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Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings [Abstract]  
Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings
Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications and Legal Proceedings

We have financial commitments and obligations that arise in the ordinary course of our business. These include long-term debt, capital commitments, lease obligations, and purchase commitments for goods and services, and are discussed in Note 8, Debt; and Note 20, Commitments, Guarantees, Indemnifications, and Legal Proceedings, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in "Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" in our 2013 Form 10-K. Except as disclosed in Note 10, Debt, and in Legal Proceedings below, at March 31, 2014, there have been no other significant changes to commitments outside the normal course of business.

Guarantees and Indemnifications

We provide guarantees, indemnifications, and other assurances to third parties in the normal course of our business. These include tort indemnifications, environmental assurances, and representations and warranties in commercial agreements. At March 31, 2014, we are not aware of any material liabilities arising from any guarantee, indemnification, or financial assurance we have provided. If we determined such a liability was probable and subject to reasonable determination, we would accrue for it at that time.

Legal proceedings

During 2010, PCA and eight other U.S. and Canadian containerboard producers were named as defendants in five purported class action lawsuits filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging violations of the Sherman Act. The lawsuits were consolidated in a single complaint under the caption Kleen Products LLC v Packaging Corp. of America et al. The consolidated complaint alleges that the defendants conspired to limit the supply of containerboard, and that the purpose and effect of the alleged conspiracy was to artificially increase prices of containerboard products during the period of August 2005 to October 2010 (the time of filing of the complaint). The complaint was filed as a class action suit on behalf of all purchasers of containerboard products during such period. On April 4, 2014, we reached an agreement with the representatives of the class to settle this lawsuit for $17.6 million and we recorded a $17.6 million liability for the settlement in "Accrued liabilities" on our March 31, 2014, Consolidated Balance Sheet. On May 6, 2014, the court preliminarily approved the settlement. Notice of the proposed settlement will be mailed to potential class members on or before June 20, 2014. A final approval hearing is scheduled for September 4, 2014.

We are also a party to other legal actions arising in the ordinary course of our business. These legal actions include commercial liability claims, premises liability claims, and employment-related claims, among others. As of the date of this filing, we believe it is not reasonably possible that any of the legal actions against us will, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.