11.  OTHER COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation. We are subject to certain claims, charges, litigation, and other proceedings in the ordinary course of our business, including those arising from or related to contractual matters, intellectual property, personal injury, environmental matters, product liability, product recalls, construction defects, insurance coverage, personnel and employment disputes, antitrust, and other matters, including class actions.  We believe we have adequate defenses in these matters, and we do not believe that the ultimate outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on us.  However, there is no assurance that we will prevail in any of these pending matters, and we could in the future incur judgments, enter into settlements of claims, or revise our expectations regarding the outcome of these matters, which could materially impact our liquidity and our results of operations.

Other Matters.  We enter into contracts, which include customary indemnities that are standard for the industries in which we operate.  Such indemnities include, among other things, claims against our builder customers for issues relating to our workmanship.  We generally exclude from our contracts with builder customers indemnity relating to product quality and warranty claims, as we pass such claims directly to the manufacturers of the products we install or distribute.  In conjunction with divestitures and other transactions, we occasionally provide customary indemnities relating to various items including, among others, the enforceability of trademarks, legal and environmental issues, and asset valuations.  We evaluate the probability that we may incur liabilities under these customary indemnities and appropriately record an estimated liability when deemed probable.

We also maintain indemnification agreements with our directors and officers that may require us to indemnify them against liabilities that arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers, except as prohibited by applicable law.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 26, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 25, 2025
2023Feb 28, 2024
2022Feb 23, 2023
2021Feb 22, 2022
2020Feb 23, 2021
2019Feb 25, 2020
2018Feb 26, 2019
2017Feb 27, 2018
2016Feb 28, 2017
2015Mar 3, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.