Commitments and Contingencies Compensation Arrangements We are party to compensation arrangements with certain senior employees, which expire at various points between March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Such arrangements may provide, among other benefits, for minimum salary levels and for compensation under our incentive compensation programs that is payable only if specified Company and individual goals are attained. Additionally, under certain circumstances, certain of these arrangements provide annual share-based payments, severance payments, and other cash compensation. The aggregate remaining commitment for salaries and other cash compensation related to these compensation arrangements, excluding any participation in our incentive compensation programs, was approximately $11.4 million as of December 31, 2018 . Indirect Tax Contingencies We are subject to laws and regulations in many countries involving sales, use, value-added and other indirect taxes which are assessed by various governmental authorities and imposed on certain revenue-producing transactions between us and our clients. The application of these laws and regulations to our unique business and global client base, and the estimation of any related liabilities, is complex and requires a significant amount of judgment. We are generally not responsible for these indirect tax liabilities unless we fail to collect the correct amount of sales, value-added, or other indirect taxes. Failure to collect the correct amount of indirect tax on a transaction may expose us to claims from tax authorities and could require us to record a liability and corresponding charge to our income statement. Legal Contingencies We become involved in various claims and lawsuits incidental to the ordinary course of our business. We are required to assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes related to these legal contingencies, as well as potential ranges of probable or reasonably possible losses. The determination of the amount of any losses to be recorded or disclosed as a result of these contingencies is based on a careful analysis of each individual exposure with, in some cases, the assistance of outside legal counsel. The amount of losses recorded or disclosed for such contingencies may change in the future due to new developments in each matter or a change in settlement strategy. While the impact of any one or more legal claims or proceedings could be material to our operating results in any period, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these pending claims or proceedings (including the matter discussed below), individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition. On November 17, 2017, Sothebys, together with its London, Geneva and Vienna subsidiaries, and one of its employees (collectively, the Sothebys Parties), initiated a declaratory judgment action (requete en conciliation) in Switzerland (the Swiss Action), at the Tribunal de Premiere Instance de la Republique et Canton de Geneve, against Dmitry Rybolovlev and various persons and entities affiliated with him. The Sothebys Parties action seeks a declaration that the Sothebys Parties owe no liability or debt to Mr. Rybolovlev and his affiliates in connection with sales of art and related services to entities affiliated with Mr. Yves Bouvier, as discussed in more detail below. Sothebys filed its detailed Statement of Claim on July 11, 2017. The Sothebys Parties filed the Swiss Action in response to the stated intent of Mr. Rybolovlevs counsel to initiate litigation in the U.K. against several of the Sothebys Parties. Specifically, on October 27, 2017, counsel for entities affiliated with Mr. Rybolovlev filed papers with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York requesting authority to use documents previously obtained from Sothebys pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  1782. This statute allows parties to conduct discovery in the U.S. for use in foreign legal proceedings. Rybolovlev sought discovery to support a contemplated U.K. proceeding alleging that Sothebys and its agents aided and abetted an alleged fraud that Mr. Bouvier allegedly perpetrated against Mr. Rybolovlev and affiliated entities. On December 22, 2017, the District Court in New York approved Mr. Rybolovlevs request to use Sothebys previously disclosed documents both in the contemplated U.K. proceedings, and in the Sothebys Parties Swiss declaratory judgment proceeding against Mr. Rybolovlev and his affiliates. To date, we are not aware of Mr. Rybolovlev actually filing the threatened U.K. litigation against Sothebys, and believe that Geneva is the correct venue for the dispute, that the Lugano Convention effectively precludes Mr. Rybolovlev from sustaining an action in the U.K., and that the Sothebys Parties will prevail in the Swiss Action. On October 2, 2018, two entities controlled by Mr. Rybolovlev commenced proceedings against Sothebys and Sothebys, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In their complaint, these entities allege that Sothebys and its agents aided and abetted an alleged fraud that Mr. Bouvier allegedly perpetrated against Mr. Rybolovlev and affiliated entities and are claiming a minimum of $380 million in damages. The plaintiffs also allege that Sothebys, in commencing the Swiss Action, violated a tolling agreement that the parties had entered into and seek an injunction prohibiting Sothebys from prosecuting the Swiss Action. On January 18, 2019, Sothebys filed a motion to dismiss this complaint, which it believes to be meritless, on numerous grounds.