4. Commitments and Contingencies

We lease our facilities in Berkeley, California (“Berkeley Lease”) and Düsseldorf, Germany (“Düsseldorf Lease”) under operating leases that expire in December 2025 and March 2023, respectively. In May 2017, we amended the Berkeley Lease to extend the term of the lease to expire in December 2025 and to terminate the lease of an adjacent building. The early termination of the adjacent building’s lease did not result in a termination fee as the lease rate under the amended Berkeley Lease was not above market rates. In addition, as a result of the early termination, we reversed the deferred rent liability of $0.2 million against rent expense during the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The amended Berkeley Lease provides for periods of escalating rent. The total cash payments over the life of the Berkeley Lease and Dusseldorf Lease are divided by the total number of months in the lease period and the average rent is charged to expense each month during the lease period.

Total net rent expense related to our operating leases for the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, was $0.7 million and $0.6 million, respectively. Total net rent expense related to our operating leases for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was $1.7 million and $1.6 million, respectively. Deferred rent was $0.5 million and $0.3 million as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.

Future minimum payments under the non-cancelable portion of our operating leases at September 30, 2017, are as follows (in thousands):

Years ending December 31,
2017 (remaining)	$	544
2018		2,349
2019		2,552
2020		2,614
2021		2,542
Thereafter		9,130
Total	$	19,731

In addition to the non-cancelable commitments included above, we have entered into contractual arrangements that obligate us to make payments to the contractual counterparties upon the occurrence of future events, including a $2.5 million payment due upon approval of HEPLISAV-B. In addition, in the normal course of operations, we have entered into license and other agreements and intend to continue to seek additional rights relating to compounds or technologies in connection with our discovery, manufacturing and development programs. Under the terms of the agreements, we may be required to pay future up-front fees, milestones and royalties on net sales of products originating from the licensed technologies, if any, or other payments contingent upon the occurrence of future events that cannot reasonably be estimated.

We rely on and have entered into agreements with research institutions, contract research organizations and clinical investigators as well as clinical and commercial material manufacturers. These agreements are terminable by us upon written notice. Generally, we are liable only for actual effort expended by the organizations at any point in time during the contract through the notice period.

From time to time, we may be involved in claims, suits, and proceedings arising from the ordinary course of our business, including actions with respect to intellectual property claims, commercial claims, and other matters. Such claims, suits, and proceedings are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted with certainty. Regardless of the outcome, such legal proceedings can have an adverse impact on us because of legal costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors. In addition, it is possible that a resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in substantial damages, fines, penalties or orders requiring a change in our business practices, which could in the future materially and adversely affect our financial position, financial statements, results of operations, or cash flows in a particular period.

On September 7, 2016, we entered into a Stipulation of Settlement to settle the case entitled In re Dynavax Technologies Securities Litigation filed in 2013. The settlement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on February 6, 2017, provided for a payment of $4.1 million by us and results in a dismissal and release of all claims against all defendants, including us. The settlement was paid by our insurers in February 2017. The $4.1 million accrued liability and corresponding $4.1 million prepaid expense and other current asset reflected in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 were released during the first quarter of 2017.

In February 2017, we tentatively agreed to a settlement for derivative complaints filed in 2013, all of which will be paid by our insurers. We recorded an accrual of $0.9 million reflected in accrued liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016 and do not expect any significant additional charges related to this matter. In addition, we record anticipated recoveries under existing insurance contracts when recovery is assured. We recorded a current asset in the amount of $0.9 million reflected in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016. Amounts recorded for contingencies can result from a complex series of judgments about future events and uncertainties and can rely heavily on estimates and assumptions.