NOTE 11  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Matters The Company is involved in various claims, suits, assessments, investigations, and legal proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, including those identified below, consisting of matters involving consumer, antitrust, tax, intellectual property, and other issues on a global basis. The Company accrues a liability when it believes that it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and that it can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss. The Company reviews these accruals at least quarterly and adjusts them to reflect ongoing negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel, and other relevant information. To the extent new information is obtained and the Companys views on the probable outcomes of claims, suits, assessments, investigations, or legal proceedings change, changes in the Companys accrued liabilities would be recorded in the period in which such a determination is made. For some matters, the amount of liability is not probable or the amount cannot be reasonably estimated and therefore accruals have not been made. The following is a discussion of the Companys significant legal matters and other proceedings: Appraisal Proceedings  On October 29, 2013, Dell Technologies acquired Dell in a transaction referred to as the going-private transaction. Holders of shares of Dell common stock who did not vote on September 12, 2013 in favor of the proposal to adopt the amended going-private transaction agreement and who properly demanded appraisal of their shares and who otherwise comply with the requirements of Section 262 of the Delaware General Corporate Law (DGCL) are entitled to seek appraisal for, and obtain payment in cash for the judicially determined fair value (as defined pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL) of, their shares in lieu of receiving the going-private transaction consideration. The liability for the appraisal proceedings was approximately $129 million as of February 2, 2018 . On May 8, 2018 , the Company entered into an agreement to settle a portion of the liability related to the appraisal proceedings in the amount of approximately $70 million , and on May 18, 2018, this portion of the liability was fully paid. The Company settled with the remaining plaintiffs as of July 16, 2018 in the amount of approximately $30 million . The remaining liability accrual was released to Interest and other, net during the three months ended August 3, 2018. As of August 3, 2018, there was no remaining liability for appraisal proceedings. Securities Litigation  On May 22, 2014, a securities class action seeking compensatory damages was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, captioned the City of Pontiac Employee Retirement System vs. Dell Inc. et. al. (Case No. 1:14-cv-03644). The action names as defendants Dell Inc. and certain current and former executive officers, and alleges that Dell made false and misleading statements about Dells business operations and products between February 22, 2012 and May 22, 2012, which resulted in artificially inflated stock prices. The case was transferred to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, where the defendants filed a motion to dismiss. On September 16, 2016, the Court denied the motion to dismiss and the case is proceeding with discovery. The defendants believe the claims asserted are without merit and the risk of material loss is remote. Copyright Levies  The Companys obligation to collect and remit copyright levies in certain European Union (EU) countries may be affected by the resolution of legal proceedings pending in Germany and other EU member states against various companies, including Dell subsidiaries. The plaintiffs in those proceedings generally seek to impose or modify the levies with respect to sales of such equipment as multifunction devices, phones, personal computers, storage devices, and printers, alleging that such products enable the copying of copyrighted materials. Some of the proceedings also challenge whether the levy schemes in those countries comply with EU law. Certain EU member countries that do not yet impose levies on digital devices are expected to implement legislation to enable them to extend existing levy schemes, while some other EU member countries are expected to limit the scope of levy schemes and their applicability in the digital hardware environment. Dell, other companies, and various industry associations have opposed the extension of levies to the digital environment and have advocated alternative models of compensation to rights holders. The Company continues to collect levies in certain EU countries where it has determined that based on local laws it is probable that it has a payment obligation. The amount of levies is generally based on the number of products sold and the per-product amounts of the levies, which vary. The Company accrues a liability when it believes that it is both probable that a loss has been incurred and when it can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss. Other Litigation  The various legal proceedings in which Dell is involved include commercial litigation and a variety of patent suits. In some of these cases, Dell is the sole defendant. More often, particularly in the patent suits, Dell is one of a number of defendants in the electronics and technology industries. Dell is actively defending a number of patent infringement suits, and several pending claims are in various stages of evaluation. While the number of patent cases varies over time, Dell does not currently anticipate that any of these matters will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. Class V Transaction Litigation  On October 31, 2018, High River Limited Partnership, Icahn Partners Master Fund LP, and Icahn Partners LP filed an action against Dell in Delaware Chancery Court, pursuant to Section 220 of the DGCL, seeking (1) to inspect certain of the Companys books and records purportedly related to the Class V transaction described in Note 16 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements or the potential initial public offering of the Companys Class C Common Stock, and (2) the public dissemination of unspecified materials already produced for inspection ( High River LP v. Dell Tech. Holdings Inc. , No. 2018-0790 (Del. Ch. filed Oct. 31, 2018)). By motion dated October 31, 2018, the plaintiffs sought expedited treatment of their claims. On November 1, 2018, Dell filed its opposition to the motion for expedited treatment. On November 5, 2018, the Chancery Court scheduled a trial on the matter for November 19, 2018. Prior to the scheduled trial, on November 15, 2018, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed this action against the Company. On November 8, 2018, Hallandale Beach Police and Fire Retirement Plan filed a putative stockholder class action lawsuit against our directors and Michael S. Dell, a separate property trust for the benefit of Mr. Dells wife, investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Partners, and investment funds affiliated with MSD Partners, L.P. in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging, among other things, that the directors of the Company breached their fiduciary duties to holders of the Class V Common Stock in connection with the Class V transaction, because, among other things, the Class V transaction is allegedly financially unfair and coercive to holders of the Class V Common Stock and there were various conflicts of interest ( Hallandale Beach Police and Fire Retirement Plan v. Michael Dell, et al. , No. 2018-0816-JTL (Del. Ch. filed November 8, 2018)). The lawsuit seeks, among other things, a judicial declaration that that defendants breached their fiduciary duties and an award of damages, fees and costs. As of November 2, 2018 , the Company does not believe there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss exceeding the amounts already accrued for these or other proceedings or matters has been incurred. However, since the ultimate resolution of any such proceedings and matters is inherently unpredictable, the Companys business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially affected in any particular period by unfavorable outcomes in one or more of these proceedings or matters. Whether the outcome of any claim, suit, assessment, investigation, or legal proceeding, individually or collectively, could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows will depend on a number of variables, including the nature, timing, and amount of any associated expenses, amounts paid in settlement, damages, or other remedies or consequences. Indemnifications In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into contractual arrangements under which it may agree to indemnify the third party to such arrangements from any losses incurred relating to the services it performs on behalf of the Company or for losses arising from certain events as defined in the particular contract, such as litigation or claims relating to past performance. Such indemnification obligations may not be subject to maximum loss clauses. Historically, payments related to these indemnifications have not been material to the Company.