COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Notes to Financial Statements

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Employment Agreements

The Company has employment agreements with its Chief Executive Officer, its Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer, and its Chief Technical Officer. The Company may terminate the agreements with or without cause. Subject to the conditions and other limitations set forth in each respective employment agreement, each executive will be entitled to the following severance benefits if the Company terminates the executive’s employment without cause or in the event of an involuntary termination  (as defined in the employment agreements) by the Company or by the executive:

Under the terms of the agreement, the Chief Executive Officer will be entitled to the following severance benefits if we terminate his employment without cause or in the event of an involuntary termination: (i) a lump sum cash payment equal to twenty-four months base salary; (ii) continuation of fringe benefits and medical insurance for a period of three years; and (iii) immediate vesting of 50% of outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards. In the event that the Chief Executive Officer’s employment is terminated within six months prior to or thirteen months following a change of control (as defined in the employment agreements), the Chief Executive Officer is entitled to the severance benefits described above, except that 100% of the Chief Executive Officer’s outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards will immediately vest.

Under the terms of the employment agreements with our Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer, this executive will be entitled to the following severance benefits if we terminate their employment without cause or in the event of an involuntary termination: (i) a lump sum cash payment equal to six months of base salary; (ii) continuation of their fringe benefits and medical insurance for a period of six months; (iii) immediate vesting of 50% of their outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards. In the event that their employment is terminated within six months prior to or thirteen months following a change of control (as defined in the employment agreements), they are entitled to the severance benefits described above, except that 100% of their outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards will immediately vest.

Under the terms of the employment agreement with our Chief Technical Officer, this executive will be entitled to the following severance benefits if we terminate his employment without cause or in the event of an involuntary termination: (i) a lump sum cash payment equal to six months of base salary; (ii) continuation of their fringe benefits and medical insurance for a period of six months. In the event that his employment is terminated within six months prior to or thirteen months following a change of control (as defined in the employment agreements), he is entitled to the severance benefits described above, except that 100% of his outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards will immediately vest.

Litigation

There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or by any court, public board, government agency, self-regulatory organization or body pending or, to the knowledge of the executive officers of the Company or any of our subsidiaries, threatened against or affecting the Company, our Common Stock, any of our subsidiaries or of the Company’s or our subsidiaries’ officers or directors in their capacities as such, in which an adverse decision could have a material adverse effect.

Leases

The Company’s corporate headquarters are located in San Diego, California where we occupy 9,927 square feet of office space. This facility is leased through October 2017 at a cost of approximately $18,000 per month. In addition to our corporate headquarters, we also occupied the following spaces at December 31, 2015:

● 1,508 square feet in Ottawa, Province of Ontario, Canada, at a cost of approximately $3,000 per month until the expiration of the lease on March 31, 2016;

● 8,045 square feet in Portland, Oregon, at a cost of approximately $16,000 per month until the expiration of the lease on October 31, 2018 and

● 425 square feet of office space in Mexico City, Mexico, at a cost of approximately $3,000 per month until terminated by either party.

 At December 31, 2015, future minimum lease payments are as follows:

($ in thousands)
2016	$	426
2017		386
2018		168
2019		—
2020 and thereafter		—
Total	$	980

Rental expense incurred under operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was approximately $477,000, $430,000 and $418,000, respectively.