Note 12 - Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

12.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Facility Leases

See Note 8.

Related Party Technology License Agreement

The Company is obligated to pay royalties and pay development and patent costs pursuant to that certain exclusive Amended and Restated Intellectual Property License Agreement dated as of September 30, 2016, by and between the Company and Syzygy (the “Syzygy Agreement”), a company owned and controlled by stockholders/officers Messrs. Elwood Norris and James Barnes, both of whom are stockholders and officers of the Company. The Syzygy Agreement provides for royalty payments of 4% of revenue from products employing the licensed ensnarement device technology up to an aggregate of $1,000 in royalties or until September 30, 2026, whichever occurs earlier. The Company recorded $65 and $185 for royalties incurred under the Syzygy Agreement during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and $37 and $90 incurred for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, respectively.

Purchase Commitments

At September 30, 2021 the Company was committed for approximately $713 for future component deliveries and contract services that are generally subject to modification or rescheduling in the normal course of business.

Securities Litigation

On September 23, 2020, Carone Cobden filed a putative class action complaint against the Company, former Chief Executive Officer David Norris (“Norris”), Chief Financial Officer, James A. Barnes (“Barnes”), and President, Thomas Smith (“Smith”) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, docketed as Case No. 2-20-cv-08760-DMG-PVCx (the “Cobden Complaint”). The Cobden Complaint alleges that the named defendants, in their capacities as officers of the Company, knowingly made false or misleading statements or omissions regarding trials of the Company’s BolaWrap product conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department (the “BolaWrap Pilot Program”).  The Cobden Complaint also alleges that the conduct of the named defendants artificially inflated the price of the Company’s traded securities, and that the disclosure of certain adverse information to the public led to a decline in the market value of the Company’s securities.  The Cobden Complaint further alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, and defines the class period as July 31, 2020 through September 23, 2020. 

On October 1, 2020, Joseph Mercurio filed a second putative class action complaint against the Company, Norris, Smith, and Barnes in the same court, which contains substantially the same factual allegations and legal claims as set forth in the Cobden Complaint, and is docketed as Case No. 2-20-cv-09030-DMG-PVCx (the “Mercurio Complaint”).  On October 15, 2020, Paula Earley filed a third putative class action complaint against the Company, Smith, Norris, Barnes, Chief Strategy Officer Mike Rothans (“Rothans”), and former Chief Executive Officer, Marc Thomas (“Thomas”) in the same court, which contains many of the same factual allegations and legal claims as set forth in the Cobden and Mercurio Complaints, but defines the class period as April 29, 2020 through September 23, 2020, and alleges additional false or misleading statements in connection with BolaWrap and the BolaWrap Pilot Program (the “Earley Complaint”).  The Earley Complaint is docketed as Case No. 2-20-cv-09444-DMG-PVCx. 

On November 3, 2020, the Hon. Dolly M. Gee consolidated the three above-mentioned cases under the caption In re Wrap Technologies, Inc. Securities Exchange Act Litigation, Case No. 20-8760-DMG (PVCx) (the “Securities Action”).  On January 7, 2021, the Court appointed a lead plaintiff in the Securities Action, who designated its attorneys as lead counsel.  On January 21, 2021, Judge Gee ordered that a consolidated amended complaint be filed in the Securities Action on or before March 12, 2021, with defendants’ motion to dismiss to be filed on or before April 26, 2021, and a hearing on the motion to dismiss to be held on July 23, 2021.  On March 12, 2021, lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint, naming the Company, Norris, Thomas, Smith, and Barnes as defendants. Those defendants jointly filed a motion to dismiss on April 26, 2021. Briefing on the motion to dismiss is now complete, and the motion is currently under submission before Judge Gee. The Company believes that the Securities Action is without merit and will continue to vigorously defend against the claims raised therein.

Shareholder Derivative Litigation

On November 13, 2020, Naresh Rammohan filed a shareholder derivative action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Smith, Barnes, Rothans, Thomas, Norris, and Messrs. Scot Cohen, Patrick Kinsella, Michael Parris, and Wayne Walker, alleging unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, and contribution claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, docketed as Case No. 2:20-cv-10444-DMG-PVCx (the “Rammohan Complaint”).  The Rammohan Complaint names the Company as a nominal defendant and recites many of the allegations set forth in the Securities Action relating to the BolaWrap Pilot Program.  On January 20, 2021, Ray Westerman filed a second derivative complaint in the same court against the same parties, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and contribution claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, docketed as Case No. 2:21-cv-00550-DMG-PVCx (the “Westerman Complaint”).  On January 22, 2021, Jesse Lowe filed a third derivative complaint in the same court against the same parties, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and asserting various claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, docketed as Case No. 2:21-cv-00597-DMG-PVCx (the “Lowe Complaint”). 

The above-mentioned derivative cases were each been transferred to Judge Gee as cases related to the Securities Action.  On February 16, 2021, Judge Gee issued an order consolidating these cases under the caption In re Wrap Technologies, Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, Case No. 2:20-10444-DMG-PVCx, (the “Derivative Action”), and stayed the Derivative Action pending the resolution of the motion to dismiss in the Securities Action.  On March 9, 2021, the Lowe Complaint was designated as the operative complaint in the Derivative Action.  As with the Securities Action, the Company believes that the Derivative Action is without merit and will vigorously defend against the claims raised therein.

Other Legal Information

The Company may at times be involved in other litigation in the ordinary course of business. The Company will, from time to time, when appropriate in management’s estimation, record adequate reserves in the Company’s consolidated financial statements for pending litigation. Currently, other than described above there are no other pending material legal proceedings to which the Company is a party or to which any of its property is subject. At September 30, 2021 the Company had no provision for liability under existing litigation.