Item 1. Legal Proceedings
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Securities Class Action
On June 7, 2019, a putative securities class action complaint captioned Derr v. Ra Medical Systems, Inc., et al, (Civil Action no. 19CV1079 LAB NLS) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against the Company, certain current and former officers and directors, and certain underwriters of the Company’s initial public offering. Following the appointment of a lead plaintiff and the filing of a subsequent amended complaint, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants made material misstatements or omissions in the Company’s registration statement in violation of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, and between September 27, 2018 and November 27, 2019, inclusive, in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. On March 11, 2020, lead plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the underwriter defendants without prejudice. On March 13, 2020, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On March 24, 2021, the court issued an order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss claims under the Securities Act in full and certain claims under the Exchange Act and denying defendants’ motion to dismiss certain Exchange Act claims. Plaintiffs filed their second amended complaint on April 19, 2021, realleging the Securities Act claims and certain of the previously dismissed Exchange Act claims. On June 10, 2021, defendants moved to dismiss the second amended complaint. On November 12, 2021, following a private settlement mediation with the lead plaintiffs, the parties executed a stipulation of settlement that resolved the claims asserted in the securities class action. The settlement provides for a payment to the plaintiff class of $10.0 million. On March 18, 2022, the Company paid approximately $0.6 million towards the settlement to satisfy its self-insured retention/deductible. The Company’s insurers paid the remainder of the settlement. The proposed settlement required both preliminary and final approval by the court. On February 11, 2022, the court granted preliminary approval of the settlement, scheduled a hearing on final approval of the settlement and denied the pending motion to dismiss without prejudice. On May 2, 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion for final approval of the settlement and plan of allocation, and lead counsel filed a motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses. On September 23, 2022, the court granted final approval of the settlement, certified the settlement class, granted in part lead counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses, dismissed plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice, and entered final judgment.
Shareholder Derivative Litigation
On October 1, 2019, a shareholder derivative complaint captioned Noel Borg v. Dean Irwin, et al (Civil Action no. 1:99-cm-09999) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against certain current and former officers and directors, purportedly on behalf of the Company, which is named as a nominal defendant in the action. The complaint alleges breaches of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, waste, and violations of Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act. On October 21, 2019, pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the court stayed the derivative lawsuit until the related class action is resolved. On November 10, 2022, the plaintiff filed a notice voluntarily dismissing the case without prejudice.
Settlement Agreements with the Department of Justice and Participating States
On December 28, 2020, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S., acting through the DOJ and on behalf of the OIG, and other settlement agreements with certain state attorneys general, collectively the Settlement Agreements, to resolve investigations and a related civil action concerning its marketing of the DABRA laser system and DABRA-related remuneration to certain physicians. Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreements, (a) if the Company’s revenue exceeds $10 million in any of fiscal years 2021-2024, the Company also is required to pay for the corresponding year: $0.5 million for 2021, $0.75 million for 2022, $1 million for 2023, and $1.25 million for 2024; (b) if the Company is acquired or is otherwise involved in a change in control transaction before the end of 2024, the Company was required to pay an additional settlement amount of $5 million, plus 4% of the value attributed to the Company in the transaction, so long as the attributed value is in excess of $100 million, with the total change in control payment never to exceed $28 million; and (c) if the Company’s obligations under the Settlement Agreement are avoided by bankruptcy, the U.S. may rescind the releases and bring an action against the Company in which the Company agrees is not subject to an automatic stay, is not subject to any statute of limitations, estoppel or laches defense, and is a valid claim in the amount of $56 million, minus any prior change in control payments. As a result of the merger with Catheter Precision, Inc., the Company made payments of $4.7 million and $0.3 million to the DOJ and participating states, respectively, in February 2023.
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Filing of Complaint
On September 29, 2022, a purported stockholder of the Company filed a complaint captioned David Nguyen v. Ra Medical Systems, Inc. et al. (Civil Action no. 3:22-cv-01470-BEN-MSB) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against us and our current directors. The complaint alleges violations of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act based on alleged deficiencies in our preliminary proxy, filed with the SEC on September 23, 2022. On February 7, 2023, plaintiff filed a notice voluntarily dismissing the case without prejudice.
Other Litigation
In the normal course of business, we are at times subject to pending and threatened legal actions. In management’s opinion, any potential loss resulting from the resolution of these matters will not have a material effect on our results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
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.