Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Item
1. Legal Proceedings
We
are and may be involved in various legal proceedings arising from the normal course of business activities. Although the results
of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, currently, in our opinion, the likelihood of any material adverse
impact on our consolidated results of operations, cash flows or our financial position for any such litigation or claims is deemed
to be remote. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense costs, diversion of management
resources and other factors.
Scott
Meide vs. Pulse Evolution Corporation et. al.
On
August 27, 2018, plaintiff Scott Meide filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida,
Jacksonville Division against PEC, now one of our majority-owned subsidiaries, naming its former officers, among others, as defendants.
The plaintiff’s claims are based on three investments: (i) the purchase of 750,000 restricted shares from PEC for the amount
of $300,000 on July 18, 2014; (ii) the purchase of 800,000 shares of PEC from defendant Gregory Centineo in July 2015; and (iii)
an investment in Evolution AI Corporation in 2018 in the amount of $75,000. Until recently, Mr. Meide was proceeding pro se .
Although he has pled multiple claims, the crux of Mr. Meide’s claim, at least as pled in the Second Amended Complaint, which
is the operative complaint, is that he was fraudulently induced into making all three investments. The complaint contains a claim
for federal securities fraud which forms the only basis for federal jurisdiction. All of the defendants have moved to dismiss
the Second Amended Complaint on various grounds, including, but not limited to, the ground that the plaintiff Mr. Meide lacks
standing to bring the claims since the purchases of securities were made by Jacksonville Injury Center, LLC, rather than Mr. Meide
in his individual capacity.
On
June 29, 2020, an attorney entered an appearance for Mr. Meide and filed (i) a motion to substitute Jacksonville Injury Center,
LLC as the plaintiff and (ii) a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. All of the defendants have filed oppositions to
the motion to substitute and motion for leave to amend. The proposed new complaint continues to allege fraud, but also purports
to plead a shareholder derivative lawsuit in connection with a claim of an improper transfer of assets to the Company. The new
proposed complaint also names the Company as a new defendant. Discovery in the matter has been stayed since July of 2019. The
matter is set for trial in September of 2020, but we do not expect the trial to go forward given the pending motions to dismiss
and stay of discovery. We believe the lawsuit has no merit, and we intend to vigorously defend our position.
On
September 4, 2020, the court entered an order dismissing with prejudice Mr. Meide’s claim for federal securities fraud.
In its order, the court directed the clerk of court to enter judgment in favor of PEC and related defendants on Mr. Meide’s
claim for federal securities fraud. The court also denied Mr. Meide’s attempt to file a third amended complaint or substitute
plaintiffs in the action. The court dismissed without prejudice the remaining state law claims on the ground that the court declined
to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over them. The state law claims may be reasserted in state court. The court also reserved
jurisdiction to determine whether an award of sanctions against Mr. Meide is appropriate. The court has ordered the parties to
mediation with respect to the issue of sanctions and, in the event that the mediation is unsuccessful, the court has indicated
that it will set a deadline for the filing of any motions for an award of sanctions against Mr. Meide. The court-ordered mediation
is set for December 10, 2020.
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Andrew
Kriss and Eric Lerner vs. FaceBank Group, Inc. et. al.
On
June 8, 2020, Andrew Kriss and Eric Lerner (the “Plaintiffs”) filed a Summons with Notice in the Supreme Court of
the State of New York, Nassau County naming as defendants Company, Inc., PEC, John Textor and Frank Patterson, among others (Index
No. 605474/20). On November 12, 2020, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint, which asserts claims for breach of express contract and implied
duties, fraud in the inducement, unjust enrichment, conversion, declaratory relief, fraud and fraudulent conveyance. The claims
arise from an alleged relationship between Plaintiffs and defendant PEC. Plaintiffs seek monetary damages in an amount to be proven
at trial, but not less than six million dollars ($6,000,000). The Company intends to vigorously defend this litigation.
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