NOTE 11.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

We are subject to numerous lawsuits and claims arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including actions related to product liability; personal injury; the use and performance of our products; warranty matters; patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement; contractual liability; the conduct of our business; tax reporting in foreign jurisdictions; distributor termination; workplace safety; and environmental matters. We also have been identified as a potentially responsible party at multiple waste disposal sites under U.S. federal and related state environmental statutes and regulations and may have joint and several liability for any investigation and remediation costs incurred with respect to such sites.  We have denied liability with respect to many of these lawsuits, claims and proceedings and are vigorously defending such lawsuits, claims and proceedings.  We carry various forms of commercial, property and casualty, product liability and other forms of insurance; however, such insurance may not be applicable or adequate to cover the costs associated with a judgment against us with respect to these lawsuits, claims and proceedings.  We do not believe that these lawsuits are material individually or in the aggregate.  While we believe we have also established adequate accruals for our expected future liability with respect to pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings, where the nature and extent of any such liability can be reasonably estimated based upon then presently available information, there can be no assurance that the final resolution of any existing or future lawsuits, claims or proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

We conduct significant business operations in Brazil that are subject to the Brazilian federal, state and local labor, social security, tax and customs laws.  While we believe we comply with such laws, they are complex, subject to varying interpretations and we are often engaged in litigation regarding the application of these laws to particular circumstances.

In June 2008, four of our sites in Southern Indiana, including our Technical Center, experienced extensive flood damage.  We have submitted a claim for $220 million to our insurance carriers, which includes a claim for business interruption.  As of June 26, 2011, we have received $92 million in recoveries from the insurance carriers.  Our insurance carriers have disputed certain aspects of our claim and the parties have filed suit against each other.  Although we believe that we are insured against the full amount of our claim, there is no assurance that we will be successful recovering the amounts we believe are due under the policies.

U.S. Distributor Commitments

Our distribution agreements with independent and partially-owned distributors generally have a three-year term and are restricted to specified territories.  Our distributors develop and maintain a network of dealers with which we have no direct relationship.  The distributors are permitted to sell other, noncompetitive products only with our consent.  We license all of our distributors to use our name and logo in connection with the sale and service of our products, with no right to assign or sublicense the trademarks, except to authorized dealers, without our consent.  Products are sold to the distributors at standard domestic or international distributor net prices, as applicable.  Net prices are wholesale prices we establish to permit our distributors an adequate margin on their sales.  Subject to local laws, we can generally refuse to renew these agreements upon expiration or terminate them upon written notice for inadequate sales, change in principal ownership and certain other reasons.  Distributors also have the right to terminate the agreements upon 60-day notice without cause, or 30-day notice for cause.  Upon termination or failure to renew, we are required to purchase the distributor’s current inventory, signage and special tools, and may, at our option purchase other assets of the distributor, but are under no obligation to do so.

Other Guarantees and Commitments

We periodically enter into guarantee arrangements, including guarantees of non-U.S. distributor financing, residual value guarantees on equipment leased under operating leases and other miscellaneous guarantees of third-party obligations.  As of June 26, 2011, the maximum potential loss related to these other guarantees is $62 million ($36 million of which relates to the Beijing Foton guarantee discussed below and $23 million relates to the Cummins Olayan Energy Limited guarantee discussed below).

We have arrangements with certain suppliers that require us to purchase minimum volumes or be subject to monetary penalties.  The penalty amounts are less than our purchase commitments and essentially allow the supplier to recover their tooling costs in most instances.  As of June 26, 2011, if we were to stop purchasing from each of these suppliers, the amount of the penalty would be approximately $54 million, of which $49 million relates to a contract with an engine parts supplier that extends to 2013.  This arrangement enables us to secure critical components.  We do not currently anticipate paying any penalties under these contracts.

In July 2008, Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Company, a 50 percent owned entity accounted for under the equity method, entered into a line of credit agreement with a borrowing capacity of up to $185 million (at current exchange rates).  The line will be used primarily to fund equipment purchases for a new manufacturing plant.  As a part of this transaction, we guaranteed 50 percent of any outstanding borrowings up to a maximum guarantee of $93 million (at current exchange rates).  As of June 26, 2011, outstanding borrowings under this agreement were $72 million and our guarantee was $36 million (at current exchange rates).  We recorded a liability for the fair value of this guarantee.  The amount of the liability was less than $1 million.  The offset to this liability was an increase in our investment in the joint venture.

In February 2010, Cummins Olayan Energy Limited, a 49 percent owned entity accounted for under the equity method, executed a four-year $101 million (at current exchange rates) debt financing arrangement to acquire certain rental equipment assets.  As a part of this transaction, we guaranteed 49 percent of the total outstanding loan amount or $50 million (at current exchange rates).  As of June 26, 2011, outstanding borrowings under this agreement were $48 million and our guarantee was $23 million (at current exchange rates). We recorded a liability for the fair value of this guarantee.  The amount of the liability was less than $1 million.  The offset to this liability was an increase in our investment in the joint venture.

We have guarantees with certain customers that require us to satisfactorily honor contractual or regulatory obligations, or compensate for monetary losses related to nonperformance.  These performance bonds and other performance-related guarantees at June 26, 2011, were $77 million.

Indemnifications

Periodically, we enter into various contractual arrangements where we agree to indemnify a third-party against certain types of losses.  Common types of indemnifications include:

·                  product liability and license, patent or trademark indemnifications,

·                  asset sale agreements where we agree to indemnify the purchaser against future environmental exposures related to the asset sold and

·                  any contractual agreement where we agree to indemnify the counter-party for losses suffered as a result of a misrepresentation in the contract.

We regularly evaluate the probability of having to incur costs associated with these indemnifications and accrue for expected losses that are probable.  Because the indemnifications are not related to specified known liabilities and due to their uncertain nature, we are unable to estimate the maximum amount of the potential loss associated with these indemnifications.

Joint Venture Commitments

As of June 26, 2011, we have committed to invest an additional $86 million into existing joint ventures of which $63 million is expected to be funded in 2011.