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Contingencies | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Contingencies |
20. | Contingencies
Litigation Related to Carter Bryant and MGA Entertainment, Inc. In April 2004, Mattel filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Carter Bryant (“Bryant”), a former Mattel design employee. The suit alleges that Bryant aided and assisted a Mattel competitor, MGA Entertainment, Inc. (“MGA”), during the time he was employed by Mattel, in violation of his contractual and other duties to Mattel. In September 2004, Bryant asserted counterclaims against Mattel, including counterclaims in which Bryant sought, as a putative class action representative, to invalidate Mattel’s Confidential Information and Proprietary Inventions Agreements with its employees. Bryant also removed Mattel’s suit to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. In December 2004, MGA intervened as a party-defendant in Mattel’s action against Bryant, asserting that its rights to Bratz properties are at stake in the litigation. Separately, in November 2004, Bryant filed an action against Mattel in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The action sought a judicial declaration that Bryant’s purported conveyance of rights in Bratz was proper and that he did not misappropriate Mattel property in creating Bratz. In April 2005, MGA filed suit against Mattel in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. MGA’s action alleges claims of trade dress infringement, trade dress dilution, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment. The suit alleges, among other things, that certain products, themes, packaging, and/or television commercials in various Mattel product lines have infringed upon products, themes, packaging, and/or television commercials for various MGA product lines, including Bratz. The complaint also asserts that various alleged Mattel acts with respect to unidentified retailers, distributors, and licensees have damaged MGA and that various alleged acts by industry organizations, purportedly induced by Mattel, have damaged MGA. MGA’s suit alleges that MGA has been damaged in an amount “believed to reach or exceed tens of millions of dollars” and further seeks punitive damages, disgorgement of Mattel’s profits and injunctive relief. In June 2006, the three cases were consolidated in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. On July 17, 2006, the Court issued an order dismissing all claims that Bryant had asserted against Mattel, including Bryant’s purported counterclaims to invalidate Mattel’s Confidential Information and Proprietary Inventions Agreements with its employees, and Bryant’s claims for declaratory relief. In November 2006, Mattel asked the Court for leave to file an Amended Complaint that included not only additional claims against Bryant, but also included claims for copyright infringement, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) violations, misappropriation of trade secrets, intentional interference with contract, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty and breach of duty of loyalty, and unfair competition, among others, against MGA, its Chief Executive Officer Isaac Larian, certain MGA affiliates and an MGA employee. The RICO claim alleged that MGA stole Bratz and then, by recruiting and hiring key Mattel employees and directing them to bring with them Mattel confidential and proprietary information, unfairly competed against Mattel using Mattel’s trade secrets, confidential information, and key employees to build their business. On January 12, 2007, the Court granted Mattel leave to file these claims as counterclaims in the consolidated cases, which Mattel did that same day. Mattel sought to try all of its claims in a single trial, but in February 2007, the Court decided that the consolidated cases would be tried in two phases, with the first trial to determine claims and defenses related to Mattel’s ownership of Bratz works and whether MGA infringed those works. On May 19, 2008, Bryant reached a settlement agreement with Mattel and is no longer a defendant in the litigation. In the public stipulation entered by Mattel and Bryant in connection with the resolution, Bryant agreed that he was and would continue to be bound by all prior and future Court Orders relating to Bratz ownership and infringement, including the Court’s summary judgment rulings. The first phase of the first trial, which began on May 27, 2008, resulted in a unanimous jury verdict on July 17, 2008 in favor of Mattel. The jury found that almost all of the Bratz design drawings and other works in question were created by Bryant while he was employed at Mattel; that MGA and Isaac Larian intentionally interfered with the contractual duties owed by Bryant to Mattel, aided and abetted Bryant’s breaches of his duty of loyalty to Mattel, aided and abetted Bryant’s breaches of the fiduciary duties he owed to Mattel, and converted Mattel property for their own use. The same jury determined that defendants MGA, Larian, and MGA Entertainment (HK) Limited infringed Mattel’s copyrights in the Bratz design drawings and other Bratz works, and awarded Mattel total damages of approximately $100 million against the defendants. On December 3, 2008, the Court issued a series of orders rejecting MGA’s equitable defenses and granting Mattel’s motions for equitable relief, including an order enjoining the MGA party defendants from manufacturing, marketing, or selling certain Bratz fashion dolls or from using the “Bratz” name. The Court stayed the effect of the December 3, 2008 injunctive orders until further order of the Court and entered a further specified stay of the injunctive orders on January 7, 2009. The parties filed and argued additional motions for post-trial relief, including a request by MGA to enter judgment as a matter of law on Mattel’s claims in MGA’s favor and to reduce the jury’s damages award to Mattel. Mattel additionally moved for the appointment of a receiver. On April 27, 2009, the Court entered an order confirming that Bratz works found by the jury to have been created by Bryant during his Mattel employment were Mattel’s property and that hundreds of Bratz female fashion dolls infringe Mattel’s copyrights. The Court also upheld the jury’s award of damages in the amount of $100 million and ordered an accounting of post-trial Bratz sales. The Court further vacated the stay of the December 3, 2008 orders, except to the extent specified by the Court’s January 7, 2009 modification. MGA appealed the Court’s equitable orders to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On December 9, 2009, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument on MGA’s appeal and issued an order staying the District Court’s equitable orders pending a further order to be issued by the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit opinion vacating the relief ordered by the District Court was issued on July 22, 2010. The Ninth Circuit stated that, because of several jury instruction errors it identified, a significant portion—if not all—of the jury verdict and damage award should be vacated. In its opinion, the Ninth Circuit found that the District Court erred in concluding that Mattel’s Invention Agreement unambiguously applied to “ideas;” that it should have considered extrinsic evidence in determining the application of the agreement; and if the conclusion turns on conflicting evidence, it should have been up to the jury to decide. The Ninth Circuit also concluded that the District Judge erred in transferring the entire brand to Mattel based on misappropriated names and that the Court should have submitted to the jury, rather than deciding itself, whether Bryant’s agreement assigned works created outside the scope of his employment and whether Bryant’s creation of the Bratz designs and sculpt was outside of his employment. The Court then went on to address copyright issues which would be raised after a retrial, since Mattel “might well convince a properly instructed jury” that it owns Bryant’s designs and sculpt. The Ninth Circuit stated that the sculpt itself was entitled only to “thin” copyright protection against virtually identical works, while the Bratz sketches were entitled to “broad” protection against substantially similar works; in applying the broad protection, however, the Ninth Circuit found that the lower court had erred in failing to filter out all of the unprotectable elements of Bryant’s sketches. This mistake, the Court said, caused the lower court to conclude that all Bratz dolls were substantially similar to Bryant’s original sketches. Judge Stephen Larson, who presided over the first trial, retired from the bench during the course of the appeal, and the case was transferred to Judge David O. Carter. After the transfer, Judge Carter granted Mattel leave to file a Fourth Amended Answer and Counterclaims which focused on RICO, trade secret and other claims, and added additional parties, and subsequently granted in part and denied in part a defense motion to dismiss those counterclaims. Later, on August 16, 2010, MGA asserted several new claims against Mattel in response to Mattel’s Fourth Amended Answer and Counterclaims, including claims for alleged trade secret misappropriation, an alleged violation of RICO, and wrongful injunction. Mattel moved to strike and/or dismiss these claims, as well as certain MGA allegations regarding Mattel’s motives for filing suit. The Court granted that motion as to the wrongful injunction claim, which it dismissed with prejudice, and as to the allegations about Mattel’s motives, which it struck. The Court denied the motion as to MGA’s trade secret misappropriation claim and its claim for violations of RICO. The Court resolved summary judgment motions in late 2010. Among other rulings, the Court dismissed both parties’ RICO claims; dismissed Mattel’s claim for breach of fiduciary duty and portions of other claims as “preempted” by the trade secrets act; dismissed MGA’s trade dress infringement claims; dismissed MGA’s unjust enrichment claim; dismissed MGA’s common law unfair competition claim; and dismissed portions of Mattel’s copyright infringement claim as to “later generation” Bratz dolls. Trial of all remaining claims began in early January 2011. During the trial, and before the case was submitted to the jury, the Court granted MGA’s motions for judgment as to Mattel’s claims for aiding and abetting breach of duty of loyalty and conversion. The Court also granted a defense motion for judgment on portions of Mattel’s claim for misappropriation of trade secrets relating to thefts by former Mattel employees located in Mexico. The jury reached verdicts on the remaining claims in April 2011. In those verdicts, the jury ruled against Mattel on its claims for ownership of Bratz-related works, for copyright infringement, and for misappropriation of trade secrets. The jury ruled for MGA on its claim of trade secret misappropriation as to 26 of its claimed trade secrets and awarded $88.5 million in damages. The jury ruled against MGA as to 88 of its claimed trade secrets. The jury found that Mattel’s misappropriation was willful and malicious. In early August 2011, the Court ruled on post-trial motions. The Court rejected MGA’s unfair competition claims and also rejected Mattel’s equitable defenses to MGA’s misappropriation of trade secrets claim. The Court reduced the jury’s damages award of $88.5 million to $85.0 million. The Court awarded MGA an additional $85.0 million in punitive damages and approximately $140 million in attorney’s fees and costs. The Court entered a judgment which totaled approximately $310 million in favor of MGA. On August 11, 2011, Mattel appealed the judgment, challenging on appeal the entirety of the District Court’s monetary award in favor of MGA, including both the award of $170 million in damages for alleged trade secret misappropriation and approximately $140 million in attorney’s fees and costs. On January 24, 2013, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Mattel’s appeal. In that ruling, the Court found that MGA’s claim for trade secrets misappropriation was not compulsory to any Mattel claim and could not be filed as a counterclaim-in-reply. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals vacated the portion of the judgment awarding damages and attorney’s fees and costs to MGA for prevailing on its trade secrets misappropriation claim, totaling approximately $172.5 million. It ruled that, on remand, the District Court must dismiss MGA’s trade secret claim without prejudice. In its ruling, the Court of Appeals also affirmed the District Court’s award of attorney’s fees and costs under the Copyright Act. Accordingly, Mattel recorded a litigation accrual of approximately $138 million during the fourth quarter of 2012 to cover these fees and costs. Because multiple claimants asserted rights to the attorney’s fees portion of the judgment, on February 13, 2013, Mattel filed a motion in the District Court for orders permitting Mattel to interplead the proceeds of the judgment and releasing Mattel from liability to any claimant based on Mattel’s payment of the judgment. On February 27, 2013, MGA filed a motion for leave to amend its prior complaint in the existing federal court lawsuit so that it could reassert its trade-secrets claim. Mattel opposed that motion. On December 17, 2013, the District Court denied MGA’s motion for leave to amend and entered an order dismissing MGA’s trade-secrets claim without prejudice. Also on December 17, 2013, following a settlement between MGA and certain insurance carriers, the District Court denied Mattel’s motion for leave to interplead the proceeds of the judgment. On December 21, 2013, a stipulation regarding settlement with insurers and payment of judgment was filed in the District Court, which provided that (i) Mattel would pay approximately $138 million, including accrued interest, in full satisfaction of the copyright fees judgment, (ii) all parties would consent to entry of an order exonerating and discharging the appeal bond posted by Mattel, and (iii) MGA’s insurers would dismiss all pending actions related to the proceeds of the copyright fees judgment, including an appeal by Evanston Insurance Company in an action against Mattel that was pending in the Ninth Circuit. On December 23, 2013, Mattel paid the copyright fees judgment in the total sum, including interest, of approximately $138 million. On December 26, 2013, the District Court entered an order exonerating and discharging the appeal bond posted by Mattel, and on December 27, 2013, MGA filed an acknowledgment of satisfaction of judgment. On December 30, 2013, Evanston Insurance Company’s appeal in its action against Mattel was dismissed. On January 13, 2014, MGA filed a new, but virtually identical, trade-secrets claim against Mattel in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Mattel was served with the complaint on January 23, 2014. In its complaint, MGA purports to seek damages in excess of $1 billion. Mattel believes that MGA’s claim should be barred as a matter of law, and intends to vigorously defend against it. Accordingly, Mattel believes that the risk that Mattel will incur a loss on this claim is remote, and therefore, a liability has not been accrued as of September 30, 2014. Litigation Related to Yellowstone do Brasil Ltda. Yellowstone do Brasil Ltda. (formerly known as Trebbor Informática Ltda.) was a customer of Mattel’s subsidiary Mattel do Brasil Ltda. when a commercial dispute arose between Yellowstone and Mattel do Brasil regarding the supply of product and related payment terms. As a consequence of the dispute, in April 1999, Yellowstone filed a declarative action against Mattel do Brasil before the 15th Civil Court of Curitiba-State of Parana (the “Trial Court”), requesting the annulment of its security bonds and promissory notes given to Mattel as well as requesting the Trial Court to find Mattel do Brasil liable for damages incurred as a result of Mattel do Brasil’s alleged abrupt and unreasonable breach of an oral exclusive distribution agreement between the parties relating to the supply and sale of toys in Brazil. Yellowstone’s complaint sought alleged loss of profits of approximately $1 million (historical value), plus an unspecified amount of damages consisting of: (i) compensation for all investments made by Yellowstone to develop Mattel do Brasil’s business; (ii) reimbursement of the amounts paid by Yellowstone to terminate labor and civil contracts in connection with the business; (iii) compensation for alleged unfair competition and for the goodwill of trade; and (iv) compensation for non-pecuniary damages. Mattel do Brasil filed its defenses to these claims and simultaneously presented a counterclaim for unpaid accounts receivable for goods supplied to Yellowstone in the approximate amount of $4 million (historical value). During the evidentiary phase a first accounting report was submitted by a court-appointed expert. Such report stated that Yellowstone had invested approximately $3 million in its business (historical value). Additionally, the court-appointed expert calculated a loss of profits compensation of approximately $1 million (historical value). Mattel do Brasil challenged the report since it was not made based on the official accounting documents of Yellowstone and since the report calculated damages based only on documents unilaterally submitted by Yellowstone. The Trial Court accepted the challenge and ruled that a second accounting examination should take place in the lawsuit. Yellowstone appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals of the State of Parana (the “Appeals Court”), but it was upheld by the Appeals Court. The second court-appointed expert’s report submitted at trial did not assign a value to any of Yellowstone’s claims and found no evidence of causation between Mattel do Brasil’s actions and such claims. In January 2010, the Trial Court ruled in favor of Mattel do Brasil and denied all of Yellowstone’s claims based primarily on the lack of any causal connection between the acts of Mattel do Brasil and Yellowstone’s alleged damages. Additionally, the Trial Court upheld Mattel do Brasil’s counterclaim and ordered Yellowstone to pay Mattel do Brasil approximately $4 million (historical value). The likelihood of Mattel do Brasil recovering this amount was uncertain due to the fact that Yellowstone was declared insolvent and filed for bankruptcy protection. In February 2010, Yellowstone filed a motion seeking clarification of the decision which was denied. In September 2010, Yellowstone filed a further appeal with the Appeals Court. Under Brazilian law, the appeal was de novo and Yellowstone restated all of the arguments it made at the Trial Court level. Yellowstone did not provide any additional information supporting its unspecified alleged damages. The Appeals Court held hearings on the appeal in March and April 2013. On July 26, 2013, the Appeals Court awarded Yellowstone approximately $17 million in damages, as adjusted for inflation and interest. The Appeals Court also awarded Mattel approximately $8 million on its counterclaim, as adjusted for inflation. On August 2, 2013, Mattel filed a motion with the Appeals Court for clarification since the written decision contained clear errors in terms of amounts awarded and interest and inflation adjustments. Mattel’s motion also asked the Appeals Court to decide whether Yellowstone’s award could be offset by the counterclaim award, despite Yellowstone’s status as a bankrupt entity. Yellowstone also filed a motion for clarification on August 5, 2013. A decision on the clarification motions is expected in the fourth quarter of 2014. Mattel intends to appeal the Appeals Court decision to both the Superior Court of Justice and the Federal Supreme Court (collectively, the “Superior Courts”), based on both procedural and substantive grounds. Mattel believes that it is reasonably possible that a loss in this matter could range from $0 to approximately $21 million. The high end of this range, approximately $21 million, is based on the calculation of the current amount of the damages and loss of profits, including interest and inflation adjustments, reported in the first court-appointed examination report submitted in the lawsuit, plus attorney’s fees. Mattel do Brasil may be entitled to offset its counterclaim award of approximately $8 million, current amount including inflation adjustment, against such loss. The existence of pending motions for clarification filed by both parties and the resulting clarification decision expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of 2014, as well as the procedural aspects of an appeal to the Superior Courts, adds some uncertainty to the final outcome of the matter. Mattel is awaiting the outcome of the clarification decision before it files an appeal with the Superior Courts. Mattel believes, however, that it has valid legal grounds for appeal of the Appeals Court decision and does not believe that a loss is probable for this matter. Accordingly, a liability has not been accrued as of September 30, 2014. Mattel may be required by the Trial Court to place a bond or the full amount of the damage award in escrow pending an appeal decision by the Superior Courts.

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