COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 21 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Except for normal operating leases, the Company is not currently subject to any material commitments.

Contingencies

The Company is not currently subject to any material commitments or contingencies and legal proceedings, nor, to management’s knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against the Company.

Severance agreements

The Company entered into severance agreements with three of its executive officers. The severance agreements, each of which is substantially identical in form, provide each executive with certain severance and change in control benefits upon the occurrence of a “Trigger Event,” as defined in the severance agreements. As a condition to the Company’s obligations under the severance agreements, each executive has executed and delivered to the Company a restrictive covenants agreement.

Under the terms of the severance agreements, in general, each executive is entitled to the following: (i) a cash payment at the rate of the executive’s annual base salary as in effect immediately prior to the Trigger Event for a period of 12 or 15 months, depending on the executive, (ii) continued healthcare coverage during the severance period, (iii) partial accelerated vesting of the executive’s previously granted stock options and restricted stock awards, and (iv) as applicable, an award of “Performance Shares” under the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement previously entered into between the Company and the executive.

On March 21, 2014, the Company and its former Chief Executive Officer (the “Former CEO”) entered into a Separation and General Release Agreement (the “Separation Agreement”). Under the terms of the Separation Agreement, the Company recognized severance costs of $523,000 in the first quarter of 2014 which are included in selling, general and administrative expenses. In addition, the vesting of the Former CEO’s unvested stock options and restricted stock were accelerated and the term to exercise the stock options was extended to fifteen (15) months. Due to the modification of the terms of the stock option and restricted stock agreements, the Company recognized $327,000 of additional stock-based compensation expense in the first quarter of 2014.