Ford 2014 Annual Report Download - page 176

FORD MOTOR COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 27. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Commitments and contingencies consist primarily of guarantees and indemnifications, litigation and claims, and
warranty.
Guarantees and Indemnifications
Guarantees and indemnifications are recorded at fair value at their inception. We regularly review our performance
risk under these arrangements, and in the event it becomes probable we will be required to perform under guarantee or
indemnity, the amount of probable payment is recorded.
We guarantee debt and lease obligations of certain joint ventures, as well as certain financial obligations of outside
third parties, including suppliers, to support our business and economic growth. Expiration dates vary through 2033, and
guarantees will terminate on payment and/or cancellation of the underlying obligation. A payment by us would be
triggered by failure of the joint venture or other third party to fulfill its obligation covered by the guarantee. In some
circumstances, we are entitled to recover from a third party amounts paid by us under the guarantee. However, our ability
to enforce these rights is sometimes stayed until the guaranteed party is paid in full, and may be limited in the event of
insolvency of the third party or other circumstances.
In the ordinary course of business, we execute contracts involving indemnifications standard in the industry and
indemnifications specific to a transaction, such as the sale of a business. These indemnifications might include and are
not limited to claims relating to any of the following: environmental, tax, and shareholder matters; intellectual property
rights; power generation contracts; governmental regulations and employment-related matters; dealer, supplier, and other
commercial contractual relationships; and financial matters, such as securitizations. Performance under these
indemnities generally would be triggered by a breach of terms of the contract or by a third-party claim. While some of
these indemnifications are limited in nature, many of them do not limit potential payment. Therefore, we are unable to
estimate a maximum amount of future payments that could result from claims made under these unlimited indemnities.
The maximum potential payments and the carrying value of recorded liabilities related to guarantees and limited
indemnities at December 31 were as follows (in millions):
2014 2013
Maximum potential payments $ 592 $659
Carrying value of recorded liabilities related to guarantees and limited indemnities 17 5
Litigation and Claims
Various legal actions, proceedings, and claims (generally, “matters”) are pending or may be instituted or asserted
against us. These include but are not limited to matters arising out of alleged defects in our products; product warranties;
governmental regulations relating to safety, emissions, and fuel economy or other matters; government incentives; tax
matters; alleged illegal acts resulting in fines or penalties; financial services; employment-related matters; dealer, supplier,
and other contractual relationships; intellectual property rights; environmental matters; shareholder or investor matters;
and financial reporting matters. Certain of the pending legal actions are, or purport to be, class actions. Some of the
matters involve or may involve claims for compensatory, punitive, or antitrust or other treble damages in very large
amounts, or demands for field service actions, environmental remediation programs, sanctions, loss of government
incentives, assessments, or other relief, which, if granted, would require very large expenditures.
The extent of our financial exposure to these matters is difficult to estimate. Many matters do not specify a dollar
amount for damages, and many others specify only a jurisdictional minimum. To the extent an amount is asserted, our
historical experience suggests that in most instances the amount asserted is not a reliable indicator of the ultimate
outcome.
We accrue for matters when losses are deemed probable and reasonably estimable. In evaluating matters for accrual
and disclosure purposes, we take into consideration factors such as our historical experience with matters of a similar
nature, the specific facts and circumstances asserted, the likelihood that we will prevail, and the severity of any potential
loss. We reevaluate and update our accruals as matters progress over time.
For the majority of matters, which generally arise out of alleged defects in our products, we establish an accrual based
on our extensive historical experience with similar matters. We do not believe there is a reasonably possible outcome
materially in excess of our accrual for these matters.
FS-70