v3.22.4
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Service Agreements
We have entered into long-term agreements with certain vendors to provide for software and equipment maintenance, specified levels of bandwidth and other services. Under these arrangements, we are required to make periodic payments. Future minimum obligations under these non-cancelable agreements with initial terms in excess of one year at December 31, 2022 are as follows:
Year Ending December 31:
2023$145.3 
202496.8 
202584.8 
202679.6 
2027103.3 
Thereafter8.8 
$518.6 
Litigation
From time-to-time, we are a party to litigation and subject to claims incident to the ordinary course of business, including intellectual property claims, putative and certified class actions, commercial and consumer protection claims, labor and employment claims, breach of contract claims and other asserted and unasserted claims. We investigate claims as they arise and accrue estimates for resolution of legal and other contingencies when losses are probable and estimable.
On June 13, 2019, we entered into an agreement in principle to settle the class action complaint, Jason Bennett v. GoDaddy.com (Case No. 2:16-cv-03908-DLR) (D. Ariz.), filed on June 20, 2016. The complaint alleges violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (the TCPA). On September 23, 2019, the parties fully executed a written settlement agreement. On December 16, 2019, we amended the settlement agreement to include two additional putative class action cases, which also alleged violations of the TCPA: John Herrick v. GoDaddy.com, LLC (Case No. 2:16-cv-00254 (D. Ariz.), appeal pending 18-16048 (9th Cir.)) and Susan Drazen v. GoDaddy.com, LLC (Case No 19-cv-00563) (S.D. Ala.). In 2019, we recorded an $18.1 million charge to general and administrative expense, representing our original estimated loss provision for this settlement.
Under the terms of the final settlement agreement, we made available a total of up to $35.0 million to pay: (i) class members, at their election, either a cash settlement or a credit to be used for future purchases of products from us; (ii) an incentive payment to the class representatives; (iii) notice and administration costs in connection with the settlement; and (iv) attorneys' fees to legal counsel representing the class.
On April 22, 2020, the parties filed statements in response to a request from the S.D. Ala. Court (the Court) to refine the class definition, resulting in a reduction in the total number of class members from the original estimated class. On May 14, 2020, the Court granted approval of the plaintiffs' unopposed motion for preliminary certification of the settlement class,
subject to the parties' execution of an amended settlement agreement to remove John Herrick as a class representative. The parties executed such amendment on May 26, 2020, and on June 9, 2020, the Court granted preliminary approval of the final settlement agreement. The Court's order also set October 7, 2020 as the deadline for class members to submit claims and December 14, 2020 as the hearing date regarding final approval of the settlement.
On September 1, 2020, the Court issued an amended order reducing the attorneys' fees to be paid to legal counsel representing the class. Additionally, the actual number of claims made by class members through the October 7, 2020 deadline was lower than our original estimates.
On December 23, 2020, the Court issued a final judgment and order approving the class settlement, which further reduced the attorneys' fees to be paid to legal counsel representing the class and denied the plaintiffs' request for an incentive payment. Additionally, the actual notice and administration costs were lower than originally estimated.
As a result of the above developments, during 2020, we recorded a cumulative $10.0 million reduction to general and administrative expense, lowering our estimated loss provision for this settlement to $8.1 million as of December 31, 2020.
On January 19, 2021, a single objector to the settlement filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which remains pending as of the date of this filing. We made no changes to our estimated loss provision for this settlement during 2021. The timing of any settlement payments is pending resolution of the appeal.
On July 27, 2022, the 11th Circuit vacated the settlement approval order and remanded the case for further action due to standing issues among the class members. On August 18, 2022, the plaintiffs filed a petition for a rehearing before the 11th Circuit, which remains pending as of the date of this filing. On December 7, 2022, the 11th Circuit was notified of the death of one of the plaintiffs, Jason Bennett. The parties are currently briefing the effect, if any, of his death on the appeal. Given the pending nature of this petition, the possibility for one or more parties to seek relief from the Supreme Court and the ongoing briefing regarding the effect of the plaintiff's death, the finality and/or impact of the July 27, 2022 decision is uncertain. As a result, we have not adjusted our estimated loss provision for this settlement as of December 31, 2022.
We have denied and continue to deny the allegations in the complaints. Nothing in the final settlement agreement shall be deemed to assign or reflect any admission of fault, wrongdoing or liability, or of the appropriateness of a class action in such litigation. We received a full release from the settlement class concerning the claims asserted, or that could have been asserted, with respect to the claims released in the final settlement agreement. Our legal fees associated with this matter have been recorded to general and administrative expense as incurred and were not material.
The amounts currently accrued for other matters are not material. While the results of such normal course claims and legal proceedings, regardless of the underlying nature of the claims, cannot be predicted with certainty, management believes, based on current knowledge and the likely timing of resolution of various matters, any additional reasonably possible potential losses above the amounts accrued for such matters would not be material. Regardless of the outcome, claims and legal proceedings may have an adverse effect on us because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors. We may also receive unfavorable preliminary or interim rulings in the course of litigation, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained. The final outcome of any current or future claims or lawsuits could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Indemnifications
In the normal course of business, we have made indemnities under which we may be required to make payments in relation to certain transactions, including to our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted under applicable state laws and indemnifications related to certain lease agreements. In addition, certain advertiser and reseller partner agreements contain indemnification provisions, which are generally consistent with those prevalent in the industry. We have not incurred material obligations under indemnification provisions historically, and do not expect to incur material obligations in the future. Accordingly, we have not recorded any liabilities related to such indemnities as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
We include service level commitments to our customers guaranteeing certain levels of uptime reliability and performance for our hosting and premium DNS products. These guarantees permit those customers to receive credits in the event we fail to meet those levels, with exceptions for certain service interruptions including but not limited to periodic maintenance. We have not incurred any material costs as a result of such commitments during any of the periods presented, and have not recorded any liabilities related to such obligations as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Indirect Taxes
We are subject to indirect taxation in some, but not all, of the various states and foreign jurisdictions in which we conduct business. Laws and regulations attempting to subject communications and commerce conducted over the Internet to various indirect taxes are becoming more prevalent, both in the U.S. and internationally, and may impose additional burdens on us in the future. Increased regulation could negatively affect our business directly, as well as the businesses of our customers. Taxing authorities may impose indirect taxes on the Internet-related revenue we generate based on regulations currently being applied to similar, but not directly comparable, industries. There are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate indirect tax determination is uncertain. In addition, domestic and international indirect taxation laws are complex and subject to change. We may be audited in the future, which could result in changes to our indirect tax estimates. We continually evaluate those jurisdictions in which nexus exists, and believe we maintain adequate indirect tax accruals.
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, our accrual for estimated indirect tax liabilities was $18.9 million and $8.2 million, respectively, reflecting our best estimate of the probable liability based on an analysis of our business activities, revenues subject to indirect taxes and applicable regulations. Although we believe our indirect tax estimates and associated liabilities are reasonable, the final determination of indirect tax audits, litigation or settlements could be materially different than the amounts established for indirect tax contingencies.