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beatandraise.com

2.2.0.25falsefalse115 - Disclosure - Commitments and Contingenciestruefalsefalse1falsefalseUSDfalsefalse7/1/2010 - 3/31/2011 USD ($) USD ($) / shares $eol_PE1341----1110-Q0005_STD_274_20110331_0http://www.sec.gov/CIK0000080424duration2010-07-01T00:00:002011-03-31T00:00:00iso4217_USDStandardhttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217USDiso42170iso4217_USD_per_sharesDividehttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217USDiso4217http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instanceshares0sharesStandardhttp://www.xbrl.org/2003/instanceshares0USDUSD$5false0us-gaap_CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlockus-gaaptruenadurationNo definition available.falsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalse1falsefalsefalse00<div> <table style="BORDER-COLLAPSE:COLLAPSE" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%" valign="top" align="left">9.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">Commitments and Contingencies</td> </tr> </table> Litigation We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising out of our business which cover a wide range of matters such as governmental regulations, antitrust and trade regulations, product liability, patent and trademark matters, income taxes and other actions. As previously disclosed, the Company is and has been subject to a variety of investigations into potential competition law violations in Europe by the European Commission and national authorities from a number of countries. These matters involve a number of consumer products companies and/or retail customers. The Company’s policy is to comply with all laws and regulations, including all antitrust and competition laws, and to cooperate with investigations by relevant regulatory authorities, which the Company is doing. Competition and antitrust law inquiries often continue for several years and, if violations are found, can result in substantial fines. In response to the actions of the European Commission and national authorities, the Company launched its own internal investigations into potential violations of competition laws. The Company identified violations in certain European countries and appropriate actions were taken.   Several regulatory authorities in Europe have issued separate complaints pursuant to their investigations alleging that the Company, along with several other companies, engaged in violations of competition laws in those countries. The remaining authorities’ investigations are in various stages of the regulatory process. As a result of our initial and on-going analyses of the complaints, as well as final decisions issued by the authorities in Spain and Czech Republic during the quarter ended March 31, 2011 and by the European Commission in April 2011, the Company has reserves totaling $606 million as of March 31, 2011 for potential fines for competition law violations. In accordance with US GAAP, certain of the reserves included in this amount represent the low end of a range of potential outcomes. Accordingly, the ultimate resolution of these matters may result in fines or costs in excess of the amounts reserved that could materially impact our income statement and cash flows in the period in which they are accrued and paid, respectively. We will continue to monitor developments for all of these investigations and will record additional charges as appropriate. With respect to other litigation and claims, while considerable uncertainty exists in the opinion of management and our counsel, the ultimate resolution of the various lawsuits and claims will not materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. We are also subject to contingencies pursuant to environmental laws and regulations that in the future may require us to take action to correct the effects on the environment of prior manufacturing and waste disposal practices. Based on currently available information, we do not believe the ultimate resolution of environmental remediation will have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Income Tax Uncertainties The Company is present in over 150 taxable jurisdictions and, at any point in time, has 50 - 60 audits underway at various stages of completion. We evaluate our tax positions and establish liabilities for uncertain tax positions that may be challenged by local authorities and may not be fully sustained, despite our belief that the underlying tax positions are fully supportable. Uncertain tax positions are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are adjusted in light of changing facts and circumstances, including progress of tax audits, developments in case law and closing of statute of limitations. Such adjustments are reflected in the tax provision as appropriate. We have tax years open ranging from 2001 and forward. Net adjustments to prior-year tax balances for uncertain tax positions resulted in a tax benefit of approximately $424 million in the current year. We are generally not able to reliably estimate the ultimate settlement amounts or timing until the close of the audit. At this time, we are not able to make a reasonable estimate of the range of potential changes to the balance of uncertain tax positions over the next 12 months or the impact of any such changes on the effective tax rate. Additional information on the Commitments and Contingencies of the Company can be found in Note 10, Commitments and Contingencies, which appears in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. </div>9. Commitments and Contingencies Litigation We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising out of our business which cover a wide range offalsefalsefalsefalsefalseOtherus-types:textBlockItemTypestringIncludes disclosure of commitments and contingencies. This element may be used as a single block of text to encapsulate the entire disclosure including data and tables.Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 14 -Paragraph 3 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 5 -Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12 falsefalseCommitments and Contingencies11Commitments and ContingenciesUnKnownUnKnownUnKnownUnKnownfalsetrue