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Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
CONTINGENCIES | NOTE 8: CONTINGENCIES We are involved in various claims, suits, investigations and legal proceedings, including those described below. We are unable to determine the ultimate outcome of any current litigation or regulatory actions. An unfavorable outcome could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. We have not recorded a liability for any of these matters as of March 31, 2019 because we do not believe at this time that any loss is probable or that the amount of any probable loss can be reasonably estimated. The following is a description of significant proceedings. Federal Securities Litigation — On July 20, 2015, Wu Winfred Huang, a purported holder of Class A Common Stock, for himself and on behalf of other similarly situated holders of Class A Common Stock, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas styled Huang v. EZCORP, Inc., et al. (Case No. 1:15-cv-00608-SS). The complaint names as defendants EZCORP, Inc., Stuart I. Grimshaw (our chief executive officer) and Mark E. Kuchenrither (our former chief financial officer) and asserts violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. The original complaint related to the Company’s announcement on July 17, 2015 that it will restate the financial statements for fiscal 2014 and the first quarter of fiscal 2015, and alleged generally that the Company issued materially false or misleading statements concerning the Company, its finances, business operations and prospects and that the Company misrepresented the financial performance of the Grupo Finmart business. On August 14, 2015, a substantially identical lawsuit, styled Rooney v. EZCORP, Inc., et al. (Case No. 1:15-cv-00700-SS) was also filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. On September 28, 2015, the plaintiffs in these two lawsuits filed an agreed stipulation to be appointed co-lead plaintiffs and agreed that their two actions should be consolidated. On November 3, 2015, the Court entered an order consolidating the two actions under the caption In re EZCORP, Inc. Securities Litigation (Master File No. 1:15-cv-00608-SS), and appointed the two plaintiffs as co-lead plaintiffs, with their respective counsel appointed as co-lead counsel. On January 11, 2016, the plaintiffs filed an Amended Class Action Complaint (the "Amended Complaint"). In the Amended Complaint, the plaintiffs seek to represent a class of purchasers of our Class A Common Stock between November 6, 2012 and October 20, 2015. The Amended Complaint asserts that the Company and Mr. Kuchenrither violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, issued materially false or misleading statements throughout the proposed class period concerning the Company and its internal controls, specifically regarding the financial performance of Grupo Finmart. The plaintiffs also allege that Mr. Kuchenrither, as a controlling person of the Company, violated Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act. The Amended Complaint does not assert any claims against Mr. Grimshaw. On February 25, 2016, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss on April 11, 2016, and the defendants filed their reply on May 11, 2016. The Court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss on June 22, 2016. On October 18, 2016, the Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss and dismissed the Amended Complaint without prejudice. The Court gave the plaintiffs 20 days (until November 7, 2016) to file a further amended complaint. On November 4, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”). The Second Amended Complaint raises the same claims dismissed by the Court on October 18, 2016, except plaintiffs now seek to represent a class of purchasers of EZCORP’s Class A Common Stock between November 7, 2013 and October 20, 2015 (instead of between November 6, 2012 and October 20, 2015). On December 5, 2016, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Second Amended Compliant. The plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss on January 6, 2017, and the defendants filed their reply brief on January 20, 2017. On May 8, 2017, the Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss with regard to claims related to accounting errors relating to Grupo Finmart’s bad debt reserve calculations for “nonperforming” loans, but denied the motion to dismiss with regard to claims relating to accounting errors related to certain sales of loan portfolios to third parties. Following discovery on the surviving claims, the plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to File a Third Amended Complaint, seeking to revive the "nonperforming" loan claims that the Court previously dismissed. We opposed that motion, and on May 14, 2018, the Court heard oral arguments on the motion, as well as plaintiff's Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of Class Representative and Class Counsel, which was also pending. On July 26, 2018, the Court granted the plaintiff's motion for leave to amend, thus accepting the Third Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint, and we filed our answer on August 3, 2018. On August 31, 2018, the plaintiff filed an Amended Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of Class Representative and Class Counsel, and we filed our opposition on September 28, 2018. On February 19, 2019, the Court issued an order certifying the class and approving the class representative and class counsel. On March 5, 2019, we requested an appeal of that order to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and on March 25, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the appeal. We cannot predict the outcome of the litigation, but we intend to continue to defend vigorously against all allegations and claims. SEC Investigation — On October 23, 2014, we received a notice from the Fort Worth Regional Office of the SEC that it was conducting an investigation into certain matters involving EZCORP, Inc. The notice was accompanied by a subpoena, directing us to produce a variety of documents, including all minutes and materials related to Board of Directors and Board committee meetings since January 1, 2009 and all documents and communications relating to our historical advisory services relationship with Madison Park (the business advisory firm owned by Mr. Cohen) and LPG Limited (a business advisory firm owned by Lachlan P. Given, our current Executive Chairman of the Board). The SEC also issued subpoenas to current and former members of our Board of Directors requesting production of similar documents, as well as to certain third parties, and conducted interviews with certain individuals. On March 1, 2019, the SEC issued an order imposing sanctions against Mark Kuchenrither, our former Chief Financial Officer, for allegedly misrepresenting certain financial projections that formed the basis of a fairness opinion that the Audit Committee relied on in approving the compensation to be paid to Madison Park for fiscal 2014. The SEC alleged that Mr. Kuchenrither's conduct constituted negligence and violated, among other things, Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Mr. Kuchenrither, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations or findings, consented to the entry of the order in order to settle the proceedings, and agreed to pay a civil money penalty of $50,000. The SEC has not raised any claims against the Company or any of its current or former directors and officers, other than Mr. Kuchenrither.

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