Question

Reeves Co. filed suit against Higgins, Inc., seeking damages for copyright violations. Higgins' legal counsel believes it is probable that Higgins will settle the lawsuit for an estimated amount in the range of $100,000 to $200,000, with all amounts in the range considered equally likely. How should Higgins report this litigation?

Answer 1

Answer:   Higgins should report this litigation as a contingent liability.

Explanation: A liability that is contingent upon an event, that is, dependent on a future event that may or may not happen is called contingent liability. Potential law suits, pending investigations are some of the examples of contingent liability.

A contingent liability will only be recorded if there is likely probability that the event on which such liability depends will occur and the amount of liability could be reasonably estimated.