On April 14, 2018, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Ivantis, Inc. (Ivantis) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Southern Division (the Court), alleging that Ivantis’ Hydrus^® Microstent device infringes the Company’s U.S. Patent Nos. 6,626,858 and 9,827,143. In August 2018, Ivantis filed counterclaims alleging that the Company’s iStent inject infringes three patents which Ivantis acquired after the start of the litigation (Acquired Patents). On March 18, 2019, the Court granted the Company’s early motion for summary judgment, finding that the Company does not infringe the Acquired Patents. Fact discovery on the Company’s claims against Ivantis closed in September 2019, with trial scheduled to begin on or around July 28, 2020. Additionally, in May 2018, Ivantis filed Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on the patents the Company has asserted in the litigation. The PTAB denied institution of the petitions in December 2018, but Ivantis filed two additional IPR petitions shortly thereafter. The PTAB denied institution of the second round of petitions in July 2019. In April 2019, Ivantis filed an additional IPR petition, which the PTAB also denied in October 2019.

Four alleged Avedro stockholders filed lawsuits challenging the Avedro Merger. Two of those lawsuits, Kent v. Avedro, Inc., et. al, 1:19-cv-01845-MN filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Thompson v. Avedro, Inc., et. al, 1:19-cv-02075-UNA filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Delaware, named as defendants Avedro and each member of the Avedro board of directors, including former directors Dr. Gilbert H. Kliman and Thomas W. Burns, as well as Glaukos and Merger Sub. The other two lawsuits, Payne v. Avedro, Inc. et. al, 1:19-cv-02019-CFC in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Bushansky v. Avedro, Inc. et. al, 1:19-cv-10015-LAP in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, named as defendants Avedro and each member of the Avedro board of directors but did not name former Avedro directors, Glaukos or Merger Sub as defendants. The plaintiffs in these actions generally alleged that the Registration Statement filed in connection with the Avedro Merger omitted material information with respect to the Avedro Merger, which rendered such Registration Statement false and misleading. The complaints sought a preliminary and permanent injunction of the Avedro Merger and, if the Avedro Merger was consummated, rescission or rescissory damages. The complaints also sought the dissemination of a registration statement that disclosed certain information requested by the plaintiffs as well as attorneys' and experts' fees.

On January 8, 2020, following Avedro’s filing of additional disclosures which rendered the plaintiffs’ disclosure claims moot, Glaukos entered into a Confidential Fee Agreement (Confidential Fee Agreement) with each of the plaintiffs listed above, and the Confidential Fee Agreement settlement amounts were immaterial. Pursuant to the terms of the Confidential Fee Agreement, the plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the respective actions with prejudice as to each of the named plaintiffs and without prejudice as to the claims of the putative class of Avedro stockholders. Avedro and the other named defendants maintain that they committed no breach of fiduciary duty and that there is no merit with respect to any allegation asserted in connection with the Avedro Merger or any public disclosures, but wished to settle the actions to eliminate the burden, expense, and uncertainties of further litigation.

With respect to the matters described above under Patent Litigation, the Company is currently unable to predict the ultimate outcome of the matters or reasonably estimate a possible loss or range of loss, and thus, no amounts have been accrued in the condensed consolidated financial statements.

The Company had a bank issue a letter of credit in the amount of $8.8 million that is related to its Aliso Facility. The letter of credit is secured with an amount of cash held in a restricted account of approximately $8.8 million as of March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019. Beginning as of the first day of the thirty-seventh month of the lease term, and on each twelve month anniversary thereafter, the letter of credit will be reduced by 20% until the letter of credit amount has been reduced to $2.0 million.

As a result of the Avedro Merger, the Company has two other irrevocable standby letters of credit secured with $0.4 million of cash in a restricted account related to its office lease agreements. Lastly, the Company maintains $0.2 million in restricted cash which is held to collateralize a credit card program.

Following the Avedro Merger, the Company initiated a restructuring plan that includes an estimated headcount reduction of 40 employees and a reallocation of responsibilities primarily within the selling, general and administrative functions. The Company measured and accrued the liabilities associated with employee separation costs at fair value as of the date the plan was announced and terminations were communicated to employees, which primarily includes severance pay and other separation costs such as benefit continuation.

As of March 31, 2020 the Company has accrued $0.9 million of restructuring plan costs, has paid approximately $3.6 million in separation costs since the inception of the plan, and expects to incur a total of approximately $5.2 million in restructuring charges upon completion of the plan, which is expected to be completed in 2021. The recognition of restructuring charges requires that the Company make certain judgments and estimates regarding the nature, timing and amount of costs associated with the planned reductions of workforce. At the end of each reporting period, the Company will evaluate the remaining accrued balance to ensure appropriateness with the Company’s restructuring plans.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending balance of the restructuring reserve, included in accrued liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet, is as follows (in thousands):


		Three months ended
	March 31, 2020

Balance at beginning of period	$	4,096
Total restructuring accrual charges		462
Employee separation payments		(3,634)
Balance at end of period	$	924

On December 30, 2014, the Company executed an agreement (the UC Agreement) with the Regents of the University of California (the University) to correct inventorship in connection with a group of the Company’s U.S. patents (the Patent Rights) and to obtain from the University a covenant that it did not and would not claim any right or title to the Patent Rights and will not challenge or assist any others in challenging the Patent Rights. In connection with the UC Agreement, Glaukos agreed to pay to the University a low single-digit percentage of worldwide net sales of certain current and future products, including the Company’s iStent products, with a required minimum annual payment of $0.5 million. This ongoing product payment terminates on the date that the last of the Patent Rights expires, which is currently expected to be in 2022. For the three months ended March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, the Company recorded approximately $1.1 million and $1.3 million, respectively, in cost of sales in connection with the product payment.

In November 2013, the Company entered into an amended agreement (the Buyout Agreement) with GMP Vision Solutions, Inc. (GMP) in which, in the event of a Company sale as defined in the amendment, the Company would be required to pay GMP a percentage of the sale consideration above a certain threshold, with such payment not to exceed $2.0 million.

Pursuant to the Company’s deferred compensation plan (the Deferred Compensation Plan), eligible senior level employees are permitted to make elective deferrals of compensation to which he or she will become entitled in the future. The Company has also established a rabbi trust that serves as an investment to shadow the Deferred Compensation Plan liability. The investments of the rabbi trust consist of company-owned life insurance policies (COLIs). The fair value of the Deferred Compensation Plan liability, included in other liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, was approximately $3.2 million and $3.7 million as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, and the cash surrender value of the COLIs, included in deposits and other assets on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, which reflects the underlying assets at fair value, was approximately $3.1 million and $3.5 million as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2019, the Company began implementing new enterprise systems and other technology optimizations and facilities infrastructure globally. As of March 31, 2020, the Company has firm purchase commitments related to software costs and these systems implementations of approximately $5.1 million.