COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

10. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation

On February 17, 2012, a purported shareholder class action, Hilary Coyne v. Metabolix, Inc., Richard P. Eno, and Joseph Hill, Civil Action 1:12-cv-10318 (the “Class Action”), was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, naming the Company and certain officers of the Company as defendants. The Class Action alleges that the Company made material misrepresentations and/or omissions of material fact in the Company’s disclosures during the period from March 10, 2010 through its January 12, 2012 press release announcing that ADM had given notice of termination of the Telles joint venture for PHA biopolymers, all in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5.  On September 20, 2013, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the Class Action in full and with prejudice.  The period during which the plaintiff could appeal the dismissal has expired and no appeal was filed.

On March 7, 2012, a purported derivative lawsuit, Childs v. Kouba et al., Civil Action 12-0892 (the “Derivative Action”), was filed in Massachusetts Superior Court for Middlesex County, on behalf of the Company against members of the Company’s Board of Directors for alleged breaches of their fiduciary duties and based on a nearly identical set of alleged facts as those asserted in the Class Action. The Derivative Action seeks compensatory damages in an unspecified amount, plaintiff’s costs and attorneys’ fees, and unspecified equitable or injunctive relief.

The Company is currently unable to assess the probability of loss or estimate a range of potential loss, if any, associated with the Derivative Action because it is at an early stage.

From time to time, the Company may be subject to other legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. The Company is not currently aware of any such other proceedings or claims that it believes will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or the results of operations.