Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings, actions, claims, suits, or investigations arising from the ordinary course of our business, including actions with respect to intellectual property claims, breach of contract claims, claims relating to our products, labor and employment claims and other matters. Any litigation or other proceedings could divert management time and attention, could involve significant amounts of legal fees and other fees and expenses, or could result in an adverse outcome having a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. Actions, claims, suits, investigations and proceedings are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted with certainty. Except as described below, we are not currently involved in any legal proceedings that we believe are, individually or in the aggregate, material to our business, results of operations or financial condition. However, regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of associated cost and diversion of management time.
On March 6, 2025, a complaint was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco by the Center for Environmental Health, a non-profit corporation (the "plaintiff"), against approximately 28 named companies, including several major retailers and manufacturers such as Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Smart & Final Stores, and Raleys, as well as many companies that manufacture and market coconut water products, including the Company, alleging violations of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, known as Proposition 65. Proposition 65 requires, among things, that a specific warning appear on any product sold in California containing a substance listed by that state as having been found to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. The complaint contends that the defendants violated Proposition 65 by knowingly and intentionally exposing individuals in California to Bisphenol A ("BPA") in coconut water containers. The complaint states that the plaintiff's claims against the Company are limited to the Company's coconut water products packaged in cans. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, including an injunction prohibiting defendants from offering coconut water products sold in California without either reducing the BPA level in the product such that no Proposition 65 warnings are required or providing prior clear and reasonable warnings, and civil penalties. As of the date of this Report, the Company has not responded to the complaint, and intends to vigorously defend against the claims. Due in part to the early stage of the proceedings, we cannot predict the outcome of this matter at this time.
As disclosed above, on December 4, 2024, the Company entered into the Exchange Agreement with Roosevelt providing for the Exchange transaction, and on February 14, 2025, the Company filed a registration statement on
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Form S-4 with the SEC, including a preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, relating to shares to be issued in the transaction and a special meeting of stockholders of the Company to be held to approve the issuance of shares in the transaction and related proposals. Since the date of filing of the registration statement, the Company has received several letters (the "Demand Letters") from counsel to purported stockholders of the Company. Each letter asserts that the preliminary proxy statement included in the registration statement was deficient and demanded that the alleged deficiencies be rectified. The Demand Letters allege, among other matters, that corrective disclosures are required to be included in the registration statement to address alleged material misstatements and omissions in the registration statement and that the proxy statement/prospectus contains materially incomplete and misleading information concerning, among other matters, financial projections, financial analysis performed by the entity that provided a fairness opinion to the Company's board of directors in connection with the transaction, potential conflicts of interest involving the Company's financial advisor in connection with the transaction and the Company's insiders, and possible breach of fiduciary duties by the directors of executive officers of the Company in connection with the transaction. Certain of the Demand Letter include a request for inspection of certain books and records of the Company pursuant to Delaware corporate law. It is possible that additional, similar letters may be received, or complaints filed. If this occurs, except as may be required by law, the Company does not intend to announce the filing of any such additional demand letter or any such complaint. The Company believes that the allegations in the Demand Letters are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself against any complaint that may be filed.
The matters described in this section could divert management time and attention from the Company, and could involve significant amounts of legal fees and other fees and expenses. An adverse outcome in any such proceedings could have a material adverse effect on the Company.
Item 4. Mine Saf ety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PAR T II
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.