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M International (“M”) and W Inc. (“W”) were involved in a class-action lawsuit regarding a patent infringement. W filed the original claim against M in May of 2007 and the lawsuit continued through the end of February 2011. Since the case is a timeline of facts, some aspects were difficult to determine and assumptions needed to be made. I can only imagine the amount of trouble a company has to go through to typically deal with this kind of an issue, since a lot is left to interpretation. According to ASC 450-20-25-1, “When a loss contingency exists, the likelihood that the future event or events will confirm the loss or impairment of an asset or the incurrence of a liability can range from probable to remote.” Thus, M is dealing with a loss contingency because management determined the loss from the claim would be probable at December 2007. Moreover, the loss should be accrued due to ASC 450-20-25-2, since the “amount can be reasonably estimated” and “information is available before the financial statements are issued.” In reference to the actual amount that should be recorded, the case states a range of the estimated loss from $15 to $20 million dollars, $17 million being the most probable. In deciding which amount to record at December 31, 2007, Accounting Standards must again be referenced. ASC 450-20-30-1 states, “If some amount within a range of loss appears at the time to be a better estimate than any other amount within the range, that amount shall be accrued.” Given M’s conclusion that the loss was probable and $17 million would be the best estimate in their calculated range, M should record that amount for their loss contingency. Two years later, M was faced with the same question: how to record this matter on their financial statements. In September 2009, a trial took place and the outcome was in favor of W. The verdict required M to pay W a sum of

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