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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies.  
Commitments and Contingencies

16.  Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

 

SEC Investigation

 

As a follow up to certain prior inquiries, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC during the Company’s  quarter ended September 30, 2018 requesting, among other things, certain information and documents relating to the status of the Company’s request to the CMS for separate reimbursement status for Dialysate Triferic, the Company’s reserving methodology for expiring Triferic inventory, and the basis for the Board’s termination of the former CEO and CFO. The Company is cooperating with the SEC and is responding to the SEC’s requests for documents and information.

 

Shareholder Class Action Lawsuits

 

On July 27, 2018, Plaintiff Ah Kit Too filed a putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York against the Company and former officers, Robert Chioini and Thomas Klema. The complaint is a federal securities class action purportedly brought on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities, other than Defendants, who purchased or otherwise acquired the publicly traded securities of the Company between March 16, 2018 and June 26, 2018. The Complaint alleges that the Company and Messrs. Chioini and Klema violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). Specifically, the Complaint alleges that defendants filed reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission that contained purported inaccurate and misleading statements regarding the potential for the Company’s drug, Triferic, to quality for separate reimbursement status by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

 

On September 4, 2018, Plaintiff Robert Spock filed a similar putative class action lawsuit in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York against the Company and Messrs. Chioini and Klema. The Spock complaint is a federal securities class action purportedly brought on behalf of a class consisting of persons who purchased the Company’s securities between November 8, 2017 and June 26, 2018. This complaint alleges that the Company and Messrs. Chioini and Klema violated the Exchange Act in that the Company was aware the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would not pursue the Company’s proposal for separate reimbursement for Triferic; misstated reserves in the Company’s quarterly report for the first quarter of 2018; had a material weakness its internal controls over financial reporting, which rendered those controls ineffective; Mr. Chioini withheld material information regarding Triferic from the Company’s auditor, corporate counsel, and independent directors of the Board; and, as a result of these alleged issues, statements about the Company’s business were  materially false and misleading.

 

On September 25, 2018, four Company stockholders filed motions to appoint lead plaintiffs, lead counsel, and to consolidate the Ah Kit Too v. Rockwell securities class action with the Spock v. Rockwell securities class action.  On October 10, 2018, the court issued an order consolidating the two actions, appointing co-lead plaintiffs and co-lead counsel.  On December 10, 2018, lead Plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint, which included the same allegations as the initial complaints and asserted claims on behalf of a putative class consisting of person who purchased the Company’s securities between November 8, 2017 and June 26, 2018, accordingly. 

 

On August 7, 2019, all parties to the class action entered into a settlement of the consolidated class action.  Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement, the Company will pay the Plaintiffs $3.7 million (the “Settlement Amount’) in exchange for a full release of all liability as to all defendants.  Of the Settlement Amount, the Company will be contributing approximately $0.4 million, which represents the remaining retention amount under the Company’s director and officer liability insurance policy. The remainder of the settlement amount will be funded by the Company’s director and officer insurance policy. The settlement is subject to court review and approval, which is scheduled for February, 2020.

 

Shareholder Derivative Actions

 

Two verified stockholder derivative complaints (the “Derivative Complaints”) entitled LeClair v Rockwell Medical, Inc., and Post v Rockwell Medical, Inc. were filed in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York, purportedly on behalf of the Company (as nominal defendant) and against certain of the Company’s current and former directors (the “Individual Defendants”).  The Derivative Complaints assert causes of actions against the Individual Defendants for breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment.  The Derivative Complaints allege the Individual Defendants breached duties by, among other things, permitting alleged misstatements to be made in public filings regarding the status of separate reimbursement for Triferic from CMS, the adequacy of Rockwell’s reserves, and the adequacy of Rockwell’s internal controls. Recently, the Plaintiffs have amended their derivative complaints. These cases are at an early stage, and the Company anticipates filing a motion to dismiss the action.

 

The Company has tendered the above shareholder derivative actions to its D&O insurance carrier(s) for defense and indemnity under its applicable insurance policies. The Company maintains a $1.0 million self-insured retention under the applicable insurance policies, which will be exhausted upon payment of the Company’s share of the Settlement Amount from the settlement of the class action described above.