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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jul. 01, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies |
Commitments and Contingencies | 9.Commitments and Contingencies Litigation The Company is involved in a number of lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings consisting of intellectual property, employment, consumer, commercial and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. In accordance with ASC 450, “Contingencies” the Company makes accruals and or disclosures, with respect to these matters, where appropriate. Ameranth, Inc. vs Papa John’s International, Inc. In August 2011, Ameranth, Inc. (“Ameranth”) filed various patent infringement actions against a number of defendants, including the Company, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (the “California Court”), which were consolidated by the California Court in October 2012 (the “Consolidated Case”). The Consolidated Case was stayed until January 2018 when Ameranth decided to proceed on only one patent, after the Company received a favorable decision by the Patent and Trademark Office on certain other patents. A Markman hearing was held in December 2017, which did not dispose of Ameranth’s claims, and the California Court set a jury trial date of November 13, 2018 for the claims against the Company. The Company believes this case lacks merit and that it has strong defenses to all of the infringement claims. The Company intends to defend the suit vigorously. However, the Company is unable to predict the likelihood of success of Ameranth’s infringement claims. The Company has not recorded a liability related to this lawsuit as of July 1, 2018, as it does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable. Durling et al v. Papa John’s International, Inc., is a conditionally certified collective action filed in May 2016 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“the New York Court”), alleging that corporate restaurant delivery drivers were not properly reimbursed for vehicle mileage and expenses in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). In July 2018, the New York Court granted a motion to certify a conditional corporate collective class. The Company continues to deny any liability or wrongdoing in this matter and intends to vigorously defend this action. The Company has not recorded any liability related to this lawsuit as of July 1, 2018 as it does not believe a loss is probable or reasonably estimable. Other Matters Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, the Company has experienced negative publicity and consumer sentiment as a result of statements and actions by the Company’s founder and former spokesperson, John H. Schnatter. Mr. Schnatter resigned as Chairman of the Board on July 11, 2018 and a Special Committee of the Board of Directors consisting of all of the independent directors was formed on July 15, 2018 to evaluate and take action with respect to all of the Company’s relationships and arrangements with Mr. Schnatter. Following its formation, the Special Committee terminated Mr. Schnatter’s Founder Agreement, which defined his role in the Company, among other things, as advertising and brand spokesperson for the Company. The Special Committee is also overseeing the previously announced external audit and investigation of all the Company’s existing processes, policies and systems related to diversity and inclusion, supplier and vendor engagement and Papa John’s culture. On July 17, 2018, the Company announced that the Special Committee appointed Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP to oversee the cultural audit and investigation. This audit and investigation is ongoing. In addition, on July 27, 2018, the Company announced that the Board’s Lead Independent Director, Olivia F. Kirtley, had been unanimously appointed by the Board of Directors to serve as Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company experienced, and expects to continue to experience, a decline in sales resulting from the aforementioned negative consumer sentiment. While we are still in the process of gathering and estimating future costs, the Company currently expects to incur costs as a result of the recent events that include, but are not limited to, the following:
| · |  | re-imaging costs at nearly all domestic and international restaurants,
| · |  | costs to accelerate our replacement of certain branded assets and related marketing efforts,
| · |  | financial assistance to domestic franchisees, such as short-term royalty reductions, in an effort to mitigate closings,
| · |  | additional costs for branding initiatives, including but not limited to, launching a new advertising and marketing campaign and promotional activities to mitigate negative consumer sentiment and negative sales trend,
| · |  | costs associated with a third-party audit of the culture at Papa John’s commissioned by the Special Committee as well as costs associated with implementing new policies and procedures to address any findings as a result of the audit, and
| · |  | additional legal and advisory costs, including costs associated with the activities of the Special Committee.
The Company expects these costs to be material. On July 26, 2018, John H. Schnatter filed a complaint in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware seeking to inspect certain books and records of the Company. While the Company believes that the request for inspection is not for a proper purpose under Delaware law and includes certain categories of documents relating to the Special Committee to which Mr. Schnatter is not entitled, the Company will comply with any decision of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for commitments and contingencies. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2127136 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2144648 + Details
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