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Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
CONTINGENCIES

Note 8. CONTINGENCIES

 

Loss Contingencies

 

A number of actions have been commenced against us by vendors, landlords and former landlords, including a third party claim as a result of an injury suffered on a portion of a leased property not occupied by us. As certain of these claims represent amounts included in accounts payable they are not specifically discussed herein.

 

Westbury Park Associates, LLC commenced an action on or about January 11, 2017 against Air Industries Group in the NYS Supreme Court, County of Suffolk, seeking the recovery of past rent arrears, and for an unspecified sum representing all additional rent due under an alleged commercial lease through the end of its term, plus interest and attorney’s fees. The Plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment in May of 2019. This Motion has been granted, in part, by the Court, finding that Air Industries Group had a lease and was liable. The Court made no finding as to the amount of the Plaintiff’s damages, and directed the parties to use their best efforts to agree on any amount due to Plaintiff. Through our Counsel we have initiated preliminary negotiations but have not come to an agreement with Plaintiff. The Company believes that any settlement will not be material.

  

An employee of the Company commenced an action against, among others, Rechler Equity B-2, LLC and Air Industries Group, in the Supreme Court State of New York, Suffolk County, seeking compensation in an undetermined amount for injuries suffered while leaving the premises occupied by Welding Metallurgy, Inc. Rechler Equity B-2, LLC, has served a Third Party Complaint in this action against Air Industries Group, Inc. and Welding Metallurgy, Inc. The action remains in the early pleading stage. The Company believes it is not liable to the employee and any amount it might have to pay would be covered by insurance.

 

An employee of the Company commenced an action against, among others, Sterling Engineering and Air Industries Group, before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, seeking lost wages in an undetermined amount for the employee’s termination. The action remains in the early pleading stage. The Company believes it is not liable to the employee and any amount it might have to pay would be covered by insurance.

 

Contract Pharmacal Corp. commenced an action on October 2, 2018, relating to a Sublease entered into in May 2018 with respect to the property we occupied at 110 Plant Avenue, Hauppauge, New York. In the action Contract Pharmacal seeks damages for an amount in excess of $1,000,000 for the Company’s failure to make the entire premises available by the Sublease commencement date. The Company disputes the validity of the claims asserted by Contract Pharmacal and believes it has meritorious defenses to those claims and recently submitted a motion in opposition to its motion for summary judgement.

 

On October 15, 2018, a complaint was filed by a stockholder of the Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Michael Kishmoian vs. Air Industries et al Case No. 18cv5757) naming the Company and certain of its directors and a former director. The complaint alleges that the proxy statement for the Company’s 2017 Annual Meeting contained false and misleading misstatements relating to whether brokers had discretionary authority to vote the shares of their customers in connection with the proposal to increase the number of shares the Company is authorized to issue (the “2017 Charter Amendment”). In the complaint the plaintiff seeks to void the amendment and rescind any shares issued using the shares authorized by the amendment. The Company’s Board of Directors has adopted an amendment to further increase the number of shares of Common Stock they are authorized to issue (the “2019 Charter Amendment”). At the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 25, 2019 the stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation further increasing the number of shares of common stock the Company is authorized to issue to 60,000,000 shares, which amendment previously was adopted by the Company’s Board of Directors. Counsel to the Company has initiated settlement negotiations with Plaintiff’s counsel. The Company believes that the outcome will not be material.

 

From time to time the Company also may be engaged in various lawsuits and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of the Company’s business. The Company is currently not aware of any legal proceedings the ultimate outcome of which, in its judgment based on information currently available, would have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or operating results. The Company, however, has had claims brought against it by a number of vendors due to their liquidity constraints.  There are no proceedings in which any of its directors, officers or affiliates, or any registered or beneficial stockholder of the Company’s common stock, is an adverse party or has a material interest adverse to the Company’s interest.