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Commitments and Contingencies
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2012
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| Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract] | |
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
NOTE 9—COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Leases The Company leases its corporate and administrative offices, R&D offices and certain equipment under operating lease agreements which expire through September 2017. Certain of the agreements contain renewal options. Future minimum payments under these operating lease agreements at December 31, 2012 were $929,000. Rent expense was $385,000, $406,000 and $483,000 for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Litigation Viamport Litigation On May 22, 2012, a lawsuit was filed against the Company in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Case No. FP-12-461) by Viaimport, SRL, a former customer of the Company, and served on the Company on July 12, 2012. The complaint alleges breach of contract and seeks U.S. $1 million in damages. The Company believes that this case is without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself. In addition, on August 31, 2012, the Company filed a lawsuit against Viaimport and its principal, Omar Hassan, in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County Florida (Case No. 12-34647CA32) for non-payment of purchase obligations aggregating $288,559 and other damages. Although both lawsuits are in their early stages, at this time we do not believe it will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. However, the ultimate legal and financial liability with respect to these matters cannot be estimated with certainty and the Dominican Republic case is complicated by its foreign venue. Steelhead Litigation On January 14, 2013, Steelhead Licensing LLC (“Steelhead”) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, alleging that certain of our products infringe claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,491,834. Steelhead is seeking injunctive relief as well as the recovery of unspecified monetary damages. We do not believe we infringe the Steelhead patent and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. Due to the inherent uncertainty of litigation, we cannot identify probable or estimable damages related to the lawsuit at this time.
The Company may become involved in certain other legal proceedings and claims which arise in the normal course of business. Other than as described above, as of the filing date of this report, the Company did not have any significant litigation outstanding. Vendors The Company has entered into written agreements with some of its supplier-manufacturers. None of these agreements require minimum amounts of product to be purchased. Some of the agreements contain automatic renewal clauses and the Company believes that it will be able to renew these contracts with similar terms upon their individual expirations. Employee Agreements and Compensation The Company provides a 401(k) retirement savings plan for all full-time employees. Employees are eligible after 90 days of service with the Company. The Company does not currently provide matching contributions. The Company entered into an employment agreement with its President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2012 that expires in April 2016. The employment agreement provides for an annual salary of $365,000. The agreement also provides that the Company may terminate the agreement without cause upon 30 days written notice. The Company’s only obligation would be to pay its President and Chief Executive Officer the greater of (a) 18 months’ salary or (b) one-half of the salary payable over the remaining term of the agreement. The Company entered into an employment agreement with its Chief Financial Officer in March 2012 that expires in March 2014. The employment agreement provides for an annual salary of $195,000. The agreement also provides that the Company may terminate the agreement upon 30 days written notice if termination was without cause. The Company’s only obligation would be to pay its Chief Financial Officer 6 months salary. |