Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

(a) Leases

The Company leases its administrative, research, and manufacturing facilities located in Irvine, California and an administrative office located in Den Bosch, The Netherlands. These facility lease agreements require the Company to pay operating costs, including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. In addition, the Company has certain equipment, under long-term agreements that are accounted for as operating leases.

Future minimum payments by year under non-cancelable leases with initial terms in excess of one year were as follows as of December 31, 2012:

2013	$	655
2014	474
2015 and thereafter	—
	$	1,129

(b) Employment Agreements and Retention Plan

The Company has entered into employment agreements with its officers and certain other “key employees” under which payment and benefits would become payable in the event of termination by the Company for any reason other than cause, upon a change in control of the Company, or by the employee for good reason. The payment will generally be equal to six months of the employee’s then current salary for termination by the Company without cause, and generally be equal to twelve months of salary upon a change in control of the Company.

(c) Legal Matters

The Company from time to time is involved in various claims and legal proceedings of a nature considered normal and incidental to its business. These matters may include product liability, intellectual property, employment, and other general claims. The Company accrues for contingent liabilities when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The accruals are adjusted periodically as assessments change or as additional information becomes available.

Cook

The Company had been involved in litigation with Cook Incorporated (“Cook”). Cook alleged that the Company infringed two of its patents, granted in 1991 and 1998, which expired on October 17, 2009 and October 25, 2011, respectively (the ”Patent Dispute”). The lawsuit was filed by Cook in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, on October 8, 2009.

On October 16, 2012, the Company entered into a settlement agreement with Cook for the Patent Dispute (the “Settlement Agreement”), which included a full release from liability for all asserted claims. Without admitting any liability, the Company agreed to make a one-time cash payment to Cook of $5.0 million, which occurred in December 2012.

The $5.0 million Settlement Agreement is presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) within operating expenses as "settlement costs" for the year ended December 31, 2012.

LifePort

On December 28, 2012, LifePort Sciences, LLC filed a complaint against the Company in the United States District Court, District of Delaware alleging that certain of the Company's products infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 5,489,295, 6,117,167, 6,302,906, 5,993,481 and 5,676,696, which are alleged to be owned by LifePort. LifePort is seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages for sale of the Company's products and injunctive relief. The Company does not believe it infringes on any of these patents and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter.

At this time, the Company is unable to predict the outcome of this matter, but is of the opinion that the outcome will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flow. However, in order to avoid further legal costs (recognized within "general and administrative" expenses within the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)) and diversion of management resources, it is reasonably possible that the Company may reach a settlement with LifePort, which could result in a liability. However, the Company cannot presently estimate the amount, or range, of reasonably possible losses due to the nature of this potential litigation settlement.

(d) Income Taxes

The Company applies an accounting standard which prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities.  The amount of unrecognized tax benefits which, if ultimately recognized, could favorably affect the Company's effective tax rate in a future period was $0.1 million and $0 as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. Both amounts are net of any applicable federal and/or state benefits.  The Company expects its unrecognized tax benefits to decrease by $0.1 million over the next 12 months due to ultimate settlement of outstanding tax liabilities.