Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies

 

Legal Matters

 

From time to time, the Company may be involved in a variety of claims, lawsuits, investigations and proceedings related to contractual disputes, employment matters, regulatory and compliance matters, intellectual property rights and other litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company operates in a highly regulated industry which may inherently lend itself to legal matters. Management is aware that litigation has associated costs and that results of adverse litigation verdicts could have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. Management, in consultation with legal counsel, has addressed known assertions and predicted unasserted claims below.

 

Biohealth Medical Laboratory, Inc, and PB Laboratories, LLC (the “Companies”) filed suit against CIGNA Health in 2015 alleging that CIGNA failed to pay claims for laboratory services the Companies provided to patients pursuant to CIGNA - issued and CIGNA - administered plans. In 2016, the U.S. District Court dismissed part of the Companies’ claims for lack of standing. The Companies appealed that decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which in late 2017 reversed the District Court’s decision and found that the Companies have standing to raise claims arising out of traditional insurance plans as well as self-funded plans.

 

The Company’s Epinex Diagnostics Laboratories, Inc. subsidiary was sued in a California state court by two former employees who alleged that they were wrongfully terminated, as well as for a variety of unpaid wage claims. The parties entered into a settlement agreement of this matter on July 29, 2016 for approximately $0.2 million, and the settlement was consummated on August 25, 2016. In October of 2016, the plaintiffs in this matter filed a motion with the court seeking payment for attorneys’ fees in the approximate amount of $0.7 million. On March 24, 2017, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for payment of attorneys’ fees in the amount of $0.3 million, and the Company has accrued this amount in its condensed consolidated financial statements. Additionally, the Company is seeking indemnification for these amounts from Epinex Diagnostics, Inc. (“EDI”), the seller of Epinex Diagnostic Laboratories, Inc. (“EDL”), pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement entered into by and among the parties.

 

In February 2016, the Company received notice that the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) placed a lien against Medytox Solutions, Inc. and its subsidiaries relating to unpaid 2014 taxes due, plus penalties and interest, in the amount of $5.0 million. The Company paid $0.1 million toward its 2014 tax liability on March 2016. The Company filed its 2015 Federal tax return on March 15, 2016 and the accompanying election to carryback the reported net operating losses was filed in April 2016. On August 24, 2016, the lien was released, and on September of 2016 the Company received a refund from the IRS in the amount of $1.9 million. In November of 2016, the IRS commenced an audit of the Company’s 2015 Federal tax return. The Company is currently unable to predict the outcome of the audit or any liability to the Company that may result from the audit.

 

On September 27, 2016, a tax warrant was issued against the Company by the Florida Department of Revenue (the “DOR”) for unpaid 2014 state income taxes in the approximate amount of $0.9 million, including penalties and interest. On January 25, 2017, the Company paid the DOR $250,000 as partial payment on this liability, and in February 2017 the Company entered into a Stipulation Agreement with the DOR which allows the Company to make monthly installment payments of $35,000 until February 2018 and negotiate a new payment agreement then, if the balance of $0.3 million cannot be satisfied in a lump sum. If at any time during the Stipulation period the Company fails to timely file any required tax returns with the DOR or does not meet the payment obligations under the Stipulation Agreement, the entire amount due will be accelerated. The Company has managed to pay some but not all of the required payments and $0.5 million remains outstanding to the DOR at March 31, 2018.

 

In December of 2016, TCS-Florida, L.P. (“Tetra”), filed suit against the Company for failure to make the required payments under an equipment leasing contract that the Company had with Tetra (see Note 8). On January 3, 2017, Tetra received a Default Judgment against the Company in the amount of $2.6 million, representing the balance owed on the leases, as well as additional interest, penalties and fees. The Company has recognized this amount in its consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016. In January and February of 2017, the Company made payments to Tetra in connection with this judgment aggregating to $0.7 million, and on February 15, 2017, the Company entered into a forbearance agreement with Tetra whereby the remaining $1.9 million due will be paid in 24 equal monthly installments. Payments commenced on May 1, 2017 and a total of $1.1 million remains outstanding to Tetra at March 31, 2018. The Company and Tetra have agreed to dispose of certain equipment and proceeds from the sale of surplus equipment have been applied to the outstanding balance.

 

In December of 2016, DeLage Landen Financial Services, Inc. (“DeLage”), filed suit against the Company for failure to make the required payments under an equipment leasing contract that the Company had with DeLage (see Note 8). On January 24, 2017, DeLage received a default judgment against the Company in the approximate amount of $1.0 million, representing the balance owed on the lease, as well as additional interest, penalties and fees. The Company has recognized this amount in its consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016. On February 8, 2017, a Stay of Execution was filed and under its terms the balance due will be paid in variable monthly installments through January of 2019, with an implicit interest rate of 4.97%. The Company and DeLage have now disposed of certain equipment and reduced the balance owed to DeLage. The reduced balance remains outstanding at March 31, 2018.

 

On December 7, 2016, the holders of the Tegal Notes (see Note 5) filed suit against the Company seeking payment for the amounts due under the notes in the aggregate of $0.4 million, including accrued interest. A request for entry of default judgment was filed on January 24, 2017. A judgment was entered against the Company on April 23, 2018. These amounts remain outstanding at March 31, 2018.

 

In November 2017 a former shareholder of Genomas filed suit against the Company for payment of a $200,000 Note payable by the subsidiary Genomas. This Note is recorded in the financial statements of the subsidiary and is not payable directly from the Company. Other claims were included in the suit which the Company believes to be frivolous and without merit. The Company has filed a motion to dismiss certain of the claims. The Company has made a $100,000 payment and agreed to a schedule of payments to discharge the remaining balance of the Note. The parties have agreed to dismiss the legal action.

 

The Company and subsidiaries have been party to suits filed by landlords for late payment of rent and have either settled these claims or are in process of agreeing to settlement. The Company does not deem these actions to be material.