Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
On January 28, 2020, Martin B. Bloch, the former Chief Scientist of the Company and a former member of the Company’s Board, filed a complaint against the Company and Jonathan Brolin, Lance W. Lord, Russell M. Sarachek, Richard Schwartz and Stanton D. Sloane, each in their capacity as members of the Board (collectively, the “Director Defendants”), in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau ( Bloch v. Frequency Electronics, Inc., et al ., Index No. 601369/2020 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed Jan. 28, 2020)). Mr. Bloch seeks compensatory damages and costs and attorney’s fees, among other things, based on allegations that he was wrongfully terminated “for cause” pursuant to his employment agreement, dated March 17, 2008, and that the Company and the Director Defendants discriminated against him based on his age. Mr. Bloch had originally also sought a declaratory judgment and claims for damage to his reputation and a derivative claim on behalf of the Company alleging that the Director Defendants breached their fiduciary duty in rendering their decision to terminate Mr. Bloch’s employment with the Company. However, Mr. Bloch removed those claims from a subsequently filed amended complaint after the Company and the Director Defendants moved to dismiss them. On June 11, 2020, the Company and the Director Defendants filed their answer to the amended complaint. Mr. Bloch filed a motion for summary judgment on June 23, 2020, which the Company and the Director Defendants opposed on July 10, 2020. Mr. Bloch’s motion seeks an order that the Company is liable for breach of his employment agreement because he purportedly resigned from the Company before he was terminated. On July 10, 2020, the Company and the Director Defendants opposed Mr. Bloch’s motion and also filed a motion for summary judgment seeking the dismissal of all claims in Mr. Bloch’s amended complaint. On September 23, 2020, the Court denied Mr. Bloch’s motion for summary judgment. It also granted the Company and the Director Defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to all claims, except for one claim for breach of contract against the Company. On October 23, 2020, the Company filed a brief with the Appellate Division, Second Department, seeking a reversal of the lower court’s order to the extent that it denied the Company’s summary judgment motion on the breach of contract claim. Mr. Bloch filed its responsive brief on November 20, 2020. The appeal is currently pending. The Company believes that the Board was justified in its decision to terminate Mr. Bloch “for cause” and that Mr. Bloch’s single surviving claim is entirely without merit. The Company intends to vigorously defend against all of Mr. Bloch’s allegations. At this time, the Company does not have sufficient information to determine whether liability, if any, arising out of these matters is probable or the possible loss, if any, which could result from an unfavorable outcome arising out of these matters.
In addition, Mr. Bloch sought to initiate two arbitration proceedings under the AAA Rules ( Bloch v. Frequency Electronics, Inc., the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of Frequency Electronics, Inc., and the Deferred Compensation Plan Agreement Dated March 7, 2008 ). One arbitration is brought under a deferred compensation agreement dated March 27, 1980 and the other under a second amended and restated deferred compensation agreement, dated March 7, 2008. Bloch submitted his Statements of Claim in both arbitrations on May 4, 2020. In both proceedings, Mr. Bloch claims that defendants violated ERISA rules by denying him deferred compensation benefits. He seeks an award for allegedly past due deferred compensation benefits plus interest, clarification as to his future rights to deferred compensation benefits, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
On June 2, 2020, the Company filed a petition for a stay of arbitration and related declaratory relief against Mr. Bloch, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County ( Frequency Electronics, Inc. v. Martin B. Bloch , Index No. 652191/2020 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed June 2, 2020)). The Company claims that Mr. Bloch may not arbitrate his claims for deferred compensation because he did not timely appeal the Company’s denial of those claims, and because he failed to comply with the arbitration procedures in the applicable deferred compensation agreement. Mr. Bloch filed a motion on June 16, 2020 seeking a change of venue to the County of Nassau, which the Company opposed on July 7, 2020. The Court granted Mr. Bloch’s motion on September 8, 2020. The case was therefore transferred to the County of Nassau, and assigned to the same Judge hearing the other cases between the parties ( Frequency Electronics, Inc. v. Martin B. Bloch, Index No. 611405/2020). In its order dated February 10, 2021 and entered on February 16, 2021, the Company filed a Notice of Appeal of that order. The Company intends to perfect its appeal in the coming months. At this time, the Company does not have sufficient information to determine the likelihood of success of this appeal.
On June 5, 2020, Mr. Bloch filed a petition against the Company, the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, and the Deferred Compensation Plan Agreement Dated March 7, 2008, as amended (“Respondents”), for the appointment of an arbitrator in one of the arbitration proceedings that Mr. Bloch sought to initiate. The petition was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau (Bloch v. Frequency Electronics, Inc. et al., Index No. 605380/2020 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. filed June 5, 2020)). On June 22, 2020, Respondents moved to dismiss Mr. Bloch’s petition, and he opposed the Company’s motion on July 2, 2020. In its orders dated February 10, 2021 and entered on February 16, 2021, the Court granted Mr. Bloch’s petition for the appointment of an arbitrator, denied the Company’s motion to dismiss that petition, and denied a motion previously filed the Company for an interim stay of arbitration. On February 16, 2021, the Company filed a Notice of Appeal of those orders. The Company intends to perfect its appeal in the coming months. Respondents dispute all of Bloch’s claims and intend to continue to vigorously defend the Company in the appeal process. The likelihood of any outcome of this appeal cannot be determined at this time.
26
Table of Contents
Item 6. Exhibits
31.1 -
Certification by the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2 -
Certification by the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32 -
Certifications by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101-
The following materials from the Frequency Electronics, Inc. Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2021 formatted in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL): (i) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss, (iii) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (iv) Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity and (v) Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
27
Table of Contents
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
FREQUENCY ELECTRONICS, INC.
(Registrant)
Date: March 12, 2021
By:
/s/ Steven L. Bernstein
Steven L. Bernstein
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
Signing on behalf of the registrant and as principal financial officer
28
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.