Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

9. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Lease Obligations - The Company leases office space, a corporate apartment, office furniture and equipment under various operating lease agreements.

 

The Company leases an office for its headquarters in Illinois, as well as office spaces for its events business, sales and administrative offices under non-cancelable lease arrangements that provide for payments on a graduated basis with various expiration dates.

 

Rent expense, amounting to $324,254 and $20,165 for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and $699,842 and $45,577 for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, is included in general and administrative expense in the condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Included in rent expense is sublease income of $90,000 and $0 for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and $165,000 and $0 for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

 

Future annual minimum payments due under the leases are summarized as follows:

 

Year ending December 31,

   

2015 (six months)

$ 717,487  

2016

  1,404,023  

2017

  1,331,495  

2018

    1,132,112  

2019

    101,187  
    $ 4,686,304  

 

Legal Proceedings

 

NAPW, Inc., the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary and successor by merger to Old NAPW, is a defendant in the related cases of Constantino v. NAPW, Inc. , No. 0000074/2013 (Sup. Ct., Nassau Co.), filed on January 3, 2013 in the County Court for Nassau County, New York, and DeLisi, et al. v. NAPW, Inc. , No. 2:13-CV-05322 (E.D.N.Y.), filed on September 25, 2013 in federal court for the Eastern District of New York. These cases involved allegations of same-sex sexual harassment against a female manager by five female employees. The cases were settled in full on June 2, 2015, subject to confidentiality agreements. Under the terms of the settlement, the parties have agreed to have the case dismissed pending releases from all parties as well as from interested third-parties who provided benefits to the plaintiffs. It is anticipated that all releases will be executed and the matter dismissed during the third quarter of 2015. The Company believes that these settlements will not have a material effect on its financial condition.

 

Noble Voice LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company acquired in connection with the Global Outreach Ventures acquisition, is party to litigation captioned as Expand, Inc. v. Noble Voice LLC et al. , CASE NO.: 2014-CA-9366 A (Orange County, FL Circuit Court) pursuant to which Expand, Inc., d/b/a SoftRock, Inc. (“SoftRock”) filed a complaint against Noble Voice LLC and certain other defendants (the “Noble Voice Defendants”) on or about September 10, 2014 alleging the existence of a purported conspiracy by Noble Voice and the other defendants to breach the individual Noble Voice Defendants' Non-Compete Agreements and separate Confidentiality Agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets by some but not all Noble Voice Defendants, tortious interference and seeking injunctive relief. During the Second Quarter the parties met to discuss settlement of claims against the corporate defendants. The outcome of this lawsuit is uncertain, however, the Company believes that the claims asserted are without merit and intends to aggressively defend itself against the claims.

 

General Legal Matters

 

From time to time, the Company is involved in legal matters arising in the ordinary course of business. While the Company believes that such matters are currently not material, there can be no assurance that matters arising in the ordinary course of business for which the Company is, or could be, involved in litigation, will not have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.