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Legal Matters | 6 Months Ended
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Sep. 27, 2014
Legal Matters [Abstract] |
Legal Matters | 13. Legal Matters From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings concerning matters arising in connection with the conduct of our business activities. We regularly evaluate the status of legal proceedings in which we are involved in order to assess whether a loss is probable or there is a reasonable possibility that a loss or additional loss may have been incurred and determine if accruals are appropriate. We further evaluate each legal proceeding to assess whether an estimate of possible loss or range of loss can be made. On June 4, 2012, U.S. Ethernet Innovations, LLC (the “Plaintiff”) filed suit against Cirrus Logic and two other defendants in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas. The Plaintiff alleges that Cirrus Logic infringed four U.S. patents relating to Ethernet technology. In its complaint, the Plaintiff indicated that it is seeking unspecified monetary damages, including up to treble damages for willful infringement. We answered the complaint on June 29, 2012, denying the allegations of infringement and seeking a declaratory judgment that the patents in suit were invalid and not infringed. The parties entered into a settlement agreement on May 30, 2013. In exchange for a full release of claims as it relates to the asserted patent, we paid the Plaintiff $0.7 million. This amount is recorded as a separate line item on the consolidated condensed statements of comprehensive income under the caption “Patent infringement settlements, net.” For the case described below, management is unable to provide a meaningful estimate of the possible loss or range of possible loss because, among other reasons, (i) the proceedings are in various stages; (ii) damages have not been sought or specified; (iii) damages are unsupported and/or exaggerated; (iv) there is uncertainty as to the outcome of pending appeals or motions; (v) there are significant factual issues to be resolved; and/or (vi) there are novel legal issues or unsettled legal theories to be presented or a large number of parties. For this case, however, management does not believe, based on currently available information, that the outcome of this proceeding will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. However, the ultimate resolutions of this proceeding and matters are inherently difficult to predict; as such, our operating results could be materially affected by the unfavorable resolution of this proceeding or matters for any particular period, depending, in part, upon the operating results for such period. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against the allegations made in the legal case described below. On June 17, 2014, Enterprise Systems Technologies S.a.r.l. (the “Plaintiff”) filed suit against Cirrus Logic, Inc. in the U.S. District Court, District of Delaware. The Plaintiff alleges that Cirrus Logic indirectly infringes two U.S. patents through the manufacture and sale of digital signal processors, audio codecs, audio processors, and other components included in communications and consumer electronic devices such as smartphones and computers. The Plaintiff is seeking unspecified monetary damages. On July 23, 2014, the Plaintiff filed an amended complaint removing allegations associated with one of the two patents. On August 25, 2014, the lawsuit was stayed pending resolution of the proceedings in the International Trade Commission described below. On July 16, 2014, the Plaintiff requested the International Trade Commission to investigate the impact of certain products that allegedly infringe the same patent asserted in the District Court of Delaware. The Plaintiff is seeking a limited exclusion order against certain Apple, Inc. products that incorporate the Company’s components. The target date for completion of the investigation is December 21, 2015.

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