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Commitments and Contingencies
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6 Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jun. 30, 2011
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| Commitments and Contingencies | 7. Commitments and Contingencies In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to proceedings, lawsuits, claims and other matters, including those that relate to the environment, health and safety, employee benefits, export compliance, intellectual property, tax matters, and other regulatory compliance and general matters, including those described below. The Company is subject to governmental investigations and requests for information from time to time. As previously reported prior to Teradata's Separation from NCR, the United States Department of Justice is conducting an investigation regarding the propriety of the Company's arrangements or understandings with others in connection with certain federal contracts and the adequacy of certain disclosures related to such contracts. The investigation arises in connection with civil litigation in federal district court filed under the qui tam provisions of the civil False Claims Act against a number of information technology companies, including the Company. The complaints against the Company remain under seal. The Company has conducted its analysis of such claims focusing on the propriety of certain transactions under federal programs under which Teradata was a contractor. The Company has shared evidence with the Justice Department of questionable conduct that the Company uncovered, has cooperated with the Justice Department in its investigation, and is in settlement discussions with the government to resolve this matter. A separate portion of the government's investigation relates to the adequacy of pricing disclosures made to the government in connection with negotiation of NCR's General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule as it relates to Teradata, prior to the Company's Separation from NCR, and to whether certain subsequent price reductions were properly passed on to the government. Both NCR and the Company are participating in this aspect of the investigation, with respect to certain products and services of each, and each will assume financial responsibility for its own exposures, if any, without indemnification from the other. The Company has an accrual of approximately $3 million related to the current best estimate of probable liability relating to these matters. The Company believes the amounts provided in its financial statements are adequate in light of the probable and estimable liabilities. The Company believes that there is not a reasonable possibility that the loss in respect of these contingent matters will materially exceed the liability reflected in the Company's financial statements, although there can be no assurance that this will in fact be the case. Guarantees and Product Warranties. Guarantees associated with the Company's business activities are reviewed for appropriateness and impact to the Company's financial statements. Periodically, the Company's customers enter into various leasing arrangements coordinated with a leasing company. In some instances, the Company guarantees the leasing company a minimum value at the end of the lease term on the leased equipment. As of June 30, 2011, the maximum future payment obligation of this guaranteed value and the associated liability balance was $2 million. The Company provides its customers a standard manufacturer's warranty and records, at the time of the sale, a corresponding estimated liability for potential warranty costs. Estimated future obligations due to warranty claims are based upon historical factors such as labor rates, average repair time, travel time, number of service calls and cost of replacement parts. For each consummated sale, the Company recognizes the total customer revenue and records the associated warranty liability using pre-established warranty percentages for that product class.
The following table identifies the activity relating to the warranty reserve for the six months ended June 30:
The Company also offers extended and/or enhanced coverage to its customers in the form of maintenance contracts. The Company accounts for these contracts by deferring the related maintenance revenue over the extended and/or enhanced coverage period. Costs associated with maintenance support are expensed as incurred. Amounts associated with these maintenance contracts are not included in the table above. In addition, the Company provides its customers with certain indemnification rights. In general, the Company agrees to indemnify the customer if a third party asserts patent or other infringement on the part of the customer for its use of the Company's products. The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with the officers and directors of its subsidiaries. From time to time, the Company also enters into agreements in connection with its acquisition and divesture activities that include indemnification obligations by the Company. The fair value of these indemnification obligations is not readily determinable due to the conditional nature of the Company's potential obligations and the specific facts and circumstances involved with each particular agreement, and as such the Company has not recorded a liability in connection with these indemnification arrangements. Historically, payments made by the Company under these types of agreements have not had a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. |
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