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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Commitment and Contingencies:  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 9 - Commitments and Contingencies

 

On June 25, 2015, Company consultant Hank Leibowitz assigned to the Company a patent he obtained for a system and method for using high temperature sources in Rankine cycle power systems. The Company has agreed to pay Mr. Leibowitz a 2% royalty for any and all revenues of products and/or project sales by the Company based on the subject patent.

 

On November 2, 2012, Keith Johnson, the Company’s former Chief Technical Officer, filed suit against the Company’s operating subsidiary PowerVerde Systems, Inc., in Maricopa County, Arizona, Superior Court. The suit included claims for breach of his employment agreement, for back pay and related claims. Mr. Johnson, whose salary was $12,500 per month, sought back pay of $37,500, reimbursement of expenses totaling approximately $5,012 and other unspecified damages. The Company believes that Mr. Johnson voluntarily terminated his employment in accordance with the agreement and that he has been paid in full. In an abundance of caution, the Company also gave Mr. Johnson 30 days’ notice of termination without cause pursuant to the employment agreement, with this notice to be effective only if the Court determines that his employment was not previously terminated by him. Mr. Johnson ceased working for the Company in early September 2012. Based on the foregoing, the Company believed that it had substantial defenses to Mr. Johnson’s claims, which were denied in the Company’s answer.

 

In May 2014, the case was settled pursuant to the Company’s agreement to pay Mr. Johnson $30,088, with $5,088 due upon execution of the settlement agreement plus an additional $25,000 payable in installments of $12,500 each in July and August 2014. The installments due in July and August are included in the Payable to Related Parties on the condensed consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2014. As of the date of this filing, all of the settlement payments have been made, and this case is concluded.

 

The Company’s license agreement with VDF FutureCeuticals, Inc., which has generated all of the Company’s revenues since 2012, will terminate in March 2018, when the underlying patents expire.