Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

The Company leases certain equipment and facilities under operating leases, of which rent expense was approximately $4.5 million, $4.8 million and $3.6 million for the years ended September 30, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Rent expense for the Company’s operating leases, which generally have escalating rentals over the term of the lease, is recorded using the straight-line method over the initial lease term whereby an equal amount of rent expense is attributed to each period during the term of the lease, regardless of when actual payments are made. Generally, this results in rent expense in excess of cash payments during the early years of a lease and rent expense less than cash payments in the later years. The difference between rent expense recognized and actual rental payments is recorded as other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

Future minimum annual lease obligations as of September 30, 2015 are as follows:

(in thousands)

2016	$	3,019
2017		2,765
2018		2,373
2019		1,130
2020		1,143
Thereafter		10,711

Total future minimum lease obligations	$	21,141

Legal Matters

Texas Patron Tax

The Company has reached a settlement with the State of Texas over payment of the state’s Patron Tax on adult club customers. To resolve the issue of taxes owed, the Company agreed to pay $10.0 million in equal monthly installments of $119,000, without interest, over the next 84 months for all but two nonsettled locations. Going forward, the Company agreed to remit the Patron Tax on a monthly basis, based on the current rate of $5 per customer. For accounting purposes, the Company has discounted the $10.0 million at an imputed interest rate of 9.6%, establishing a net present value for the settlement of $7.2 million. This is included as long-term debt in the consolidated balance sheets. As a consequence, the Company has recorded an $8.2 million pre-tax gain for the third quarter ending June 30, 2015, representing the difference between the $7.2 million and the amount previously accrued for the tax.

New York Settlement

On April 1, 2015, we and our subsidiaries, RCI Entertainment (New York), Inc. and Peregrine Enterprises, Inc., entered into an agreement to settle in full a New York based federal wage and hour class and collective action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Trial was scheduled to begin April 27, 2015. On September 22, 2015, the Court granted final approval of the settlement. Under the terms of the agreement, Peregrine Enterprises, Inc. was to make up to $15 million available to class members and their attorneys. The actual amount paid was determined based on the number of class members responding by the end of a two month notice period which ended on December 4, 2015. Unclaimed checks or payments reverted back to Peregrine at that time. Based on the current schedule, an initial payment for attorneys’ fees of $1,833,333 was made in October 2015, with two subsequent payments of $1,833,333 each being made in equal annual installments. As part of the settlement, we were required to guarantee the obligations of RCI Entertainment (New York), Inc. and Peregrine Enterprises, Inc. under the settlement.

Filed in 2009, the case claimed Rick’s Cabaret New York misclassified entertainers as independent contractors. Plaintiffs sought minimum wage for the hours they danced and return of certain fees. RCI Entertainment (New York), Inc. and Peregrine Enterprises, Inc. maintained the dancers were properly classified, and alternatively, amounts earned were well in excess of the minimum wage and should satisfy any obligations.

In accordance with GAAP, the Company expensed $11.1 million during the year ended September 30, 2015 as the final liability for its obligations under the settlement. This is included as settlement of lawsuits and other one-time costs in the consolidated statement of income. Of this amount $5.6 million was paid to entertainers and $5.5 million has been or will be paid to the lawyers. As of September 30, 2015 the Company has a total amount of $4.2 million accrued with $2.4 million included in accrued liabilities and $1.8 million included in other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

Indemnity Insurance Corporation

As previously reported, the Company and its subsidiaries were insured under a liability policy issued by Indemnity Insurance Corporation, RRG (“IIC”) through October 25, 2013. The Company and its subsidiaries changed insurance companies on that date.

On November 7, 2013, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware entered a Rehabilitation and Injunction Order (“Rehabilitation Order”), which declared IIC impaired, insolvent and in an unsafe condition and placed IIC under the supervision of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Delaware (“Commissioner”) in her capacity as receiver (“Receiver”). The Rehabilitation Order empowered the Commissioner to rehabilitate IIC through a variety of means, including gathering assets and marshaling those assets as necessary. Further, the order stayed or abated pending lawsuits involving IIC as the insurer until May 6, 2014. Since the expiration of the order the lawsuits have resumed. We are funding 100% of the costs of litigation and will seek reimbursement from the bankruptcy receiver.

On April 10, 2014, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware entered a Liquidation and Injunction Order With Bar Date (“Liquidation Order”), which ordered the liquidation of IIC and terminated all insurance policies or contracts of insurance issued by IIC. The Liquidation Order further ordered that all claims against IIC must be filed with the Receiver before the close of business on January 16, 2015 and that all pending lawsuits involving IIC as the insurer are further stayed or abated until October 7, 2014. As a result, the Company and its subsidiaries no longer have insurance coverage under the liability policy with IIC. Currently, there are multiple civil lawsuits pending or threatened against the Company and its subsidiaries; and other potential lawsuits for incidents that occurred before October 25, 2013 could still be filed. The Company has retained counsel to defend against and evaluate these claims and lawsuits. The Company filed the appropriate claims against IIC with the Receiver before the January 16, 2015 deadline; however, there are no assurances of any recovery from these claims. It is unknown at this time what effect this uncertainty will have on the Company. As previously stated, the Company has obtained general liability coverage from another insurer, effective October 25, 2013, which will cover any claims arising from actions after that date.

Settlement of lawsuits and other one-time costs for the year ended September 30, 2014 include a $2 million settlement with a claimant which was unpaid by our general liability insurance carrier. We have filed a claim with the insurance company’s estate and with the state’s insurance fund for this settlement. This amount is unpaid and is accrued as of September 30, 2015 and 2014.

General

The Company is involved in various suits and claims arising in the normal course of business. The ultimate outcome of these items will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated statements of income or financial position.

The Company has been sued by a landlord in the 33rd Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas for a Houston Bombshells which was under renovation in 2015. The plaintiff alleges RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.’s subsidiary, BMB Dining Services (Willowbrook), Inc., breached a lease agreement by constructing an outdoor patio, which allegedly interfered with the common areas of the shopping center, and by failing to provide Plaintiff with proposed plans before beginning construction. Plaintiff also asserts RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. is liable as guarantor of the lease. The lease was for a Bombshells restaurant to be opened in the Willowbrook Shopping Center in Houston, Texas. Both RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. and BMB Dining Services (Willowbrook), Inc. have denied liability and assert that Plaintiff has failed to mitigate its claimed damages. Further, BMB Dining Services (Willowbrook), Inc. asserts that Plaintiff affirmatively represented that the patio could be constructed under the lease and has filed counter claims and third-party claims against Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s manager, and Plaintiff’s broker asserting that they committed fraud and that the landlord breached the applicable agreements. It is unknown at this time whether the resolution of this uncertainty will have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition.