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Note 11 - Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Notes to Financial Statements  
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]
11.
Commitments and Contingencies
 
Office Space Rental
 
On September 4, 2014, the Company entered into a lease agreement for office space totaling approximately 2,900 square feet in Buffalo Grove, Illinois and relocated its corporate headquarters to this facility in the third quarter of 2014. The term of the lease commenced on September 15, 2014 and will continue through February 28, 2018. The Company has an option to renew the lease for one renewal term of three years. Under the lease agreement, the first five months are rent free and then the base rent will be approximately $6,000 per month through February 28, 2016 for a total of approximately $72,000 per year. The base rent will increase to approximately $6,100 per month for the first year thereafter and $6,200 per month for the second year thereafter.
 
The Company’s contractual obligations with respect to rental commitments as of December 31, 2015 were as follows:
 
 
 
Rental Commitments
 
Payments due by period:
       
One year
  $ 72,920  
Two years
    74,355  
Three years
    12,432  
Four years
     
Five years
     
Over five years
     
Total
  $ 159,707  
 
Purchase Obligations
 
As of December 31, 2015, the Company had no material future commitments in regards to the preclinical development of RES-440 and RES-529.
 
Litigation
 
From time to time, the Company is subject to various pending or threatened legal actions and proceedings, including those that arise in the ordinary course of its business, which may include employment matters, breach of contract disputes and stockholder litigation. Such actions and proceedings are subject to many uncertainties and to outcomes that are not predictable with assurance and that may not be known for extended periods of time. The Company records a liability in its condensed consolidated financial statements for costs related to claims, including future legal costs, settlements and judgments, where the Company has assessed that a loss is probable and an amount can be reasonably estimated. If the reasonable estimate of a probable loss is a range, the Company records the most probable estimate of the loss or the minimum amount when no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount. The Company discloses a contingent liability even if the liability is not probable or the amount is not estimable, or both, if there is a reasonable possibility that a material loss may have been incurred. In the opinion of management, as of December 31, 2015, the amount of liability, if any, with respect to these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will not materially affect the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
 
On August 7, 2014, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California by Paul Feller, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer under the caption
Paul Feller v. RestorGenex Corporation, Pro Sports & Entertainment, Inc., ProElite, Inc. and Stratus Media Group, GmbH
(Case No. BC553996). The complaint asserts various causes of action, including, among other things, promissory fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of employment agreement, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, violations of the California Labor Code and common counts. The plaintiff is seeking, among other things, compensatory damages in an undetermined amount, punitive damages, accrued interest and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. On December 30, 2014, the Company filed a petition to compel arbitration and a motion to stay the action. On April 1, 2015, the plaintiff filed a petition in opposition to the Company’s petition to compel arbitration and a motion to stay the action. After a hearing for the petition and motion on April 14, 2015, the Court granted the Company’s petition to compel arbitration and a motion to stay the action. On January 8, 2016, the plaintiff filed an arbitration demand with the American Arbitration Association. No arbitration hearing has yet been scheduled. The Company believes this matter is without merit and intends to defend the arbitration vigorously. Because this matter is in an early stage, the Company is unable to predict its outcome and the possible loss or range of loss, if any, associated with its resolution or any potential effect the matter may have on the Company’s financial position. Depending on the outcome or resolution of this matter, it could have a material effect on the Company’s financial position.
 
On September 21, 2015, David Schmidt, a member of Diffusion, filed suit (the “Complaint”) in the Circuit Court for Albemarle County (Virginia), which is proceeding as
Case. No.  CL15-791, David G. Schmidt v. Diffusion Pharmaceuticals, LLC
.  The primary claim asserted in the Complaint is a claim for breach of contract, with Mr. Schmidt asserting that Diffusion breached the terms of a $1.5 million convertible promissory note, dated December 15, 2009, which he elected to fully convert into membership units on the same day at the contractual per-unit conversion price of $3.50.  Mr. Schmidt alleges that the anti-dilution provisions of the convertible promissory note and certain terms of the operating agreement entitle him to convert his note at the conversion price of $1 per unit, which was the conversion price that Diffusion subsequently renegotiated in 2012 with other noteholders who had not converted their notes.  Mr. Schmidt contends that if he had converted his note at $1 per unit instead of $3.50 per unit, he would have received an additional 1,071,432.50 units.  His claim for relief is an award of specific performance requiring Diffusion to issue him an additional 1,071,432.50 units or to pay damages equal to the value of such units.  Mr. Schmidt also asserts tort claims for breach of fiduciary duty and conversion, together with a claim for unjust enrichment.  These claims are all based on the alleged breaches of contract underpinning his claim for breach of contract.
 
Diffusion filed a Demurrer asking the court to dismiss the Complaint for failing to state a viable cause of action.  Diffusion maintains that neither the convertible promissory note nor the operating agreement entitle Mr. Schmidt to receive a lower conversion price that was negotiated with other noteholders after he elected to convert his notes. Diffusion also seeks dismissal of the other claims on various grounds, including the economic loss rule (which generally prohibits tort claims arising out of a breach of contract) and the statute of limitations. A hearing on Diffusion’s Demurrer was held on March 14, 2016, at which hearing the claim was dismissed for failing to state a viable cause of action.  Mr. Schmidt has up to 21 days to file an amended, restated complaint.
Management and legal counsel for Diffusion are of the opinion that the plaintiff’s claim is without merit and Diffusion will prevail in defending the suit. Diffusion is unable to estimate the possible loss or range of loss should Diffusion not prevail in defending the suit.