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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 12 Months Ended
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Mar. 29, 2012
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
NOTE 14—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES The Company, in the normal course of business, is party to various legal actions. Except as described below, management believes that the potential exposure, if any, from such matters would not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, cash flows or results of operations of the Company. United States of America v. AMC Entertainment Inc. and American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (No. 99 01034 FMC (SHx), filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California). On January 29, 1999, the Department of Justice (the "Department") filed suit alleging that the Company's stadium style theatres violated the ADA and related regulations. The Department alleged the Company had failed to provide persons in wheelchairs seating arrangements with lines-of-sight comparable to the general public. The Department alleged various non-line-of-sight violations as well. The Company and the Department reached a settlement regarding the extent of betterments and remedies required for line-of-sight violations which the trial court approved on November 29, 2010. On January 21, 2003, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the Department on the non-line-of-sight matters. On December 5, 2003, the trial court entered a consent order and final judgment on non-line-of-sight issues under which the Company agreed to remedy certain violations at its stadium-style theatres and at certain theatres it may open in the future. Currently the Company estimates that these betterments will be required at approximately 140 stadium-style theatres. The Company estimates that the total cost of these betterments will be approximately $60,000,000, and through March 29, 2012 the Company has incurred and capitalized approximately $51,625,000 of these costs. The estimate is based on actual costs incurred on remediation work completed to date. Michael Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (No. CV07-00171). In January 2007, a class action complaint was filed against the Company in the Central District of the United States District Court of California (the "District Court") alleging violations of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACTA"). FACTA provides in part that neither expiration dates nor more than the last 5 numbers of a credit or debit card may be printed on receipts given to customers. FACTA imposes significant penalties upon violators where the violation is deemed to have been willful. Otherwise damages are limited to actual losses incurred by the card holder. On October 11, 2011, the District Court granted final approval of the class action settlement. The settlement did not have a material adverse impact to the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. A Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from the District Court's final approval order was filed by a putative class member who objected to the class settlement in the district court; the appeal is pending. On May 14, 2009, Harout Jarchafjian filed a similar lawsuit alleging that the Company willfully violated FACTA and seeking statutory damages, but without alleging any actual injury (Jarchafjian v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (C.D. Cal. Case No. CV09-03434)). The District Court granted final approval of the class action settlement on October 3, 2011. The settlement did not have a material adverse impact to the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition to the cases noted above, the Company is also currently a party to various ordinary course claims from vendors (including concession suppliers and film distributors), landlords and other legal proceedings. If management believes that a loss arising from these actions is probable and can reasonably be estimated, the Company records the amount of the loss, or the minimum estimated liability when the loss is estimated using a range and no point is more probable than another. As additional information becomes available, any potential liability related to these actions is assessed and the estimates are revised, if necessary. Except as described above, management believes that the ultimate outcome of such other matters, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position or overall trends in results of operations. However, litigation and claims are subject to inherent uncertainties and unfavorable outcomes could occur. An unfavorable outcome could include monetary damages. If an unfavorable outcome were to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on the results of operations in the period in which the outcome occurs or in future periods.

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