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, Section 2(a) by “engaging in unfair or deceptive practices in connection with marketing and advertising job placement and student outcomes, the recruitment of students, and the financing of education.” The MAG’s CID contains broad requests for production of documents related to our students in Massachusetts, including the financial aid available to those students, our recruitment of those students, the career services that we offer to those students, our marketing and advertising, the retention and graduation rates of those students and many other aspects of our business. We are cooperating with the MAG in its investigation, and we have provided documentation, communications and other information to the MAG in response to the CID. We believe that our acts and practices relating to our students in Massachusetts are lawful. There can be no assurance, however, that the ultimate outcome of the MAG investigation will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows.

In January, February, April and May 2014, and in February and March 2015, we received subpoenas and/or CIDs from the Attorneys General of Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington under the authority of each state’s consumer protection statutes. The Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky has informed us that it will serve as the point of contact for the multistate group to respond to questions relating to the subpoenas and CIDs. The subpoenas and CIDs contain broad requests for information and the production of documents related to our students and practices, including marketing and advertising, recruitment, financial aid, academic advising, career services, admissions, programs, licensure exam pass rates, accreditation, student retention, graduation rates and job placement rates, as well as many other aspects of our business. We believe that several other companies in the proprietary postsecondary education sector have received similar subpoenas and CIDs. We are cooperating with the Attorneys General of the states involved. The ultimate outcome of the state Attorneys General investigation, however, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows.