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CONTINGENCIES | 12 Months Ended
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Apr. 28, 2012
CONTINGENCIES [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] | Pending Litigation Certain litigation arising in the normal course of business is pending against us. We, from time to time, are subject to various legal actions and claims incidental to our business, including those arising out of alleged defects, breach of contracts, employment-related matters and environmental matters. We consider insurance coverage and third party indemnification when determining required accruals for pending litigation and claims. Although the outcome of potential legal actions and claims cannot be determined, it is the opinion of our management, based on the information available, that we have adequate reserves for these liabilities and that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements. Delphi Related Litigation On September 4, 2008, Methode and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC (“Delphi”) entered into a supply agreement pursuant to which Methode was to supply all of Delphi’s requirements for the seat bladders used in Delphi’s occupant restraint system from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011. On August 26, 2009, Delphi notified us that effective September 10, 2009, our supply arrangement was terminated. We are contesting Delphi’s right to terminate this long-term supply arrangement and the parties are engaged in litigation regarding this supply agreement and our related intellectual property. In March 2010, DPH Holdings Corp. and certain of its affiliated debtors, as successors to Delphi Corporation and certain of its affiliates (“Delphi”), served the Company with a complaint seeking to recover approximately $19.7 million in alleged preference payments that Delphi made to the Company within the 90-day period preceding Delphi’s bankruptcy filing in October 2005 (the “Complaint”). Delphi is pursuing similar preference complaints against a number of other, unrelated third-parties. The Complaint, dated September 28, 2007, was originally filed under seal with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (titled as Delphi Corporation, et al. v. Methode Electronics, Inc, Adversary Proceeding No. 07-2432) and pursuant to certain court orders, the Complaint was not unsealed and served upon the Company until March 2010. The Company has filed a joinder to third-parties’ motions to dismiss the Delphi preference complaints based on violations of due process and other defenses connected to the unusual manner that Delphi filed and served the preference complaints. Additionally, the Company possesses several other substantive defenses to the Complaint including, but not limited to, the affirmative defenses available under the Bankruptcy Code, statute of limitations, setoff, waiver and estoppel. The Bankruptcy Court ruled on July 22, 2010 that the Complaint did not satisfy certain pleading requirements and dismissed the Complaint without prejudice, granting Delphi leave to re-file an amended complaint. The Court overruled the Company's defenses to the proposed amended complaint relating primarily to pleading issues, and ordered that other defenses would be addressed in subsequent proceedings. Although the outcome of potential legal actions and claims cannot be determined, it is the opinion of our management, based on the information available, that we have adequate reserves for these liabilities and that the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial statements.

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