Exhibit
99.1
NOTICE OF HEARING ON
PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF DERIVATIVE ACTION
TO: ALL
CURRENT HOLDERS OF INFOSONICS CORPORATION COMMONSTOCK.
PLEASE
READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE
AFFECTED.
THIS
NOTICE RELATES TO A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF A SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE ACTION AND
CLAIMS ASSERTED ON BEHALF OF INFOSONICS CORPORATION (“INFOSONICS” OR “THE
COMPANY”).
PURPOSE OF THIS
NOTICE
This
Notice is given pursuant to Rule 23.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
and by an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of
California. The purpose of the Notice is to advise you that a
shareholder derivative lawsuit is pending in that Court, and that the parties
thereto have reached a proposed settlement (the “Settlement”) which would
resolve the shareholder derivative action, brought on behalf of nominal
defendant InfoSonics, and against defendants Joseph Ram, Jeffrey A Klausner,
Joseph C. Murgo, Robert S. Picow, Kirk A. Waldron, Abraham G. Rosler and Randall
P. Marx (collectively, the “Individual Defendants”). The terms and
conditions of the proposed Settlement are summarized in this Notice and set
forth in a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the
“Stipulation”). A Final Approval Hearing (defined below) will be held
on April 23,
2009 at 3:00 p.m., before the
Honorable Janis L. Sammartino, United States District Court for the Southern
District of California, 940 Front Street, San Diego, California, 92101 to
consider the fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the Settlement, and the
request for payment of attorneys’ fees and expenses to Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead
Counsel (defined below). A copy of the Stipulation may be viewed on
InfoSonics’ website at www.infosonics.com. The capitalized terms used
herein and not otherwise defined are defined in the stipulation.
THIS
NOTICE IS NOT AN EXPRESSION OF ANY OPINION BY THE COURT AS TO THE MERITS OF ANY
CLAIMS OR ANY DEFENSES ASSERTED BY ANY PARTY IN THE DERIVATIVE ACTION, OF THE
FAIRNESS, REASONABLENESS OR ADEQUACY OF THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT.
DEFINITIONS
The terms
in this Notice have the meaning set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement on
InfoSonics’ website at www.infosonics.com.,
and include the following defined terms:
1. “Court”
means the United States District Court for the Southern District of
California.
2. “Derivative
Action” means the Federal Derivative Action (defined below).
3. “InfoSonics
Common Stock” means the common stock of InfoSonics.
4. “InfoSonics
Shareholders” mean all current record owners of InfoSonics Common
Stock.
5. "Judgment"
means the proposed Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal to be entered approving
the Settlement.
6. "Notice
Order" means the proposed order setting the date for a Final Approval Hearing on
the proposed Settlement, directing notice thereof, and preliminarily approving
the Settlement and determining, for purposes of the Settlement only, that the
Derivative Action is properly maintained on behalf of InfoSonics pursuant to
Rule 23.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
7. "Plaintiffs'
Co-Lead Counsel" means the law firms of Robbins Umeda, LLP (f/k/a/ Robbins Umeda
& Fink, LLP) and Johnson Bottini, LLP.
8. “Settlement”
means the settlement as set forth in the Stipulation
9. “Final
Approval Hearing” means a hearing that will be held by the Court to consider
whether the Settlement should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and
adequate to InfoSonics and its shareholders, including Plaintiffs, and whether
the Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal should be entered.
BACKGROUND OF THE DERIVATIVE
LITIGATION
10. Beginning
on June 27, 2006, Plaintiffs each filed their respective shareholder derivative
complaints on behalf of InfoSonics and against the Individual
Defendants. By Order dated September 14, 2006, the Honorable Larry
Alan Burns, to whom the derivative actions were initially assigned, consolidated
the three actions under the above caption (the "Derivative Action") and
appointed Caridad Miller and Jason Haggerty as Co-Lead
Plaintiffs. The Court also approved Plaintiffs' choice of Co-Lead
Counsel: Robbins Umeda, LLP (f/k/a/ Robbins Umeda & Fink, LLP)
and the Johnson Law Firm (which subsequently became Johnson Bottini,
LLP).
11. Plaintiffs
filed their Consolidated Derivative Complaint on November 6, 2006 (the
"Consolidated Complaint"). The Consolidated Complaint alleged
wrongdoing by the Individual Defendants in connection with the Company’s
restatement of first quarter 2006 earnings and with respect to granting,
exercising, accounting and reporting of the stock options that the Company
granted in December 2005. Plaintiffs asserted claims for disgorgement
under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, violation of Section 14(a) of the Exchange
Act, violation of California Corporations Code section 25403 and 25403, breach
of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate
assets, unjust enrichment and for an accounting. Plaintiffs sought
unspecified damages, declaratory relief regarding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002, Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act, and the legality of stock options, a
constructive trust, restitution, disgorgement, modification of certain corporate
governance and internal procedures, extraordinary equitable and/or injunctive
relief, costs, and such other relief as is just and proper.
12. On
January 12, 2007, InfoSonics and the Individual Defendants filed a motion to
dismiss for failure to make a demand on InfoSonics’ Board of Directors (the
“Board”), and a motion to dismiss for lack of standing and failure to state a
claim. Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motions to dismiss on
March 26, 2007. On September 4, 2007, the Court entered its Order
granting the Individual Defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to make a
demand on the Board. The Court dismissed the Consolidated Complaint
in its entirety with leave to file an amended complaint on or before October 5,
2007.
13. On
September 27, 2007, the Derivative Action was reassigned to the Honorable Janis
L. Sammartino for all further proceedings.
14. Subsequent
to the reassignment of the Derivative Action, the Parties (as defined below)
agreed to engage in settlement negotiations and submitted joint motions on
October 2, 2007, December 13, 2007, February 28, 2008, June 2, 2008 and July 16,
2008 requesting additional time for Plaintiffs to file their amended
complaint. The Parties' joint motions were granted by the Court on
November 15, 2007, December 18, 2007, March 4, 2008, June 4, 2008 and July 21,
2008, respectively.
15. On
August 11, 2008, the Parties submitted a joint motion to continue the status
conference in the Derivative Action, having reached a settlement of the
Derivative Action. The Court entered an Order on August 15, 2008
continuing the status conference pending the filing of the Parties’ Stipulation
of Settlement.
TERMS OF THE
SETTLEMENT
16. In
settlement of the Settled Claims, InfoSonics has agreed to implement and
maintain certain corporate governance changes and maintain them in effect for at
least five years from the Effective Date (as defined in the Stipulation) of the
Settlement, except to the extent advisable or necessary to address changes in
applicable state laws, federal laws and self-regulatory organization ("SRO")
rules (such as NASDAQ). These governance enhancements are listed on
the attached governance term sheet.
17. The
Settlement calls for InfoSonics and Plaintiffs (on behalf of themselves, all
InfoSonics shareholders and the Company) to release all Settled Claims against
Released Parties (as defined in the Stipulation).
a. The
release encompasses all claims, rights or causes of action or liabilities
whatsoever, whether based on federal, state, local, statutory or common law or
any other law, rule or regulation (whether foreign or domestic), including both
known claims and Unknown Claims (as defined in the Stipulation), accrued claims
and not accrued claims, foreseen claims and unforeseen claims, matured claims
and not matured claims, that have been or could have been asserted from the
beginning of time to the date of the entry of the Final Judgment and Order of
Dismissal in any forum by InfoSonics or any InfoSonics shareholder on behalf of
InfoSonics against any of the Released Parties which arise out of or relate in
any way to the allegations, transactions, facts, matters or occurrences,
representations or omissions involved, set forth, referred to or that could have
been asserted in the Derivative Action or that arise out of or relate in any way
to the resolution of the Derivative Action including this Stipulation and
Settlement and any actions or inactions relating thereto.
b. “Unknown
Claims” means any Settled Claim which any Plaintiff, InfoSonics or any
InfoSonics shareholder does not know or suspect to exist on behalf of the
Company at the time of the release of the Released Parties and which, if known
by him, her or it, might have affected his, her, or its decision to enter into
or not to object to this Settlement. Upon the Effective Date of the
Settlement, with respect to the Settled Claims, InfoSonics and Plaintiffs shall
expressly waive and relinquish to the fullest extent permitted by law, and all
InfoSonics shareholders by operation of the Final Judgment and Order of
Dismissal shall be deemed to have expressly waived and relinquished to the
fullest extent permitted by law, the provisions, rights, and benefits conferred
by Section 1542 of the California Civil Code 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 EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN
BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE
DEBTOR....
and by
any other law of any state or territory of the United States, or principle of
common law, or of international or foreign law, which is similar, comparable or
equivalent to Section 1542 of the California Civil Code.
18. The
Released Parties are the Individual Defendants and each of their respective
past, present or future directors, officers, employees, partnerships, partners,
members, principals, agents, underwriters, insurers, co-insurers, reinsurers,
controlling shareholders, attorneys, accountants or auditors, advisors, banks or
investment banks or bankers, analysts, associates, personal or legal
representatives, predecessors, successors, parents, subsidiaries, divisions,
joint ventures, assigns, executors, administrators, spouses, heirs, related or
affiliated entities, any entity in which an Individual Defendant and/or any
member of an Individual Defendant’s immediate family has a controlling interest,
any members of their immediate families, or any trust of which any Individual
Defendant is the settler or which is for the benefit of any Individual Defendant
and/or member(s) of his or her family any entity in which an Individual
Defendant and/or member(s) of his or her family any entity in which an
Individual Defendant and/or any member of an Individual Defendant’s immediate
family has a controlling interest, any members of their immediate families, or
any trust of which any Individual Defendant is the settler or which is for the
benefit of any Individual Defendant and/or member(s) of his or her
family.
PLAINTIFFS’ COUNSEL’S
POSITION CONCERNING SETTLEMENT
19. Counsel
for Plaintiffs have carefully considered and evaluated, among other things, the
interests of InfoSonics in resolving the Derivative Action with as little
disruption to the corporation’s affairs as is consistent with securing relief,
the relevant legal authorities and evidence to support the claims asserted
against the Individual Defendants, the likelihood of prevailing on those claims,
the Individual Defendants’ respective abilities to pay any judgment, and the
likely appeals and subsequent proceedings necessary if Plaintiffs were to
prevail against the Individual Defendants. They have concluded that the proposed
Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate and in the overall best interests of
InfoSonics and its shareholders.
DEFENDANTS’ POSITION
CONCERNING SETTLEMENT
20. The
Individual Defendants and InfoSonics have denied and continue to deny that they
engaged in any wrongdoing whatsoever, and the Individual Defendants deny that
they have liability to InfoSonics as a result of any or all of the allegations
contained in the Derivative Actions. InfoSonics and the Individual
Defendants are entering into the Settlement in order to eliminate the burden,
distraction, expenses and uncertainty of further litigation, and to undertake
structural improvements in corporate governance that may benefit InfoSonics and
its shareholders. InfoSonics believes that the Settlement is in its
best interests and that of its shareholders.
ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND EXPENSES
OF PLAINTIFFS’ COUNSEL
21. Plaintiffs’
Co-Lead counsel have neither received any payment for work in connection with
the Derivative Action, nor been reimbursed for out-of-pocket
expenses. Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel actively litigated the
Derivative Action and participated in the settlement negotiations relating to
the Derivative Action. Plaintiffs and their counsel were a
substantial contributing factor in obtaining the agreed upon corporate
governance reforms. Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel intends to apply to
the Court for approval of an award of fees and expenses in an amount not to
exceed $350,000 (the “Fee and Expense Award”). InfoSonics and the
Individual Defendants have agreed not to oppose a request for Fees and Expenses
up to $350,000, if the proposed Settlement is approved by the
Court.
CONDITIONS TO
SETTLEMENT
22. The
Stipulation contains conditions, certain of which may be waived by InfoSonics,
which must be satisfied for the parties to be required to complete the
Settlement.
NOTICE OF HEARING ON
PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
23. A
Final Approval Hearing will be held on April 23, 2009 at
3:00 p.m.
before the Honorable Janis L. Sammartino, 940 Front Street, San Diego,
California, 92101. The Final Approval Hearing is for the purpose of
determining: (1) whether the proposed Settlement of the
Derivative Action, as set forth in the Stipulation on file with the Court,
should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate to InfoSonics
and its shareholders, including Plaintiffs; (2) whether a Final Judgment
and Order of Dismissal should be entered releasing the Released Parties from the
Settled Claims; and (3) whether Co-Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s request for
payment of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement for expenses should be granted; and
(4) any other matters that come before the Court.
24. The
Court may adjourn the Final Approval Hearing by oral announcement at such
hearing or any adjournment without further notice of any kind. The
Court may approve the Settlement with or without modification, enter a Final
Judgment and Order of Dismissal, and order the payment of the Fees and Expenses
without further notice of any kind.
THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD AT THE
SETTLEMENT HEARING
25. Any
InfoSonics shareholder may appear and show cause, if he, she or it has any
reason why the Settlement of the Derivative Action embodied in the Stipulation
should not be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate, or why a judgment
should or should not be entered hereon, or why the Fees and Expenses should not
be awarded; provided however, that no InfoSonics shareholder shall be heard or
entitled to contest the approval of the proposed Settlement, or, if approved,
the Order and Final Judgment to be entered hereon, unless that InfoSonics
shareholder has caused to be filed written objections, stating all supporting
bases and reasons for the objection; setting forth proof of current ownership of
InfoSonics stock as well as documentary evidence of when such stock ownership
was acquired; clearly identifying any and all witnesses, documents and other
evidence of any kind that are to be presented at the Final Approval Hearing in
connection with such objections; further setting forth the substance of any
testimony to be given by such witnesses, and further identifying any case, by
name, court and docket number, in which the objector, and his attorney, if any,
has objected to a settlement in the last three years, with:
CLERK OF
THE COURT
United
States District Court for the Southern District of California
880 Front
Street, Suite 4290
San
Diego, California, 92101
not later
than fourteen (14) days prior to the Final Approval Hearing, and has served
copies of all such papers at the same time upon the following by first-class
mail:
|
Frank
J. Johnson, Esq.
Francis
A. Bottini, Esq.
JOHNSON
BOTTINI, LLP
655
West Broadway, Suite 1400
San
Diego, CA 92101
|
Peter
H. Benzian, Esq.
Kimberly
A. Hicks, Esq.
LATHAM
& WATKINS LLP
600
West Broadway, Suite 1800
San
Diego, CA 92101
|
|
Brian
J. Robbins, Esq.
Marc
M. Umeda, Esq.
Caroline
A. Schnurer, Esq.
David
L. Martin, Esq.
ROBBINS
UMEDA, LLP
610
West Ash St., Ste. 1800
San
Diego, CA 92101
|
Counsel
for InfoSonics and Individual Defendants
|
|
Plaintiffs’
Co-Lead Counsel
|
|
Any
current InfoSonics shareholder wishing to be heard at the Final Approval Hearing
is required to include a notice of intention to appear at the Final Approval
Hearing together with their written objection.
26. Any
current InfoSonics shareholder who does not make his, her or its objection in
substantially the manner provided in the preceding paragraph of this Order shall
be deemed to have waived such objection and shall forever be foreclosed
from: (i) making any objections to the fairness, adequacy, or
reasonableness of the Settlement; or (ii) making any objections to the fairness
and reasonableness of the Fee and Expense Award.
FURTHER
INFORMATION
27. Further
information regarding the Derivative Action and this Notice may be obtained by
writing Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel: Frank J. Johnson, Esquire or
Francis A. Bottini, Esquire, JOHNSON BOTTINI, LLP, 655 West Broadway, Suite
1400, San Diego, California 92101; or Brian J. Robbins, Esquire, Marc
M. Umeda, Esquire, Caroline A. Schnurer Esquire or David L. Martin, Esquire,
ROBBINS UMEDA LLP, 610 West Ash Street, Suite 1800, San Diego, California 92101;
or counsel for InfoSonics and Individual Defendants: Peter H. Benzian, Esquire
or Kimberly A. Hicks, Esquire, LATHAM & WATKINS LLP, 600 West Broadway,
Suite 1800, San Diego, CA 92101.
28. The
pleadings and other records of the Derivative Action as well as the Stipulation
filed with the Court may be examined and copied at any time during regular
office hours at the Office of the Clerk, United States District Court for the
Southern District of California, 880 Front Street, Suite 4290, San Diego,
California, 92101. Additionally, the Stipulation, this Notice and
certain other settlement related documents may be examined on InfoSonics’
website: www.infosonics.com.
Please
Do Not Telephone The Court or The Clerk’s Office Regarding This
Notice.
|
Dated: January 20,
2009
|
BY ORDER OF THE COURT
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF
CALIFORNIA
|
Governance
Term Sheet
InfoSonics
will agree to implement the following corporate governance changes and maintain
them in effect for at least five years from entry of a court order approving the
Stipulation, which has become final, except to the extent advisable or necessary
to address changes in applicable state laws, federal laws, and self-regulatory
organization (“SRO”) rules (such as NASDAQ):
(a) The
Company's outside counsel shall be involved in all grants of stock options and
be primarily responsible for the record keeping, resolutions, and minutes with
respect to stock option grants.
(b) The
Company will change audit partners no less frequently than every five
years.
(c) Each
Director of the Company will be encouraged to attend in person or telephonically
at least 80% of all Board and committee meetings.
(d) The
Audit Committee may hire independent consultants who report directly to the
Audit Committee at the Company's expense as the Audit Committee deems
appropriate in its sole judgment.
(e) The
Company will ask its outside auditor to identify the stock option granting
process as a "high risk" audit item and ask the outside auditor to conduct its
audit accordingly.
(f) The
Audit Committee shall meet with the Company's outside auditor at least annually
to discuss the Company's accounting for stock-based compensation.
(g) The
Company will request its Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") to increase the amount
of time he spends meeting with the Company's outside auditor as part of the
year-end audit process.
(h) The
Company's CEO will acknowledge, to the extent required by the current
certifications in the Company's Form 10-Qs and 10-Ks, responsibility for the
Company's accounting controls.
(i) The
Company shall revise its corporate governance principles, by-laws and/or
articles of incorporation to the extent necessary to require that a majority of
the members of the Board be independent. An "independent" director
shall be defined by the SEC rules and/or the NASDAQ
rules. Essentially, an independent director is one who:
(1) is
not, and in the past five years has not been, employed by the Company or any of
its subsidiaries or affiliates;
(2) does
not receive, and in the past five years has not received, any remuneration as an
advisor, consultant, or legal counsel to the Company or any of its subsidiaries,
affiliates, executive officers, or directors;
(3) does
not have, and in the past five years has not had, any contact or agreement with
the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates pursuant to which the
director performed or agreed to perform any personal services for the
Company;
(4) does
not have, and in the past five years has not had, any relationship or engaged in
any transaction with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates other
than his or her service as a director;
(5) is
not, and in the past five years has not been, affiliated with or employed by any
present or former independent auditor of the Company or any of its subsidiaries
or affiliates.
(6) is
not, and in the past five years has not been, a director or executive officer of
any Company for, which any executive officer of the Company serves as a
director; and
(7) is
not a member of the immediate family of a person who is not independent pursuant
to subsections (1) to (6) above.
(j) The
Company's Board shall establish a policy which requires the independent
directors to meet in an executive session at least four times a year or at each
formal, in-person meeting of the full Board, and require that the Board report
to shareholders the number of such meetings held each year.
(k) The
Company shall revise its corporate governance policy to require that an
independent director sit on no more than three additional public company boards,
and that the CEO of the Company and the Chairman of the Board each sit on no
more than one other such board.
(l) Any
Company stock option or other similar plan shall provide an objective,
measurable and fair mechanism for pricing stock options.
(m) All
future Company stock options or other similar plan ("Stock Option Plan") shall
clearly define the exercise price, the grant date and the fair market value of
stock (e.g., the closing price on a specified date, or the average closing price
over a specified period). Subject to section n(2) below,
in no event shall the exercise price or value of an award be determined by
reference to the fair market value of the InfoSonics stock on a day other than
the grant date of the award. The fair market value of InfoSonics
stock on a grant date shall be the closing price for a share of common stock on
such day as reported on the NASDAQ.
(n) Company
Stock Option Plans shall provide:
(1) The
exercise price for each option grant shall be at least 100 percent of the
closing market price on the date of grant; and
(2) If
the option grant is held close to an earnings release, the pricing of the grant
shall be the closing price on the third trading day following the earnings
release.
(o) Company
Stock Option Plans shall comply with legal, professional and ethical
requirements for proper disclosure and proper accounting and shall provide
appropriate documentation for proper disclosure and accounting.
(p) The
Company shall either instruct its outside counsel to file SEC Forms 3, 4, and 5
for requesting officers and directors in connection with Stock Option Plans, or
else the Company's Stock Option Plan shall identify who is responsible for
completing and filing SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5.
(q) The
Company's process for granting executive non-cash compensation shall have the
same transparency and be consistent with the process and methodology for
determining executive cash compensation.
(r) The
authority to grant stock option awards should be limited to the full Board or to
a properly constituted Compensation Committee. If stock option awards
are made by the Compensation Committee, no executive officer shall serve as a
member of the Compensation Committee.
(s) As
a general rule, all grants shall be made at a meeting of the InfoSonics Board or
a properly constituted Compensation Committee, rather than by unanimous written
consent. Corporate counsel shall be requested to attend any and all
meetings where options are granted and shall promptly prepare minutes of the
meeting.
(t) The
Compensation Committee may not delegate authority to a sub-committee to grant
stock options.
(u) The
body authorized to grant stock options shall be specified in the Compensation
Committee Charter and any current and/or subsequent equity incentive plan,
whether subject to stockholder approval or not.