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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
May 03, 2024
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Matters

The Company is involved in various claims, suits, assessments, investigations, and legal proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, including those identified below, consisting of matters involving consumer, antitrust, tax, intellectual property, and other issues on a global basis.

The Company accrues a liability when it believes that it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and that it can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss. The Company reviews these accruals at least quarterly and adjusts them to reflect ongoing negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other relevant information. To the extent new information is obtained and the Company’s views on the probable outcomes of claims, suits, assessments, investigations, or legal proceedings change, changes in the Company’s accrued liabilities are recorded in the period in which such a determination is made. For some matters, the incurrence of a liability is not probable or the amount cannot be reasonably estimated and therefore accruals have not been made.

The following is a discussion of the Company’s significant legal matters and other proceedings:

Class Actions Related to the Class V Transaction — On December 28, 2018, the Company completed a transaction (the “Class V transaction”) in which it paid $14.0 billion in cash and issued 149,387,617 shares of its Class C Common Stock to holders of its Class V Common Stock in exchange for all outstanding shares of Class V Common Stock. As a result of the Class V transaction, the tracking stock feature of the Company’s capital structure associated with the Class V Common Stock was terminated. Certain stockholders of the Company, subsequently brought class action complaints arising out of the Class V transaction in which they named as defendants (collectively, the “defendants”) Michael S. Dell and certain other directors serving on the Company’s board of directors at the time of the Class V transaction (collectively, the “director defendants”), certain stockholders of the Company, consisting of Mr. Dell and Silver Lake Group, L.L.C. and certain of its affiliated funds (collectively, the “stockholder defendants”), and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“Goldman Sachs”), which served as financial advisor to the Company in connection with the transaction. The plaintiffs generally alleged that the director defendants and the stockholder defendants breached their fiduciary duties under Delaware law to the former holders of the Class V Common Stock in connection with the Class V transaction by offering a transaction value that was allegedly billions of dollars below fair value.

As previously reported, during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended February 3, 2023, the plaintiffs and the defendants entered into an agreement to settle the lawsuit. Under the terms of the settlement, the plaintiffs agreed to the dismissal of all claims upon payment of a total of $1.0 billion (the “settlement amount”), which includes all costs, expenses and fees of the plaintiff class relating to the action and its resolution. On May 16, 2023, during the fiscal year ended February 2, 2024, the Company paid the settlement amount following approval of the settlement by the Delaware Court of Chancery. This matter is no longer material to the Company.
R2 Semiconductor Patent Litigation — In November 2022, R2 Semiconductor, Inc. (“R2”) filed a lawsuit in the Dusseldorf Regional Court in Germany against Intel Deutschland GmbH, Dell GmbH, and certain other customers of Intel Corporation. R2 asserted that one European patent is infringed by certain Intel processors and those of the Company’s products that incorporate those processors (the “Accused Products”). R2 sought an injunction prohibiting the sale of the allegedly infringing products and damages for the alleged infringement. The Dusseldorf Regional Court (the “Court”) conducted a trial on December 7, 2023, and, on February 7, 2024, issued a decision in favor of R2. The Court’s judgment imposes an injunction prohibiting (among other acts) the sale and use of the Accused Products in Germany by Dell GmbH, and requiring Dell GmbH to issue a communication to certain customers recalling the covered products sold since March 5, 2020. These orders will not take effect until after notice of R2’s payment of the sureties required for enforcement and will remain in place unless stayed or overturned on appeal or until the parties reach an agreement. On February 8, 2024, the Company filed an appeal which is in process with the appellate court. The Court has not yet assessed damages arising out of R2’s claim. In April 2024, R2 filed another action alleging infringement of the same patent in the Judicial Court of Paris, France and seeking an injunction prohibiting the sale of the allegedly infringing products and damages for the alleged infringement. The defendants in the French case include, among others, Intel Corporation and Dell SAS. Additionally, Dell SAS and its co-defendants filed a nullity action against the patent in France. In May 2024, R2 filed a third-party action in the Court of Milan, Italy, against Dell S.p.A., Intel Corporation Italia S.p.A., and other Intel customers alleging infringement of the same patent and seeking similar relief. Intel Corporation has agreed to defend the actions and indemnify the Company and its affiliates against certain losses incurred by the Company in connection with R2’s claims. Given the status of these lawsuits, the nature of the dispute, and the Company’s agreements with Intel Corporation, the Company is unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses that might arise from the litigations.

Other Litigation — Dell does not currently anticipate that any of the other legal proceedings it is involved in will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

In accordance with the relevant accounting guidance, the Company provides disclosures of matters where it is at least reasonably possible that the Company could experience a material loss exceeding the amounts already accrued for these or other proceedings or matters. In addition, the Company also discloses matters based on its consideration of other matters and qualitative factors, including the experience of other companies in the industry, and investor, customer, and employee relations considerations. As of May 3, 2024, the Company does not believe there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss exceeding the amounts already accrued for these or other proceedings or matters has been incurred. However, since the ultimate resolution of any such proceedings and matters is inherently unpredictable, the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially affected in any particular period by unfavorable outcomes in one or more of these proceedings or matters. Whether the outcome of any claim, suit, assessment, investigation, or legal proceeding, individually or collectively, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows will depend on a number of factors, including the nature, timing, and amount of any associated expenses, amounts paid in settlement, damages, or other remedies or consequences.

Indemnifications Obligations

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into various contracts under which it may agree to indemnify other parties for losses incurred from certain events as defined in the relevant contract, such as litigation, regulatory penalties, or claims relating to past performance. Such indemnification obligations may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, payments related to these indemnification obligations have not been material to the Company.

Under the Separation and Distribution Agreement entered into with VMware, Inc. upon completion of the spin-off of VMware, Inc. by means of a special stock dividend (the “VMware Spin-off”), Dell Technologies agreed to indemnify VMware, Inc., each of its subsidiaries and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, as well as any successors and assigns of the foregoing, from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from, among other matters, the liabilities allocated to Dell Technologies as part of the separation of Dell Technologies and VMware, Inc. (individually and together with its subsidiaries, “VMware”) and their respective businesses (the “Separation”). VMware similarly agreed to indemnify Dell Technologies Inc., each of its subsidiaries and each of their respective directors, officers, and employees from and against all liabilities relating to, arising out of or resulting from, among other matters, the liabilities allocated to VMware as part of the Separation. The amounts that VMware and Dell Technologies may be obligated to pay each other could vary depending on the outcome of certain unresolved tax matters, which may not be resolved for several years. Net income tax indemnification receivables from VMware were immaterial as of May 3, 2024 and February 2, 2024.