Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

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7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

 

The Company leases certain office space pursuant to a month-to-month lease agreement dated April 1, 2013, which provides for a monthly rent of $1,500. The landlord is a limited liability company of which a former director of the Company is the sole member.

 

On March 18, 2013, the Company entered into a purchasing contract with a third party supplier of CBD to provide up to a maximum of 1,000 kg of product. In addition, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with the third party supplier to provide consulting oversight for the growth and production of the product from the period beginning March 1, 2013 through August 30, 2014. Approximately $2.1 million is due by the Company pursuant to the terms of these agreements by October 2014.

 

On December 19, 2013, the Company entered into a purchasing contract with a third party supplier of CBD to provide up to a maximum of 1 million kilograms of raw product to the Company. There is approximately $1.7 million remaining to be paid by the Company under the contract.

 

On August 13, 2013, the Company entered into a lease for approximately 2,400 square feet laboratory space in San Diego, California. The monthly base rent was approximately $4,200 per month for a term of 12 months. On April 1, 2014, the Company entered into an amendment to the lease for laboratory space, which increased the amount of laboratory space under the lease and extended the term of the lease for one additional year through August 2015. This amendment increased the amount of lab space under lease to 3,276 and added storage space for an additional 887 square feet. The monthly base rent under the lease was increased to approximately $6,320 per month.

 

On March 27, 2014, the Company entered into a lease for 5,325 square feet of office space in San Diego, California for a term of 39 months. The monthly base rent under the lease is approximately $12,250, subject to an increase of 3% annually. The lease allows for rent abatement allowing one month free rent following each 12 month period of paid rent during the term of the lease. The lease commenced on May 7, 2014, the date the Company took possession of the new space.

 

Contingencies

 

On March 8, 2008, Far West Industries (“Far West”) sued Michael J. Mona, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and others for damages resulting from fraud arising out of a land transaction in California (the “California Action”). On February 23, 2012, a judgment was entered in the California Action in favor of Far West against Mr. Mona and others in the amount of $17,777,562. On October 18, 2012, the judgment in the California Action was domesticated in Nevada and enforcement proceedings commenced including, but not limited to an examination of Mr. Mona as a judgment debtor, and garnishments of various accounts belonging to Mr. Mona. During the period, Mr. Mona loaned $3,000,000 to Roen Ventures, which was subsequently loaned to the Company. The suit alleges that the loan transactions were intended to prejudice creditors like Far West by concealing and wasting assets that would otherwise be available to satisfy the judgment that Far West has against Mr. Mona. Pursuant to a Second Amendment Complaint filed by Far West Industries on February 20, 2014, the Company was added as a defendant to the suit. On March 17, 2014, the Company was served with a complaint from Far West Industries. In summary, Far West alleges that the Company is in possession of funds as a result of an allegedly fraudulent transfer between Mr. Mona, Roen Ventures, LLC, and the Company. On May 13, 2014, a motion to dismiss filed by the Company was granted and thus, the Company will no longer be a defendant in the lawsuit.

 

On April 23, 2014, Tanya Sallustro filed a purported class action complaint (the “Complaint”) in the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) alleging securities fraud and related claims against the Company and certain of its officers and directors and seeking compensatory damages including litigation costs. Ms. Sallustro alleges that between March 18-31, 2014, she purchased 325 shares of the Company’s common stock for a total investment of $15,791. The Complaint refers to Current Reports on Form 8-K and Current Reports on Form 8-K/A filings made by the Company on April 3, 2014 and April 14, 2014, in which the Company amended previously disclosed sales (sales originally stated at $1,275,000 were restated to $1,082,375 - reduction of $192,625) and restated goodwill as $1,855,512 (previously reported at net zero). Additionally, the Complaint states after the filing of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K on April 3, 2014 and the following press release, the Company’s stock price “fell $7.30 per share, or more than 20%, to close at $25.30 per share.” Subsequent to the filing of the Complaint, six different individuals have filed a motion asking to be designated the lead plaintiff in the litigation. The Court scheduled a hearing on August 14, 2014 to consider the motions for designation as lead plaintiff. The other individuals seeking lead plaintiff designation are: Wayne Chesner; Anamaria Schelling; Mark Williams; Otilda LaMont; Jane Ish and Steve Schuck.

 

The Company has not yet answered the Complaint and management intends to vigorously defend the allegations. Since the action was recently filed and no discovery has been conducted, an estimate of the possible loss cannot be made at this time.