Orbitz 2009 Annual Report Download - page 27

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
As of December 31, 2008, our primary facilities comprise approximately 242,000 square feet of leased
office space globally.
Our corporate headquarters are located in approximately 141,000 square feet of leased office space in
Chicago, Illinois. We also lease approximately 16,000 square feet of additional office space for our domestic
operations in various cities, including New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. We lease approximately
53,000 square feet of office space for ebookers in various countries, including the U.K., Finland, Germany, the
Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. In addition, we lease approximately 32,000 square feet of office space
for HotelClub, primarily in Australia.
We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet our current requirements and that additional
space will be available as needed to accommodate any further expansion of our operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
We are involved in various claims, legal proceedings and governmental inquiries related to contract
disputes, business practices, intellectual property and other commercial, employment and tax matters. The
costs of defense and amounts that may be recovered in certain matters may be partially covered by insurance.
The following list identifies all litigation matters for which we believe that an adverse outcome could be
material to our financial position or results of operations, as well as other matters that may be of particular
interest to our stockholders.
Consumer Class Actions
In re Orbitz Taxes and Fees Litigation. On May 24, 2005, a consolidated class action complaint was
filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois against Orbitz, LLC, Orbitz, Inc. and Cendant, Inc. This
case purports to be a national class action brought by persons who paid a fee in connection with paying for a
hotel room through the Orbitz website from March 19, 2003 to the present. The plaintiff also seeks actual
damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, interest and penalties on behalf of the purported class. On May 31, 2006, the
Court dismissed Cendant from this case for a second time, and dismissed all of the claims except for the
Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act claim. On May 30, 2007, the plaintiff filed a motion
for leave to file a Third Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint. This most recent complaint only
asserts a claim under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and names only one
class representative, an Illinois resident. The plaintiff alleges that Orbitz failed to provide proper disclosures to
consumers relating to fees charged by Orbitz when the consumer is booking a hotel room through the Orbitz
website. Orbitz is also alleged to have misled consumers by failing to break out the exact amount of the
service fee in the taxes and fees line displayed to consumers before the booking is complete. On June 26,
2007, the plaintiff filed a motion seeking an order certifying the action as a nationwide class action. On that
same date, Orbitz filed a motion for summary judgment. At the close of the December 19, 2007 hearing on
both motions, the Court denied the plaintiff’s motion for class certification and granted summary judgment in
favor of Orbitz. On January 17, 2008, the plaintiff filed its Notice of Appeal.
Ronald Bush, et al. v. CheapTickets, Inc., et al. On February 17, 2005, a class action complaint was
filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles on behalf of all Californians who
were assessed a “Taxes/Fees” charge when paying for a hotel, motel, or resort room through the defendants’
websites. The complaint was brought against a number of Internet travel companies, including Trip Network,
Inc. (d/b/a CheapTickets), Cendant Corporation, Orbitz, Inc., and Orbitz, LLC. The plaintiffs’ claims are based
on allegations that the defendants charged for taxes that were not legitimate in that they were not required by
the taxing authorities to be collected. The plaintiffs also allege that the defendants failed to disclose this
improper practice. The plaintiffs seek an order certifying the action as a class action, actual damages, punitive
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