Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Note 8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lease Commitments

The Company leases its Florida office and warehouse facilities under a twenty-four month lease agreement with an initial term through April 30, 2013 that the Company extended in March 2015 when it exercised the second of three successive one-year renewal options. The lease provides for annual rental payments of $144,000 per annum (including 45 days of total rent abatement) during the initial twenty-four month term and annual rental payments of $151,200, $158,760 and $174,636 during each of the three one-year renewal options. In October 2013, the Company amended the master lease to include an additional approximately 2,200 square feet for an additional annual rental payment of $18,000 subject to the same renewal options and other terms and conditions set forth in the master lease. During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company entered into nine (9) real estate leases for eight (8) new retail kiosks and one (1) new retail store. The kiosks opened during the fourth quarter of 2014 and the store is scheduled to open during 2015. The kiosks are located in malls in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Texas. The retail store is located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Under these leases, the initial lease terms range from one to five years, the Company is required to pay base and percentage rents and the Company is required to pay for common area and maintenance charges and utilities. In addition through the merger which occurred on March 4, 2015 the Company acquired additional lease commitments which included one (1) Florida office space and ten (10) new retail stores. Future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating that have initial or remaining terms in excess of one year at March 31, 2015 are due as follows:

The remaining minimum annual rents for the years ending December 31 are:

2015	$	630,256
2016		539,990
2017		429,628
2018		201,853
2019		153,386
2020		18,961
Total	$	1,974,074

Rent expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was $215,087 and $44,838, respectively, and is included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations.

Resignation of Chief Financial Officer

On March 27, 2015, Harlan Press notified the Company of his intention to resign from the Company, effective April 10, 2015. Mr. Press previously served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. In connection with the Company’s previously disclosed merger with Vaporin, Inc. in March 2015, Mr. Press was appointed Vice-President of Finance of the Company. Mr. Press received severance compensation and accrued vacation in accordance with his employment agreement in the total amount of $159,810, which is divided into equal weekly payments that end on January 29, 2016 and has been included in accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2015.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time the Company may be involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of our business. There were no pending material claims or legal matters as of the date of this report other than two of the three following matters.

On June 22, 2012, Ruyan Investment (Holdings) Limited (“Ruyan”) filed a lawsuit against the Company alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,156,944 (the ‘944 Patent). Ruyan also filed separate cases for patent infringement against nine other defendants asserting infringement of the 944 Patent. Ruyan’s lawsuit against the Company known as Ruyan Investment (Holdings) Limited vs. Vapor Corp. CV-12-5466 is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. All of these lawsuits have been consolidated for discovery and pre-trial purposes. The Company intends to vigorously defend against this lawsuit.

On February 25, 2013, Ruyan’s second patent infringement lawsuit against the Company as well as all of the other consolidated lawsuits were stayed as a result of the Court granting a stay in one of the consolidated lawsuits. The Court granted the motion to stay Ruyan’s separate lawsuits against the Company and the other defendants based on the filing of a request for inter partes reexamination of the ‘944 Patent at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All reexamination proceedings of the ‘944 Patent have been stayed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board pending its approval of one or more of them.

On March 5, 2014, Fontem Ventures, B.V. and Fontem Holdings 1 B.V. (the successors to Ruyan) filed a complaint against the Company alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,365,742, entitled “Aerosol Electronic Cigarette”, U.S. Patent No. 8,375,957, entitled “Electronic Cigarette”, U.S. Patent No. 8,393,331, entitled “Aerosol Electronic Cigarette” and U.S. Patent No. 8,490,628, entitled “Electronic Atomization Cigarette. On April 8, 2014, plaintiffs amended their complaint to add U.S. Patent No. 8,689,805, entitled “Electronic Cigarette.” The products accused of infringement by the plaintiff are various Krave, Fifty-one and Hookah Stix products and parts. Eight other companies were also sued in separate lawsuits alleging infringement of one or more of the patents listed above. The Company filed its Answer and Counterclaims on May 1, 2014. The Company intends to vigorously defend against this lawsuit.

On October 21, 2014, Fontem Ventures B.V. and Fontem Holdings 1 B.V. filed a complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, captioned Fontem Ventures B.V., et al. v. Vapor Corp., No. 14-cv-8155. The complaint alleges infringement of United States Patent No. 8,863,752, entitled “Electronic Cigarette”. The products accused of infringement by plaintiffs are various Krave and Fifty-One products and parts On January 15, 2015, the Company filed its Answer and Counterclaims. The Company will vigorously defend itself against such allegations.

On December 2, 2014, Fontem Ventures B.V. and Fontem Holdings 1 B.V. filed a complaint against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, captioned Fontem Ventures B.V., et al. v. Vapor Corp., No. 14-cv-09267. The Complaint alleges infringement by the plaintiffs against the company relating to various Krave, Vapor X and Fifty-One products and parts. Fontem amended its compliant on December 16, 2014, to allege infringement of United States Patent No. 8,910,641, entitled “Electronic Cigarette” against the same products. On January 15, 2015, the Company filed its Answer and Counterclaims. The Company will vigorously defend itself against such allegations.

All of the above referenced cases filed by Fontem have been consolidated and are currently scheduled for trial in November 2015. The parties are currently in active fact discovery and claim construction.

Purchase Commitments

At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company has vendor deposits of $298,320 and $319,563, respectively, and vendor deposits are included as a component of prepaid expenses and vendor deposits on the condensed consolidated balance sheets included herewith.