Exhibit
10.1
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
MEMORANDUM
OF UNDERSTANDING AMONG PLAINTIFFS AND
DEFENDANTS
IN IN
RE INFOSONICS CORPORATION SECURITIES
LITIGATION,
No. 06-CV-1231 JLS (WMc)
This
Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) contains the material terms of a settlement
(the “Settlement”) of In
re
InfoSonics Securities Litigation,
Case No. 06-CV01231 JLS (WMc) (the “Action”) pending in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of California (the “Court”) by and
between Robert Sibley (“Lead Plaintiff”) and Plaintiffs Robert Lorizio and Joel
Webb (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of all other
persons and entities similarly situated and Defendants InfoSonics Corporation
(“InfoSonics” or the “Company”) and Joseph Ram, John J. Althoff, Jeffrey
Klausner, Joseph Murgo, and Abraham Rosler (collectively, with InfoSonics,
the
“Defendants”). The Settlement provides for the dismissal with prejudice of the
Action and for the releases defined below, subject to the approval of the Court
and such approval becoming final.
Plaintiffs
and Defendants (collectively the “Parties”) contemplate that this MOU will be
superceded by a more detailed “Stipulation of Settlement” incorporating the
terms and conditions set forth herein and other customary terms and conditions
as agreed upon by counsel for the Parties.
1. InfoSonics
will pay or cause its insurer AIG (National Union Fire Insurance Co. of
Pittsburg, PA) (“AIG”) to pay the sum of $3,800,000.00 (three million eight
hundred thousand dollars) (the “Settlement Amount”) in the following timeframe
by depositing the following amounts into an interest bearing escrow account
to
be established by Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs (“Lead Counsel”), controlled by
Lead Counsel, and made subject to the Court’s jurisdiction and oversight by Lead
Counsel (the “Settlement Fund”): (a) depositing $150,000.00 (one hundred fifty
thousand dollars) no later than ten (10) days following the notice of entry
of
an order by the Court preliminarily approving the Settlement described herein
(the “First Payment Date”); and (b) depositing $3,650,000.00 (three million six
hundred and fifty thousand dollars), no later than twenty-one (21) days
following notice of entry of an order by the Court preliminarily approving
the
Settlement described herein (the “Second Payment Date”), but in no case shall
the Second Payment Date be earlier than September 10, 2008. If the Settlement
Amount is not paid into the Settlement Fund by the First and Second Payment
Dates, as set forth herein, interest shall accrue on any unpaid portion of
the
Settlement Amount then due at the 3-month T-Bill rate until paid. Except as
provided in paragraphs 3 and 9, the Settlement Amount will not be disbursed
until all of the conditions set forth in paragraph 14 have been
met.
2. Defendants
will stipulate to the certification of a class, for settlement purposes only,
consisting of all purchasers of securities of InfoSonics between February 6,
2006 and August 9, 2006, inclusive (the “Class”). Excluded from the Class are
the Defendants herein, the directors, officers and employees of the Company,
the
members of each individual defendant’s immediate family, any entity in which any
Defendant has a controlling interest, and the legal affiliates, representatives,
heirs, controlling persons, successors and predecessors in interest or assigns
of any such excluded party, and any person who submits a timely and valid
request for exclusion from the Class.
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
3. All
costs
of providing notice to the members of the Class, processing claims and
distributing the “Net Settlement Fund” (the Settlement Amount less Court
authorized payments for fees, expenses and taxes) to Class members (“Notice and
Administration Costs”) shall be paid out of the Settlement Amount. The Notice of
Pendency and Settlement of Class Action to be provided to Class members and
summary notice to be published in the national edition of The
Wall Street Journal
(or
other similar widely circulated national publication) shall include notice
of
the separate settlement of In
re
InfoSonics Corporation Derivative Litigation, Case
No.
06-CV-1336 JLS (WMc) (the “Derivative Action”), provided, however, that the
Settlement Amount will not be charged with that portion of the total costs
of
notification of the settlements in this Action and the Derivative Action
attributable solely to the settlement of the Derivative Action. Notice and
Administration Costs shall include, but are not limited to, the cost of
publishing summary notice, printing and mailing a Notice of Pendency and
Settlement of Class Action, as directed by the Court, and reimbursing nominees,
if they request reimbursement, for their reasonable expenses of identifying
members of the Class, and related costs.
4. This
is
not a “claims-made” settlement. Accordingly, if all conditions of the
Stipulation of Settlement are satisfied and the Settlement receives final Court
approval and that approval is not overturned on appeal or overturned as a result
of further proceedings on remand, and the Settlement does not fail for any
other
reason, then the funds on deposit in the Settlement Fund will not be returned
to
InfoSonics or AIG. If, however, the Settlement fails to receive court
confirmation, or the judgment fails to become final, or the Settlement fails
for
any other reasons, then the Settlement Amount paid (including any interest
earned on such payments), shall promptly be returned in accordance with
paragraph 11 below.
5. The
settlement notice and claims process will be administered by an independent
claims administrator selected by Lead Counsel and approved by the Court. The
allocation of the Net Settlement Fund among Class members who submit timely
and
valid proofs of claim shall be the subject of a plan of allocation to be
proposed by Plaintiffs and approved by the Court. Neither the Defendants nor
their counsel will have any involvement in the plan of allocation or in
reviewing or challenging any proof of claim or any liability with respect to
the
plan of allocation or the claims administration process. Subject to the
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 9, the Settlement Amount shall be held in escrow
pending the entry of a final, non-appealable order by the Court dismissing
with
prejudice the Action, at which time the Settlement Amount, less any award of
attorneys’ fees and costs, and any taxes and/or any Notice and Administration
Costs, plus any accrued interest at the rate paid on the escrow account, shall
be distributed to the Class Members in the Action.
6. The
Parties will not assert that the Action was brought by Plaintiffs or defended
by
the Defendants in bad faith or without reasonable cause under Rule 11 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
7. This
MOU
shall not be used in any way to indicate liability or wrongdoing as to any
claims that were or could have been asserted in the Action or otherwise be
deemed an admission (a) by the Defendants: (i) of any wrongdoing, violation
of
law, liability, negligence or culpability of any kind whatsoever, or (ii) that
recovery could be had in any amount should the Action not be settled; or (b)
by
the Plaintiffs of any lack of merit of any claim asserted against
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
Defendants,
and may not be used in any proceeding for
any purpose except to enforce the terms of the MOU. Defendants deny any
liability or responsibility for the claims made in the Action and make no
admission of any wrongdoing.
8. The
“Final Judgment” to be entered by the Court will include releases, subject to
the Final Judgment becoming final as defined in the Stipulation of Settlement,
providing, in substance, as follows:
(a)
a
release by Plaintiffs and all members of the Class of all claims, demands,
rights, liabilities and causes of action, known or unknown, asserted in the
Action or that have been asserted in any forum or could have been asserted
by
them in any forum based upon any violation of state, federal or any country’s
securities laws, against any of the Defendants, parents, subsidiaries,
affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, bankers, commercial bankers,
lenders, accountants, advisors, consultants, insurers, attorneys, and any past,
present or future officers, directors and employees of Defendants, their
predecessors, successors, heirs, executors, trustees, estates, families, spouses
and marital communities, and their subsidiaries, affiliates and agents, and
all
similar persons and/or entities, based upon or related to (i) their purchase
of
InfoSonics securities during the Class Period held at the end of the Class
Period or any sales of such securities; and (ii) the facts, transactions,
events, occurrences, acts, disclosures, statements, omissions or failures to
act
which were or could have been alleged in the Action, including without
limitation, any misstatement or omission, any breach of duty, any negligence
or
fraud (or any other alleged wrongdoing or misconduct) relating in any way to
the
accounting for the 2006 warrants, InfoSonics’ public filings and financial
results publicly disseminated during the Class Period, InfoSonics’ stock split
announced in May 2006, the issues with VK Mobile phone manufacturing, approvals,
distribution, distribution agreements, distribution arrangements, sales,
acceptance, success, or defects alleged or that could have been alleged in
the
Complaint, and/or any alleged trading by Defendants in InfoSonics
stock.
(b)
a
release, waiver and relinquishment to the fullest extent permitted by law,
of
the provisions, rights and benefits of Section 1542 of the California Civil
Code, which provides as follows:
A
GENERAL
RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS, WHICH THE CREDITOR
DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR
AT
THE TIME OF EXECUTED THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY
HIM OR
HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT
WITH THE DEBTOR
by
Plaintiffs and all members of the Class, and all other persons and entities
whose claims are being released.
(c)
a
release by each Defendant and any other released person of each Plaintiff,
and
counsel for each Plaintiff from all claims, demands, rights, liabilities
and
causes of action, known or unknown, asserted or that might have been asserted
arising out of, based
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
upon
or
related to the institution, prosecution, assertion, settlement or resolution
of
the Action; and
(d)
a
provision providing for the dismissal of the Action with prejudice and without
costs, except as otherwise provided in the Stipulation of
Settlement.
The
foregoing does not represent the precise wording of the release, but rather
is
intended to summarize the intent of the releases contemplated by the Settlement.
The Stipulation of Settlement shall provide that the Parties shall request
the
Court to reserve jurisdiction over all matters relating to the administration
and effectuation of the Settlement.
9. Any
attorneys’ fees and expenses awarded Plaintiffs’ Counsel (identified in the
signature blocks to this Settlement and/or Plaintiffs’ Third Consolidated
Amended Class Action Complaint, filed May 23, 2008) by the Court shall be paid
solely from the Settlement Amount and may be paid to Plaintiffs’ Counsel
immediately following an award of such fees and expenses by the Court,
notwithstanding the existence of any timely filed objections thereto, or
potential for appeal therefrom, subject to each Plaintiff’s Counsel’s joint and
several obligations to make appropriate refunds or repayments to the Settlement
Fund, plus accrued interest at the same rate as is earned by the Settlement
Fund
in the escrow account if, and when, as the result of any appeal and/or further
proceedings on remand, or successful collateral attack, the fee or cost award
is
reduced or reversed. Each Plaintiff’s Counsel shall make the appropriate refund
or repayment, in full, within ten (10) business days following written notice
of
any such reduction of the fee or cost award, or the termination of the
Settlement. The obligation to make appropriate refund or repayment may be
enforced by summary orders of the Court. The Settlement Amount shall be the
sole
source of payment of any award of attorneys’ fees and costs to plaintiffs’
counsel. The Parties agree that the denial, in whole or in part, of any
application for attorneys’ fees and costs shall in no way affect the
enforceability, validity or finality of the Settlement. Defendants will take
no
position with respect to Plaintiffs’
Counsel’s
request for or award of attorneys’ fees or expenses.
10. The
Stipulation of Settlement shall contain a provision providing that Defendants
have the right to terminate this Settlement in the event that purchasers of
more
than seven (7) percent of the total number of shares of InfoSonics common stock
purchased during the Class Period submit timely and valid requests for exclusion
from the Class.
11. If
for
any reason the Settlement does not become final as defined in the Stipulation
of
Settlement, or if the Stipulation of Settlement is voided, canceled or
terminated or the Final Judgment approving the Settlement is overturned on
appeal, or does not become final as result of further proceedings on remand,
the
Settlement Amount plus accrued interest, less any notice costs, administration
costs, taxes or tax expenses paid or owing, shall be returned to InfoSonics
and/or AIG, respectively, to the extent each funded the Settlement Amount,
as
instructed by each party that funded the Settlement Amount, within ten (10)
days
after written notification of such event. This provision shall survive any
other
failure of the Stipulation of Settlement, and may be specifically enforced
by
the Court.
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
12. If
a case
is commenced concerning InfoSonics under Title 11 of the United States Code
(Bankruptcy), or a trustee, receiver or conservator is appointed under any
similar law, and in the event of the entry of a final order of a court of
competent jurisdiction determining the transfer of the Settlement Amount
pursuant to paragraph 1 hereof or any portion thereof by InfoSonics to be a
preference, voidable transfer, fraudulent transfer or similar transaction,
and
any portion thereof is required to be returned, and is, in fact, returned,
and
such amount is not promptly re-deposited by others, then, at the election of
Lead Counsel, Plaintiffs shall move (and Defendants shall not oppose) the Court
to vacate and set aside both the releases given and the Final Judgment, if
entered by such time. In such event, the releases and Final Judgment shall
be
null and void, and the parties shall be restored to their respective positions
in the litigation immediately prior to the execution of the Stipulation, and
the
Settlement Amount shall be returned subject to the provisions of paragraph
11
above.
13. If
a case
is commenced concerning AIG, Defendants’ insurance carrier, under Title 11 of
the United States Code (Bankruptcy), or a trustee, receiver or conservator
is
appointed under any similar law, and in the event of that the entry of a final
order of a court of competent jurisdiction determining the transfer of the
Settlement Amount pursuant to paragraph 1 hereof or any portion thereof to
be a
preference, voidable transfer, fraudulent transfer or similar transaction,
and
any portion thereof is required to be returned, and is, in fact, returned,
and
such amount is not promptly re-deposited by others, then, at the election of
either Plaintiffs or Defendant(s), Plaintiffs or Defendant(s) shall move (and
no
other party shall oppose) the Court to vacate and set aside both the releases
given and the Final Judgment, if entered by such time. In such event, the
releases and Final Judgment shall be null and void, and the parties shall be
restored to their respective positions in the litigation immediately prior
to
the execution of the Stipulation, and the Settlement Amount shall be returned
subject to the provisions of paragraph 11 above.
14. The
Settlement is conditioned upon receiving final judicial approval of the
Stipulation of Settlement from the Court, the entry of a Final Judgment, and
the
Final Judgment becoming final, as will be provided and defined in the
Stipulation of Settlement. This MOU is binding on the Parties, but it is
understood that the Settlement is subject to and contingent on: (a) good faith
documentation and execution of a Stipulation of Settlement containing the
releases described in Paragraph 8, and other essential terms contained herein;
(b) the preliminary approval of the Settlement by the Court; (c) payment of
the
Settlement Amount, as set forth in Paragraph 1 hereof; (d) final approval of
the
Court upon notice as described in Paragraph 3 to the Class Members and after
a
hearing (meaning that the Court has entered an order approving the Settlement
and that such order is finally affirmed on appeal or is no longer subject to
appeal); (e) AIG funding the Settlement Amount as set forth in Paragraph 1;
and
(f) the settlement of In
Re
InfoSonics Derivative Litigation,
including receiving final judicial approval therein, entry of a Final Judgment
therein, and the Final Judgment therein becoming final. This MOU and/or the
Settlement shall be voidable by the Parties should any of conditions (a) to
(d)
not be met, and voidable by the Defendants only if conditions (e) or (f) is
not
met; in such event, if any Party voids this MOU and/or the Settlement, then
this
MOU and/or the Settlement shall be null and void, and shall not be admissible
in
any proceeding or be deemed to prejudice any of the positions of the Parties
in
or with respect to the Action or any other action. In order to void the MOU
and/or the Settlement pursuant to this paragraph 14, the Party seeking to void
the MOU
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
and/or
the Settlement must give notice to the other
Party within thirty (30) days of the event giving rise to the right to void
the
MOU and/or Settlement. In the event that the Settlement is voided or terminated
or fails to become effective for any reason, including pursuant to Paragraph
11,
the Parties shall be deemed to have reverted to their respective status in
the
Action as of the date immediately preceding the execution of this MOU, and
the
Parties shall proceed in all respects as if this MOU and any related orders
had
not been executed and/or entered.
15. Promptly
upon execution of this MOU, counsel for the parties shall work cooperatively
and
in good faith to: (a) jointly request that the Court enter a stay of all
proceedings in the Action, and, if such stay is granted, shall cease any and
all
work in connection with the Action except for work relating to the consummation
of the Settlement; (b) in the event that the Court does not stay all proceedings
in the Action, Plaintiffs and Defendants shall agree to extensions of time
with
respect to court filings and other submissions as may be appropriate and
necessary; (c) negotiate and prepare expeditiously a binding Stipulation of
Settlement embodying the essential terms contained herein and such other
documentation as may be required in order to obtain the Court’s preliminary and
final approval of the Settlement; (d) file the Stipulation of Settlement and
other papers with the Court; and (e) cooperate and use best efforts to allow
for
joint hearings and other judicial efficiencies to facilitate the separate
settlement of the In
Re
InfoSonics Derivative Litigation.
Plaintiffs shall be responsible for moving for preliminary approval of the
Settlement by the Court.
16. This
MOU
shall be binding upon the Parties, and inure to the benefit of the successors,
assigns, executors, administrators, heirs, insurers, and legal representatives
of the Parties hereto, provided, however, that no assignment by any party shall
operate to relieve such party of its obligations hereunder. This MOU shall
also
inure to the benefit of the parties to the In
Re
InfoSonics Derivative Litigation, only
insofar as it relates specifically to that litigation.
17. This
MOU may be executed in one or more counterparts.
|
Dated:August
8, 2008
|
Dated:August
6, 2008
|
| |
|
|
HULETT
HARPER STEWART LLP
|
LATHAM
& WATKINS LLP
|
|
BLAKE
MUIR HARPER
|
PETER
H. BENZIAN
|
|
SARAH
P. WEBER
|
KIMBERLY
AROUH HICKS
|
| |
|
|
/s/
Blake Muir Harper (SW)
|
|
|
BLAKE
MUIR HARPER
|
KIMBERLY
AROUH HICKS
|
| |
|
|
550
West C Street, Suite 1600
|
600
West Broadway, Suite 1800
|
|
San
Diego, CA 92101
|
San
Diego, CA 92101
|
|
Telephone:
(619) 338-1133
|
Telephone:
(619) 236-1234
|
|
Facsimile: (619)
338-1139
|
Facsimile: (619)
696-7419
|
| |
|
|
Liaison
Counsel for Plaintiffs
|
Counsel
for Defendants InfoSonics Corporation
|
| |
Joseph
Ram, John J. Althoff, Jeffrey Klausner,
|
| |
Joseph
Murgo, and Abraham Rosler
|
CONFIDENTIAL
AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE
FOR
SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY
SUBJECT TO FED. R. OF EVIDENCE. 408
KLAFTER
OLSEN & LESSER LLP
KURT
B.
OLSEN
KURT
B.
OLSEN
1250
Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 200
Washington,
DC 20036
Telephone:
(202)
261-3553
Facsimile:
(202)
261-3533
KLAFTER
OLSEN & LESSER LLP
JEFFREY
A. KLAFTER
1311
Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 220
White
Plains, NY 10605
Telephone:
(914)
997-5656
Facsimile: (914)
997-2444
BERGER
& MONTAGUE PC
TODD
S.
COLLINS
TODD
S.
COLLINS
1622
Locust Street
Philadelphia,
PA 19103
Telephone:
(215)
875-3000
Facsimile: (215)
875-5715
Co-Lead
Counsel for Plaintiffs