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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 21 — Commitments and Contingencies

 

Leases

 

The determination if any arrangement contained a lease at its inception was done based on whether or not the Company has the right to control the asset during the contract period. The lease term was determined assuming the exercise of options that were reasonably certain to occur. Leases with a lease term of 12 months or less at inception were not reflected in the Company’s balance sheet and those lease costs are expensed on a straight-line basis over the respective term. Leases with a term greater than 12 months were reflected as non-current right-of-use assets and current and non-current lease liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

 

As the implicit interest rate in its leases was generally not known, the Company’s used its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate for purposes of determining the present value of its lease liabilities. At March 31, 2022, the Company’s weighted-average discount rate utilized for its leases was 7.32%.

 

When a contract contained lease and non-lease elements, both were accounted as a single lease component. 

 

The Company had several non-cancellable finance leases for machinery and equipment. The Company’s finance leases have remaining lease terms of one year to five years.

 

The Company had several non-cancellable operating leases for corporate offices, warehouses, showrooms, research and development facilities and vehicles. The Company’s leases have remaining lease terms of one year to five years, some of which include options to extend. Some leases include payment for common area maintenance associated with the property. 

 

Additional information on the Company’s lease activity, for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, is as follows:

 

   Three Months ended
March 31,
 
(In thousands)  2022   2021 
Operating lease cost  $254   $14 
Finance lease cost:          
Amortization of right-of-use assets   48    45 
Interest on lease liabilities   9    12 
Short-term lease cost   
    
 
Total lease cost  $311   $71 

 

   March 31,
2022
   March 31,
2021
 
Weighted-average remaining lease term – operating leases   2.27 years    1.81 years 
Weighted-average remaining lease term – finance leases   2.78 years    3.73 years 
Weighted-average discount rate – operating leases   6.63%   8.13%
Weighted-average discount rate – finance leases   8.01%   8.10%

 

(In thousands)  March 31,
2022
   December 31,
2021
 
         
Right-of-use assets, net  $1,962   $       1,859 
           
Operating lease liabilities, current   911    
814
 
Operating lease liabilities, non-current   689    
704
 
Total operating lease liabilities  $1,600   $
1,518
 
           
Finance lease liabilities, current  $182   $156 
Finance lease liabilities, non-current   275    293 
Total finance lease liabilities  $457   $449 

 

Maturities of operating and finance lease liabilities as of March 31, 2022 are as follows:

 

Years ending December 31 (In thousands),  Operating
lease
   Finance
lease
 
         
Remaining 2022  $705   $163 
2023   606    194 
2024   250    92 
2025   107    50 
2026   63    16 
Total minimum lease payments   1,731    515 
Less imputed interest   (131)   (58)
Total lease liabilities  $1,600   $457 

 

Legal Proceedings

 

On January 5, 2021, the Company received a demand letter from Nicholas Cooper and Richard Weinstein, (two of the Company’s former employees), and one of Mr. Cooper’s affiliated entities, asserting that Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein were entitled to compensation arising out of their employment by the Company, and their partial ownership of TriGrow Systems, LLC which had been acquired by the Company. The demand letter asserts that Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein are due certain sales commissions under their applicable bonus plan, equity earn-outs based on certain sales targets, and various equity purchases through the Company’s employee stock ownership plan. The demand letter also asserts various employment claims, including but not limited to, statutory wage withholding violations, wrongful termination, breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, fraud in the inducement, promissory estoppel, minority shareholder oppression, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, and violations of state and federal securities laws.

 

On January 19, 2021, Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleging the same claims made in their demand letter based on the facts disclosed above. The plaintiffs are seeking relief in the form of monetary damages in an amount to be determined. Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein are also seeking relief in the form of reinstatement and Mr. Weinstein is seeking rescission of his previously executed Release of Claims Agreement. On March 10, 2021, the Company moved to dismiss all Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein’s claims, asserting that the claims failed to allege legal grounds for relief. On May 12, 2021, a Magistrate issued a preliminary Report and Recommendation, which recommended dismissal of certain of Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein’s claims, and recommended others for additional factual discovery. On July 27, 2021, a District Judge entered an order partially adopting the Report and Recommendation, dismissing one claim with prejudice, dismissing a second claim with leave to amend, and permitting the remaining claims to proceed.

 

Additionally, on July 29, 2021, the Company filed a separate arbitration in Boston, Massachusetts against Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein, in which the Company alleges that Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein were liable for certain conduct during the time they were TriGrow employees, including breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, usurpation of corporate opportunity, conversion, fraudulent concealment, and false representation. Also on July 29, 2021, the Company submitted a claim for indemnification to certain legacy TriGrow Systems, LLC. shareholders. The claim for indemnification relates to conduct by Messrs. Cooper and Weinstein during the time they were TriGrow employees. The Company does not believe these claims have any merit, and intends to vigorously defend its position.

 

Supply Agreement with Mack Molding Co.

 

In December 2020, the Company entered into a five-year supply agreement with Mack Molding Co. (“Mack”) pursuant to which Mack will become a key supplier of VFUs. In February 2021, the Company placed a purchase order with Mack amounting to approximately $5.2 million towards initial production of VFUs during 2021. In September 2021, the Company increased the purchase order with Mack to approximately $11.5 million towards production of VFUs during 2021 and 2022. The Company believes the supply agreement with Mack will provide the Company with increased scaling capabilities and the ability to more efficiently meet the potential future demand of its customers. The supply agreement contemplates that, following an introductory period, the Company will negotiate a minimum percentage of the VFU requirements that the Company will purchase from Mack each year based on the agreed-upon pricing formula. The introductory period is not time-based but rather refers to the production of an initial number of units after which the parties have rights to adjust pricing and negotiate a certain minimum requirements percentage. The Company believes this approach will result in both parties making a more informed decision with respect to the pricing and other terms of the supply agreement with Mack.

 

Distribution Agreements with Related Party

 

On September 7, 2019, the Company entered into a distribution agreement with Bluezone Products, Inc. (“Bluezone”) for distribution rights to the Bluezone products with certain exclusivity rights. The agreement requires minimum purchases amounting to $480 thousand and $600 thousand for the first and second contract anniversary years. The agreement auto renews for successive one-year periods unless earlier terminated. In March 2021, the Company notified Bluezone of non-renewal of the agreement which means it ended on May 31, 2021. The Company exceeded the minimum purchase amount for the first year and purchased approximately $309 thousand of the committed $660 thousand second year purchases through December 31, 2021. Bluezone is a related party to the Company.

 

Committed Purchase Agreement with Greenstone Holdings

 

On December 29, 2021, Greenstone Holdings purchased 239 VFUs from the Company of which 60 VFUs were already in Greenstone Holdings possession under a lease agreement. Under the lease agreement, Greenstone Holdings owed Agrify a production service fee of $300 per pound of flower produced and contained an option to purchase the equipment within the lease agreement. The term of this agreement was for ten years, but it was terminated upon signing the purchase agreement for the 239 VFUs. There is no remaining obligation under the lease agreement. The remaining 179 VFUs were shipped to Greenstone Holdings storage facility on December 30, 2021 and December 31, 2021.