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Two corporations were engaged in a legal dispute about the infringement of a patent right. Baldwin Products, Inc. and a competitor, Lima Corp., are the parties involved in court litigation. Below is a summary timeline of specific events which have occurred related to this matter: • In May 2015, Lima filed a claim against Baldwin for patent infringement. • For the year ended December 31, 2015, management of Baldwin determined that a loss for this matter was probable and represented that the estimate of loss was in the range of $20 million to $30 million, with $24 million being a reasonable estimate of the most likely amount of loss within the range. • A jury trial took place in September 2017. • The jury reached a verdict on September 15, 2017, and a judgment was ordered in favor of Lima. The judgment required Baldwin to pay Lima $27 million. • In November 2017, Baldwin filed a Notice of Appeal with the Court of Appeals. • In December 2018, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling in favor of Baldwin's appeal and reversed the lower court's ruling on the matter. This meant that the Court of Appeals overturned the jury verdict and the $27 million judgment against Baldwin. • On January 6, 2019, Lima filed a petition for a re-hearing before the same panel of appellate judges against the reversal of ruling by the Court of Appeals. • On February 10, 2019, the appellate judges declined the petition for a re-hearing. • On February 28, 2019, management of Baldwin determined this matter was closed upon discussions with in-house legal counsel.
1. For the year-end December 31, 2015 financial statements, discuss whether Baldwin should record a liability, and if so, at what amount?
Solution:-
As per ASC codification topic 450 & subtopic 20 (450-20 :- loss contingencies) under US GAAP, any loss which is probable and reasonably estimable with most likely amount should be accrued and disclosed in financial statements. In case most likely amount of estimate loss is not available, the minimum of a estimated loss can be accrued and disclosed.
In the given scenerio, Baldwin should record and disclosed liability for $24m in 2015 financial statements.