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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 6. Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is a party to certain legal actions arising in the normal course of business. Management does not expect there to be adverse consequences from these actions that would be material to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The Company is the lessee under several ground lease and its executive office lease agreement. As of March 31. 2022, the Company’s weighted average remaining lease term is approximately 30.0 years and the weighted average discount rate used to calculate the Company’s lease liability is approximately 4.8%. Rent expense under the Company’s ground lease and executive office lease agreements was approximately $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.   

 

As a result of COVID-19, the Company has received numerous rent relief requests, most often in the form of rent deferrals. The Company has evaluated, and continues to evaluate, each tenant rent relief request on an individual basis, considering a number of factors. During the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company collected 97% of contractual base rents and monthly tenant reimbursements in each period. Through March 31, 2022, the Company deferred approximately $3.5 million and waived approximately $2.4 million of rental income, respectively. To date, the weighted average payback period for the remaining deferred rent receivable is approximately 10 months, beginning at various times from July 2020 through June 2021.

As described in Note 1, on March 2, 2022, the Company entered into definitive agreements for the Transactions, which contemplate sale of the Company and all of its assets in a series of related all-cash transactions.  On April 5, 2022, a purported stockholder of the Company filed a complaint against the Company and the Board in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled Stein v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. et. al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-1944. On April 6, 2022, another purported stockholder of the Company filed a complaint against the Company and the Board in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled Wang v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. et. al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-1975. On April 18, 2022, another purported stockholder of the Company filed a complaint against the Company and the Board in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, entitled Whitfield v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. et. al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-02204. Also on April 18, 2022, a purported stockholder filed a complaint against the Company and the Board in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, entitled Waterman v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. et. al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-01489. On April 22, 2022, a purported stockholder filed a complaint against the Company and the Board in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, entitled Thornburgh v. Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. et. al., Civil Action No. 22-cv-02304. In each action, the complaint alleges violations of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) in connection with the proposed Transactions. The complaints generally allege that the preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed by the Company with the SEC on April 5, 2022 omits material information regarding financial projections, the financial analysis conducted by JLL Securities in connection with its fairness opinion, conflicts of interest on behalf of JLL Securities and BofA Securities, and the terms of BofA Securities’ engagement. The complaints seek, among other things, an injunction preventing the consummation of the Transactions, or, in the event the Transactions are consummated, to recover damages resulting from defendants’ alleged violations of the Exchange Act.

 

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, and Wheeler in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Maryland (Case No. C-15-CV-22-00152). The complaint alleges on behalf of a putative class of holders of the Company’s preferred stock, among other things, against the Company and the Board, claims for breach of contract with respect to the articles supplementary governing the terms of the Company’s preferred stock, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty against Wheeler. The complaint seeks, among other things, a declaration that holders of the Company’s preferred stock are entitled to a liquidation preference as set forth in the articles supplementary governing the terms of the Company’s preferred stock, compensatory damages, and an injunction enjoining the merger with Wheeler, and an injunction enjoining the distribution to the Company’s common shareholders of the proceeds of any of the Transactions pending a determination of the merits of plaintiffs’ claims.

 

The Company believes that the respective allegations asserted against the Company and other defendants in the lawsuits described above are without merit. Similar lawsuits may be filed in the future in connection with the proposed Transactions.

 

 

In addition, as described in Note 5, the absence of waivers or consents from holders of the Company’s indebtedness, the consummation of the Transactions will result in a “change of control” under the terms of such indebtedness and would be expected to result in a default or similar event under substantially all of the Company’s outstanding indebtedness, permitting the holders of such indebtedness to accelerate such indebtedness and demand immediate repayment at par, together with the applicable “make-whole” premium, if any.