Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

v3.20.1
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 15—Commitments and Contingencies

 

Licensing agreements.

 

On January 25, 2018, we entered into a Material Definitive Agreement that resulted in a Second Amendment with RDOC (the "Second Amendment") that amends certain terms of the 2013 License Agreement and extends the term of the 2013 License Agreement to September 1, 2019. In addition, the Company and two of its officers, and RDOC and certain individuals affiliated with RDOC entered into a Mutual Waiver and Release of Claims. The Second Agreement concluded on September 30, 2019.

 

Under the terms of the Second Amendment, the Company has been granted a worldwide license to use certain intellectual property of RDOC to develop, market, sell, and conduct Rich Dad Education branded educational products and services in real estate investing, business strategies, stock market investment techniques, stock/paper assets, cash management, asset protection, and other financially oriented subjects in any form of communication or media, in exchange for which the Company agreed to pay a monthly royalty to RDOC.

 

Under the terms of the Mutual Release, the Company and two of its directors, Anthony Humpage and James E. May, on the one hand, and RDOC and two of its officers, Mike Sullivan and Shane Caniglia, as well as Robert Kiyosaki and Kim Kiyosaki, on the other, exchanged mutual releases of claims that any of them had or might have had with respect to matters in existence prior to the execution of the Mutual Release.

 

We are committed to pay royalties for the usage of certain brands, as governed by various licensing agreements, including Rich Dad, Robbie Fowler and Martin Roberts. Total royalty expenses included in our Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were $3.4 million and $3.4 million, respectively.

 

Purchase commitments. From time to time, the Company enters into non-cancellable commitments to purchase professional services, Information Technology licenses and support, and training courses in future periods. There were no purchase commitments made by the Company at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

  

Custodial and Counterparty Risk. The Company is subject to custodial and other potential forms of counterparty risk in respect of a variety of contractual and operational matters. In the course of ongoing company-wide risk assessment, management monitors the Company arrangements that involve potential counterparty risk, including the custodial risk associated with amounts prepaid to certain vendors and deposits with credit card and other payment processors. Deposits held by our credit card processors at December 31, 2019 and 2018 were $2.3 million and $5.0 million, respectively. These balances are included on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in restricted cash in 2019 and 2018.

  

While these balances reside in major financial institutions, they are only partially covered by federal deposit insurance and are subject to the financial risk of the parties holding these funds. When appropriate, we utilize Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS) to reduce banking risk for a portion of our cash in the United States. A CDAR consists of numerous individual investments, all below the FDIC limits, thus fully insuring that portion of our cash. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, we did not have a CDAR balance.

   

Litigation.

 

We and certain of our subsidiaries, from time to time, are parties to various legal proceedings, claims and disputes that have arisen in the ordinary course of business. These claims may involve significant amounts, some of which would not be covered by insurance.

 

Elite Legacy Education, Inc. v. NetSuite, Inc., Oracle Corporation and Oracle America, Inc. On August 17, 2018, we submitted a demand for arbitration against Respondents NetSuite, Inc., Oracle Corporation, and Oracle America, Inc. (collectively, "Oracle/NetSuite") to JAMS in San Francisco, California for declaratory relief, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, conversion, and unjust enrichment to address the deficient performance and subsequent unwarranted and malicious threats to suspend performance altogether from Respondents Oracle/NetSuite arising out of the Company's new ERP/CRM system. In May 2019, we entered into a settlement agreement under which Oracle/NetSuite gave us $0.1 million in the form of accounts payable credit, concluding the litigation in its entirety. We recognized the settlement in May 2019.

 

Tigrent Group Inc. v. Process America, Inc. ("PA"), Case No 1:12-cv-01314-RLM, filed March 16, 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In this case we sought the return of the $8.3 million credit card merchant reserve account deposit held by Process America Inc., a so-called "Independent Sales Organization" that places merchants with credit card processors. On November 12, 2012, PA filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California ("Bankruptcy Court.") On December 3, 2012, the Bankruptcy Court obtained jurisdiction of our dispute with PA. On June 21, 2013, the Tigrent Group filed its proof of claim with Bankruptcy Court in the amount of $8.3 million. In July 2019, we received a cash payment from PA in the amount of $0.4 million, as a distribution. This amount was recognized and reported as other income in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss) for the year ended December 31, 2019.

 

Tranquility Bay of Pine Island, LLC v. Tigrent, Inc., et al. On March 16, 2017, suit was filed in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit In and For Lee County, Florida by Tranquility Bay of Pine Island, LLC ("TBPI") against Tigrent Inc. and various of its present and former shareholders, officers and directors. By amendment dated May 24, 2019, the Company and its then General Counsel and now Chief Executive Officer were named as defendants to a civil conspiracy count. The suit primarily relates to the alleged obligation of Tigrent to indemnify the Plaintiff pursuant to an October 6, 2010 Forbearance Agreement. The suit includes claims for Breach of Contract, Permanent and Temporary Injunction, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Civil Conspiracy, Tortious Interference and Fraudulent Transfer. On March 20, 2019, the Court dismissed the complaint in its entirety with leave to amend. On April 11, 2019, TBPI filed its Second Amended Complaint in Twentieth Judicial Circuit In and For Lee County, Florida against Tigrent Inc. ("Tigrent"), Legacy Education Alliance Holding, Inc. ("Holdings"), and certain shareholders of the Company. The suit includes claims for Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty against Tigrent, Civil Conspiracy against Tigrent and Holdings, and various Counts of Fraudulent Transfer against various shareholders of the Company. On May 24, 2019, with leave from the court, TBPI filed its Third Amended Complaint in Twentieth Judicial Circuit In and For Lee County, Florida against Tigrent, Holdings, and certain shareholders of the Company. The suit includes claims for Breach of Contract against Tigrent, Breach of Fiduciary Duty against Tigrent, Damages for Violation of Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices Act against Tigrent, Civil Conspiracy against Tigrent and Holdings, and various Counts of Fraudulent Transfer against various shareholders of Tigrent, including the Company's CEO, James E. May. On July 8, 2019, the Court Denied the defendants' Motions to Dismiss. The Company believes the claims of the plaintiff are without merit and intends to defend this matter vigorously.

 

In the Matter of Legacy Education Alliance International, Ltd. On October 28, 2019, an Application for Administration was filed in the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (the "English Court"), whereby four creditors of Legacy Education Alliance, International Ltd ("Legacy UK"), one of our UK subsidiaries, sought an administration order with respect to the business affairs of the subsidiary, the appointment of an administrator, and such other ancillary orders as the applicants may request or as the court deemed appropriate. On November 15, 2019, the creditors obtained an Administration Order from the English Court. Under the terms of the Administration Order, two individuals have been appointed as administrators of Legacy UK and will manage Legacy UK and operate its affairs, business and property under the jurisdiction of the English Court. The administrators engaged a third-party to market Legacy UK's business and assets for sale to one or more third parties. On November 26, 2019, Legacy UK's assets and deferred revenues sold for £300 thousand (British pounds) to Mayflower Alliance LTD. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of Legacy UK. Further details regarding the resolution of claims and liabilities may not be known for several months. Because there are a number of intercompany relationships between the Company and Legacy UK, the financial impact of any future claims in relation to the administration and disposition of Legacy UK, outside of those included in the discontinued operations of Legacy UK (see Note 4 "Discontinued Operations"), is unknown to us at this time, as is the timing and other conditions and effects of the administrative process.