XML 31 R21.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.23.3
Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
From time-to-time, we are a party to litigation and subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, other proceedings and consent decrees in the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property claims, putative and certified class actions, commercial and consumer protection claims, labor and employment claims, breach of contract claims and other asserted and unasserted claims. We investigate claims as they arise and accrue estimates for resolution of legal and other contingencies when losses are probable and reasonably estimable.
As described in our 2022 Form 10-K, as of December 31, 2022, we had accrued $8.1 million as our estimated loss provision related to the settlement of certain class action complaints alleging violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. On January 19, 2021, a single objector to the settlement filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (the 11th Circuit). On July 27, 2022, the 11th Circuit vacated the settlement approval order and remanded the case for further action due to standing issues among the class members. On August 18, 2022, the plaintiffs filed a petition for a rehearing before the 11th Circuit. On December 7, 2022, the 11th Circuit was notified of the death of one of the plaintiffs, Jason Bennett. On March 13, 2023, the 11th Circuit granted the plaintiffs' petition for a rehearing before the 11th Circuit; the rehearing occurred on June 13, 2023. On July 24, 2023, the en banc 11th Circuit reversed the 11th Circuit's July 27, 2022 decision and remanded the appeal to the 11th Circuit for further action. Given the pending nature of the appeal, we have not adjusted our estimated loss provision for this settlement as of September 30, 2023.
We have denied and continue to deny the allegations in the complaints. Nothing in the final settlement agreement is deemed to assign or reflect any admission of fault, wrongdoing or liability, or of the appropriateness of a class action in such litigation. We received a full release from the settlement class concerning the claims asserted, or that could have been asserted, with respect to the claims released in the final settlement agreement. Our legal fees associated with this matter have been recorded to general and administrative expense as incurred and were not material.
As more fully described in the section titled “Risk Factors” located elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, in March 2020, we discovered that a threat actor group had compromised the hosting login credentials of certain of our customers to their hosting accounts and the login credentials of a small number of our personnel. We have expended resources investigating and responding to this activity, notified the impacted customers, reported the activity to applicable regulatory authorities, and are responding to requests for information regarding our data privacy and security practices, including from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pursuant to Civil Investigative Demands issued in July 2020 and October 2021. The timing of resolution and the outcome of these matters are uncertain and could result in us being subject to substantial monetary or other costs to our business.
The amounts currently accrued for other matters are not material. While the results of such normal course claims and legal proceedings, regardless of the underlying nature of the claims, cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes, based on current knowledge and the likely timing of resolution of various matters, any additional reasonably possible potential losses above the amounts accrued for such matters would not be material. However, the outcomes of claims, legal proceedings or investigations are inherently unpredictable and subject to uncertainty, and may have an adverse effect on us because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors that are not known to us or cannot be quantified at this time. We may also receive unfavorable preliminary or interim rulings in the course of litigation, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained. The final outcome of any current or future claims or lawsuits could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. We periodically evaluate developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued or the reasonably possible losses that we have disclosed, and make adjustments as appropriate.
Indirect Taxes
We are subject to indirect taxation in some, but not all, of the various states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct business. Laws and regulations attempting to subject communications and commerce conducted over the Internet to various indirect taxes are becoming more prevalent, both in the U.S. and internationally, and may impose additional burdens on us in the future. Increased regulation could negatively affect our business directly, as well as the businesses of our customers. Taxing authorities may impose indirect taxes on the Internet-related revenue we generate based on regulations currently being applied to similar, but not directly comparable, industries. There are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate indirect tax determination is uncertain. In addition, domestic and international indirect taxation laws are complex and subject to change. We may be audited in the future, which could result in changes to our indirect tax estimates. We continually evaluate those jurisdictions in which nexus exists, and believe we maintain adequate indirect tax accruals.
Our accrual for estimated indirect tax liabilities was $21.7 million and $18.9 million as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, reflecting our best estimate of the probable liability based on an analysis of our business activities, revenues subject to indirect taxes and applicable regulations. Although we believe our indirect tax estimates and associated liabilities are reasonable, the final determination of indirect tax audits, litigation or settlements could be materially different than the amounts established for indirect tax contingencies.