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Commitments and Contingencies
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Contingencies
On December 1, 2020, Trans Ova settled one of two patent infringement lawsuits brought by XY, LLC ("XY"). The lawsuit, originally filed in 2012, was tried and appealed between 2016 and 2020. On December 1, 2020, the parties reached a settlement resolving all remaining disputes. As part of that settlement, Trans Ova remitted to XY a settlement payment, which, in addition to all the other monies Trans Ova had previously paid XY, constituted full payment and satisfaction of the judgment, including pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, costs, and all past, current and future royalty obligations under the judgment. In exchange, XY released and forever discharged Trans Ova from all obligations arising out of the judgment.
XY filed a second lawsuit in December 2016, alleging infringement of seven additional patents. Two of those patents were later invalidated in different proceedings and dismissed from the lawsuit. A third patent was settled out of the case in April 2022. There are thus currently four patents remaining in the case. Of these, one patent expired on May 9, 2021, and another expires on May 21, 2022. As for the last two patents, Trans Ova has stopped practicing the technologies claimed therein. The Company expects a trial to occur sometime in 2023. While Trans Ova is confident in its claims and defenses, litigation is uncertain and there is a possibility that the Trans Ova is found liable and ordered to pay damages for past infringement. In the interim, Trans Ova shall continue to operate its business otherwise unaffected by the litigation.
In September 2020, the Company reached a final settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with respect to an investigation concerning the Company's disclosures regarding its MBP program in the first three quarters of 2017. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company, without admitting or denying the allegations of the SEC, consented to the entry of an administrative order requiring that the Company: (i) cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and future violations under Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rules 13a-11 and 12b-20 promulgated thereunder; and (ii) pay a $2,500 civil money penalty to the SEC (which was paid in September 2020).
In October 2020, several shareholder class action lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of certain purchasers of the Company's common stock. The complaints name as defendants the Company and certain of its current and former officers. The plaintiffs' claims track the allegations in the SEC's administrative order described above but challenge disclosures about the MBP program through September 2020, i.e., the date of the SEC administrative order. The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, interest, and an award of reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. In April 2021, the court granted an order consolidating the claims and appointed a lead plaintiff and lead counsel in the case, captioned Abailla v. Precigen, Inc., F/K/A Intrexon Corp., et al. In May 2021, the lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint. The defendants moved to dismiss that complaint. In September 2021, the court issued an order mooting the defendants' motion to dismiss in light of the lead plaintiff's stated intent to file a second amended complaint in response to the motion to dismiss. On September 27, 2021, the lead plaintiff filed a second amended complaint. On April 7, 2022, at a hearing on the Company’s motion, the Court indicated that the second amended complaint would be dismissed with leave to amend. Plaintiffs’ counsel indicated a new complaint would be filed. The defendants intend to move to dismiss that complaint.
In December 2020, a derivative shareholder action, captioned Edward D. Wright, derivatively on behalf of Precigen, Inc. F/K/A Intrexon Corp. v. Alvarez et al, was filed in the Circuit Court for Fairfax County in Virginia on behalf of Precigen, Inc. asserting similar claims under state law against Precigen's current directors and certain officers. The plaintiff seeks damages, forfeiture of benefits received by defendants, and an award of reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. The case was stayed by an order entered on June 14, 2021. On September 24, 2021, an individual shareholder filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Henrico County styled Kent v. Precigen, Inc., Case CL21-6349. The Kent action demands inspection of certain books and records of the Company pursuant to Virginia statutory and common law. On April 1, 2022, the court denied the demurrer and referred the matter to a hearing on the merits. The Company is evaluating how best to proceed.
The Company intends to defend the lawsuits vigorously; however, there can be no assurances regarding the ultimate outcome of these lawsuits.
The Company has previously entered into strategic collaborations, including ECCs and JVs, to fund and develop products enabled by its technologies. These relationships involve complex interests, and the Company's interests may diverge with those of its collaborators, which can occur as a result of operations under those collaborations, business or technological developments, or as the Company transitions away from, or terminates, certain strategic collaborations. The Company has had, and has, disagreements and disputes with certain collaborators and JV partners, including the IEP Investors and the IEPII Investors. While the Company believes it is entitled to payment for work performed per its collaborations and JVs, consistent with its policy for accounting for accounts receivable, in 2019, the Company has fully reserved the amount of any disputed accounts receivable that remained outstanding.
On December 29, 2021, the Company received a letter from a group of investors in each of Intrexon Energy Partners and Intrexon Energy Partners II, purporting to refer certain issues to arbitration pursuant to the arbitration provisions of the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreements of Intrexon Energy Partners and Intrexon Energy Partners II (the “Arbitration Matters”). On January 25, 2022, the Company filed a petition in the Court of Chancery for the State of Delaware seeking to enjoin the arbitration proceeding. In March 2022, the Court of Chancery for the State of Delaware determined that arbitration should proceed. The structure of the arbitration requires each party to propose terms for resolution of each matter and the arbitration panel will be required to award one of the two proposals for each matter without compromise. The Company has proposed terms that the Company would acquire the membership interests of the IEP Investors in exchange of $5,000, and the membership interests of the IEPII Investors in exchange of $2,000. The investor group has proposed terms that the Company would acquire the membership interests of each individual investor in exchange of $34,000 for the membership interests of the IEP Investors and $12,000 for the membership interests of the IEPII Investors, representing the purchase price of their original investments, as well as, in addition, accrued interest from the date of their original investments, which approximates $18,000 for the IEP Investors and $6,000 for the IEPII Investors. The Company expects the arbitration will
be concluded in the second quarter of 2022. While the Company believes the investor groups’ claims are without merit, there can be no assurance that the panel will award the Company’s proposal and will not award the investors’ proposal with respect to either of the Arbitration Matters. In addition, as disclosed in Note 5, as of March 31, 2022, the Company has a deferred revenue liability of $21,205 related to consideration previously received from Intrexon Energy Partners and Intrexon Energy Partners II that will be re-evaluated upon conclusion of the Arbitration Matters.
Such disagreements and disputes result in management distraction and may result in further litigation, arbitration, unfavorable settlements, or concessions by the Company, or adverse regulatory action, any of which could harm the Company's business or operations.
In the course of its business, the Company is involved in litigation or legal matters, including governmental investigations. Such matters are subject to many uncertainties and outcomes are not predictable with assurance. The Company accrues liabilities for such matters when it is probable that future expenditures will be made and such expenditures can be reasonably estimated. As of March 31, 2022, the Company does not believe that any such matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.