Barnes and Noble 2001 Annual Report Download - page 41

1 7. LEAS E S
The Company leases retail stores, warehouse facilities,
office space and equipment. Substantially all of the
retail stores are leased under noncancelable agreements
which expire at various dates through 2036 with
various renewal options for additional periods. The
agreements, which have been classified as operating
leases, generally provide for both minimum and
percentage rentals and require the Company to pay
all insurance, taxes and other maintenance costs.
Percentage rentals are based on sales performance in
excess of specified minimums at various stores.
Rental expense under operating leases are as follows:
Fiscal Year 2001 2000 1999
Minimum rentals $ 358,522 338,922 2 9 1,964
Percentage rentals 14, 2 74 1 0 ,78 2 7, 5 0 2
$ 372,7 9 6 349,70 4 299,466
Future minimum annual rentals, excluding percentage
rentals, re q u i red under leases that had initial,
noncancelable lease terms greater than one year, as of
February 2, 2002 are:
Fiscal Year
2002 $ 3 4 2,71 6
2003 3 1 6 ,448
2004 2 9 2 , 5 2 7
2005 2 7 2, 4 57
2006 2 5 5,1 7 3
After 2006 1 , 36 7, 5 5 8
$2 , 8 4 6 , 8 7 9
18. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In March 1998, the American Booksellers Association
(ABA) and 26 independent bookstores filed a lawsuit in
the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California against the Company and Borders
G roup, Inc. (Borders) alleging violations of the
Robinson-Patman Act, the California Unfair Trade
Practice Act and the California Unfair Competition
L a w. On March 20, 2001, the court granted the
Company summary judgment dismissing all claims for
damages under federal and state law. On April 19,
2001, the parties settled the litigation of all other
remaining claims.
Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, (1) the
Company and Borders will each pay $2,350 to the ABA
as partial reimbursement for its legal fees, and (2) the
plaintiffs have released all claims against the Company
up to the date of the settlement relating to matters
asserted in the litigation, and have agreed not to sue the
Company for three years over any practices that were
the subject of the litigation. The Settlement Agreement
does not impose any restrictions on the Company’s
business practices.
In August 1998, The Intimate Bookshop, Inc. and its
o w n e r, Wallace Kuralt, filed a lawsuit in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New
York against the Company, Borders, Amazon.com,
Inc., certain publishers and others alleging violation of
the Robinson-Patman Act and other federal law, New
York statutes governing trade practices and common
l a w. The complaint sought certification of a class
consisting of all retail booksellers in the United States,
whether or not currently in business, which were in
business and were members of the ABA at any time
during the four-year period preceding the filing of the
complaint. The complaint alleged that the named
p l a i n t i ffs have suff e red damages of appro x i m a t e l y
$11,250 or more and requested treble damages on
behalf of the named plaintiffs and each of the
p u r p o rted class members, as well as injunctive and
d e c l a r a t o ry relief (including an injunction re q u i r i n g
the closure of all of defendants’ stores within 10 miles
of any location where plaintiff either has or had a
retail bookstore during the four years preceding the
filing of the complaint, and prohibiting the opening by
defendants of any bookstore in such areas for the next
10 years), disgorgement of alleged discriminatory
discounts, rebates, deductions and payments, punitive
N O T E S T O C O N S O L I D A T E D F I N A N C I A L S T A T E M E N T S c o n t i n u e d
2 0 0 1 A n n u a l R e p o r t ■B a r n e s & N o b l e , I n c .
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