XML 23 R13.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.23.3
Commitments and Contingencies
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies
Lease Commitments
The Company is the lessee under ground lease agreements. The executive office lease agreement was terminated in 2022. As of September 30, 2023, the Company’s weighted average remaining lease term is approximately 48.1 years and the weighted average discount rate used to calculate the Company’s lease liability is approximately 8.6%. Rent expense under the Company’s ground lease and executive office lease agreements was approximately $0.1 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Rent expense under the Company’s ground lease and executive office lease agreements was approximately $0.2 million and $0.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Litigation
The Company is involved in various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of its business, including, but not limited to commercial disputes. The Company believes that such litigation, claims and administrative proceedings will not have a material adverse impact on its financial position or its results of operations. The Company records a liability when it considers the loss probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. In addition, the below legal proceedings are in process:
On April 8, 2022, several purported holders of the Company’s outstanding preferred stock filed a putative class action complaint against the Company, the Board of Directors prior to the Merger, and WHLR in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Maryland entitled Sydney, et al. v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., et al., (Case No. C-15-CV-22-001527).
On May 6, 2022, the Plaintiffs in Sydney filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Also on May, 6, 2022, a purported holder of the Company’s outstanding preferred stock filed a separate putative class action complaint against the Company and the Board of Directors prior to the Merger in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, entitled Kim v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-01103. On May 11, 2022, the Company, the former Board of Directors of the Company and WHLR removed the Sydney action to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Case No. 8:22-cv-01142-GLR. On May 16, 2022, the court ordered that a hearing on the Sydney Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction be held on June 22, 2022. On June 2, 2022, the Plaintiffs in Kim also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. The court consolidated the motions for preliminary injunction.
On June 23, 2022, following a hearing, the court issued an order denying both motions for preliminary injunction, holding that the Plaintiffs in both cases were unlikely to succeed on the merits and that Plaintiffs had not established that they would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction was denied.
By order dated July 11, 2022, the court consolidated the Sydney and Kim cases and set an August 24, 2022 deadline for the Plaintiffs in both cases to file a consolidated amended complaint. Plaintiffs filed their amended complaint on August 24, 2022. The amended complaint alleges on behalf of a putative class of holders of the Company's preferred stock, among other things, claims for breach of contract against the Company and the former Board of Directors with respect to the articles supplementary governing the terms of the Company's preferred stock, breach of fiduciary duty against the former Board of Directors, and tortious interference and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty against WHLR. On October 7, 2022, Defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint. Plaintiffs opposed the motion to dismiss and filed a motion to certify a question of law to Maryland’s Supreme Court. On
August 1, 2023, the court issued a decision and order granting Defendants’ motions to dismiss, without leave to amend, and denying Plaintiffs’ motion to certify a question of law to the Maryland Supreme Court. The Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Case No. 23-1905, docketed on August 30, 2023. The Court has set a briefing schedule. At this juncture, the outcome of the litigation remains uncertain.
On July 11, 2022, a purported holder of the Company's outstanding preferred stock filed a complaint against the Company and the Board of Directors prior to the Merger in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled High Income Securities Fund v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., et al., No. 2:22-cv-4031. The complaint alleged that the Defendants violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making false and misleading statements and omissions, and that the former Board of Directors are control persons under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. On September 25, 2023, the Court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, and the time within which the Plaintiff could have appealed such decision has passed.
On October 14, 2022, a purported holder of the Company's outstanding preferred stock filed a putative class action against the Company, the Board of Directors prior to the Merger, and WHLR in Nassau County Supreme Court, New York entitled Krasner v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc., et al., (Case No. 613985/2022). The complaint alleges on behalf of a putative class of holders of the Company's preferred stock, among other things, claims for breach of contract against the Company and the former Board of Directors with respect to the articles supplementary governing the terms of the Company's preferred stock, breach of fiduciary duty against the former Board of Directors, and tortious interference and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty against WHLR. The complaint seeks, among other relief, an award of monetary damages, attorneys' fees, and expert fees. Defendants removed the case to a federal court. On April 24, 2023, the federal court granted Plaintiff’s motion to remand the case to the Nassau County Supreme Court. Defendants sought and received leave from the federal appellate court for permission to appeal the remand decision. The appeal has been briefed and argued. In the interim, Defendants filed motions in the Nassau County action to dismiss or stay the case based both on the pendency of the lawsuit in Maryland in which the same claims were asserted by other preferred stockholders and on the merits. The motions have been fully briefed, including supplemental briefing on the impact of the Maryland decision. The court held a hearing on the motions on October 27, 2023, but has not yet issued a ruling thereon. At this juncture, the outcome of the litigation is uncertain.