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Commitments and Contingencies (Text Block) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies [Text Block] | Commitments and Contingencies Guarantees and Indemnifications We are often required to obtain standby letters of credit (LOCs) or bonds in support of our obligations for customer contracts. These standby LOCs or bonds typically provide a guarantee to the customer for future performance, which usually covers the installation phase of a contract and may on occasion cover the operations and maintenance phase of outsourcing contracts. Our available lines of credit, outstanding standby LOCs, and bonds are as follows:
| March 31, 2013 |  | December 31, 2012
| (in thousands)
Credit facilities(1) |  |  |
Multicurrency revolving line of credit | $ | 660,000 |  |  | $ | 660,000 |
Long-term borrowings | (125,000 | ) |  | (140,000 | )
Standby LOCs issued and outstanding | (47,772 | ) |  | (54,328 | )
Net available for additional borrowings and LOCs | $ | 487,228 |  |  | $ | 465,672 |
Unsecured multicurrency revolving lines of credit with various financial institutions |  |  |
Multicurrency revolving lines of credit | $ | 96,864 |  |  | $ | 67,308 |
Standby LOCs issued and outstanding | (28,056 | ) |  | (29,906 | )
Short-term borrowings(2) | (1,537 | ) |  | (851 | )
Net available for additional borrowings and LOCs | $ | 67,271 |  |  | $ | 36,551 |
Unsecured surety bonds in force | $ | 137,002 |  |  | $ | 164,820 |
(1) | See Note 6 for details regarding our secured credit facilities.
(2) | Short-term borrowings are included in "Other current liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
In the event any such standby LOC or bond is called, we would be obligated to reimburse the issuer of the standby LOC or bond; however, we do not believe that any outstanding LOC or bond will be called. We generally provide an indemnification related to the infringement of any patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right on software or equipment within our sales contracts, which indemnifies the customer from and pays the resulting costs, damages, and attorney’s fees awarded against a customer with respect to such a claim provided that (a) the customer promptly notifies us in writing of the claim and (b) we have the sole control of the defense and all related settlement negotiations. We may also provide an indemnification to our customers for third party claims resulting from damages caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of our employees/agents in connection with the performance of certain contracts. The terms of our indemnifications generally do not limit the maximum potential payments. It is not possible to predict the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements. Legal Matters We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims of which the outcomes are subject to significant uncertainty. Our policy is to assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes related to legal matters, as well as ranges of probable losses. A determination of the amount of the liability required, if any, for these contingencies is made after an analysis of each known issue. A liability is recorded and charged to operating expense when we determine that a loss is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. Additionally, we disclose contingencies for which a material loss is reasonably possible, but not probable. Liabilities recorded for legal contingencies at March 31, 2013 were not material to our financial condition or results of operations. In 2010 and 2011, Transdata Incorporated (Transdata) filed lawsuits against four of our customers, CenterPoint Energy (CenterPoint), TriCounty Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Tri-County), San Diego Gas & Electric Company (San Diego), and Texas-New Mexico Power Company (TNMP), as well as several other utilities, alleging infringement of three patents owned by Transdata related to the use of an antenna in a meter. Pursuant to our contractual obligations with our customers, we agreed, subject to certain exceptions, to indemnify and defend them in these lawsuits. The complaints seek unspecified damages as well as injunctive relief. CenterPoint, Tri-County, San Diego, and TNMP have denied all of the substantive allegations and filed counterclaims seeking a declaratory judgment that the patents are invalid and not infringed. In December 2011, the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation consolidated all of these cases in the Western District of Oklahoma for pretrial proceedings. On April 17, 2011, the Oklahoma court stayed the litigation pending the resolution of re-examination proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO). The U.S. PTO has issued re-examination certificates confirming the patentability of the original claims and allowing certain new claims added by TransData. The parties conducted a claim construction hearing on February 5, 2013 on one claim term -- "electric meter circuitry." TransData asserted in the re-examination proceedings that this term should be narrowly interpreted so as to preserve the validity of the patents. The court, by order of February 25, 2013, has rejected TransData's construction and adopted defendants' construction. TransData has moved for reconsideration of the order, and the defendants have moved for summary judgment of invalidity in light of the construction. The remainder of the case has been temporarily stayed pending resolution of these motions. We do not believe this matter will have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, although an unfavorable outcome could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for the period in which such a loss is recognized. In June 2011, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of three patents owned by EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC (EON), related to two-way communication networks, network components, and related software platforms. The complaint seeks unspecified damages as well as injunctive relief. Itron filed a Motion to Sever and Transfer Venue (the Motion) to the Eastern District of Washington, which the court denied in April 2013. The Court has construed key terms of two of the patents and has before it terms of the third patent as well as a motion for summary judgment of indefiniteness on the same patent. We believe these claims are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend our interests. We do not believe this matter will have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, although an unfavorable outcome could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations for the period in which the claim is resolved. Warranty A summary of the warranty accrual account activity is as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2013 |  | 2012
| (in thousands)
Beginning balance | $ | 53,605 |  |  | $ | 79,536 |
New product warranties | 861 |  |  | 2,129 |
Other changes/adjustments to warranties | 2,027 |  |  | 5,831 |
Claims activity | (5,099 | ) |  | (11,320 | )
Effect of change in exchange rates | (640 | ) |  | 1,075 |
Ending balance | 50,754 |  |  | 77,251 |
Less: current portion of warranty | 25,150 |  |  | 48,235 |
Long-term warranty | $ | 25,604 |  |  | $ | 29,016 |
Total warranty expense is classified within cost of revenues and consists of new product warranties issued and other changes and adjustments to warranties. Warranty expense for the three months ended March 31 is as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2013 |  | 2012
| (in thousands)
Total warranty expense | $ | 2,888 |  |  | $ | 7,960 |
Warranty expense decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2013, compared with the same period in 2012. Warranty expense during the three months ended March 31, 2012 reflected a charge of $1.8 million related to cell relay battery replacements in North America, as well as charges of $2.3 million related to certain products in Brazil and France. Extended Warranty A summary of changes to unearned revenue for extended warranty contracts is as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2013 |  | 2012
| (in thousands)
Beginning balance | $ | 31,960 |  |  | $ | 24,448 |
Unearned revenue for new extended warranties | 961 |  |  | 2,946 |
Unearned revenue recognized | (470 | ) |  | (300 | )
Effect of change in exchange rates | (88 | ) |  | 46 |
Ending balance | 32,363 |  |  | 27,140 |
Less: current portion of unearned revenue for extended warranty | 2,285 |  |  | 1,445 |
Long-term unearned revenue for extended warranty within Other long-term obligations | $ | 30,078 |  |  | $ | 25,695 |
Health Benefits We are self insured for a substantial portion of the cost of our U.S. employee group health insurance. We purchase insurance from a third party, which provides individual and aggregate stop-loss protection for these costs. Each reporting period, we expense the costs of our health insurance plan including paid claims, the change in the estimate of incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims, taxes, and administrative fees (collectively, the plan costs). Plan costs are as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31,
| 2013 |  | 2012
| (in thousands)
Plan costs | $ | 4,838 |  |  | $ | 5,661 |
The IBNR accrual, which is included in wages and benefits payable, is as follows:
| March 31, 2013 |  | December 31, 2012
| (in thousands)
IBNR accrual | $ | 2,391 |  |  | $ | 2,552 |
Our IBNR accrual and expenses may fluctuate due to the number of plan participants, claims activity, and deductible limits. For our employees located outside of the United States, health benefits are provided primarily through governmental social plans, which are funded through employee and employer tax withholdings.

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