Commitments and Contingencies | Note 6 – Commitments and Contingencies A. Legal claims 1. In June 2013, prior to the Company's divestiture of its SmartID division, Merwell Inc. ("Merwell") filed a claim against the Company before an agreed-upon arbitrator alleging breach of contract in connection with certain commissions claimed to be owed to Merwell with respect to the division's activities in Tanzania. These activities, along with all other activities of the SmartID division, were later assigned to and assumed by SuperCom in its purchase of the division. SuperCom undertook to indemnify the Company and hold it harmless against any liabilities the Company may incur in connection with Merwell's consulting agreement and the arbitration. An arbitration decision was issued on February 21, 2016, awarding Merwell approximately $855 for outstanding commissions, plus expenses and legal fees and ordering the Company to provide further financial details that might result in additional payments to Merwell. The arbitration decision had been appealed and the appeal was denied on June 17, 2018. In order to collect the award, Merwell filed a motion against the Company and the Nazareth District Court issued a judgment requiring the Company to pay Merwell an amount of approximately NIS 5,080 (approximately $1,370) that was paid by the Company on January 8, 2019. As mentioned above, based on the agreement with SuperCom from April 2016 (which was granted an effect of a court judgment), SuperCom is liable for all the costs and liabilities arising out of this claim. On February 17, 2019, the Company initiated an arbitration process (the "Arbitration") to collect from SuperCom the amount paid to Merwell which SuperCom failed to pay, and to assure that SuperCom will pay any additional amounts, if required in the future. On March 26, 2019, SuperCom filed a petition to the Tel-Aviv District Court, asking to order that the dispute will be conducted in Court and not in arbitration. On October 29, 2019, a hearing was conducted in court regarding SuperCom's petition, and at the end of the hearing, following the court's recommendation, SuperCom agreed to withdraw its petition. As a result, the court gave a verdict ordering that the Arbitration will continue. On the same day, the Company approached the arbitrator, asking to renew the Arbitration, and on October 30, 2019 the arbitrator scheduled a preliminary hearing. The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018, include a provision for the full amount paid. Despite the fact that, based on the assessment of the Company's external legal counsel, the likelihood to succeed in the arbitration process (or other legal procedure in that matter) is high, the Company did not record an indemnification asset as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 , 2. On June 12, 2019, Merwell submitted a complementary claim against the Company in arbitration, with respect to the additional financial details that Merwell claims that the Company was ordered to provide according to the arbitration verdict from February 21, 2016, and additional payments that Merwell claims that the Company is obligated to pay Merwell. The said financial details refer to the quantity of smart driving licenses that Merwell claims were issued in the later period of a project in Tanzania in which Merwell claims to have provided services to the Company. Merwell claims that despite the Company's failure to provide the details, Merwell obtained the details independently from other sources, and they indicate that the Company is obligated to pay Merwell an additional amount of $1,619. The Company rejects the details that were presented by Merwell and their validity, and also raised preliminary claims that this matter cannot be determined in arbitration, but only in court, since the relevant data is held by SuperCom, who is not a party to the arbitration agreement with Merwell, but issued the licenses in the relevant period and therefore is a necessary party to the dispute. The Company filed an application to the arbitrator, and on August 8, 2019, the arbitrator determined that the Company's procedural claims should be heard and determined in court. Following that decision, on September 8, 2019, the Company filed a petition to the Tel-Aviv District Court, asking it to order that Merwell's claims in the complementary procedure will be heard in court and not in arbitration. On October 22, 2019, Merwell submitted its response to the court. As of the date of this report, a hearing in the petition has not yet scheduled. Based on the assessment of the Company's external legal counsel, given the preliminary stage of the procedure, it is difficult, at this point, to estimate the chances of Merwell's claims for a complementary arbitration verdict. 3. In October 2013, a financial claim was filed against the Company and its then French subsidiary, Parx France (in this paragraph, together, the "Defendants"), in the Commercial Court of Paris, France (in this paragraph, the "Court"). The sum of the claim is €1,500 (approximately $1,708) and is based on the allegation that the plaintiff sustained certain losses in connection with Defendants not granting the plaintiff exclusive marketing rights to distribute and operate the Defendants' PIAF Parking System in Paris and the Ile of France. On October 25, 2017, the Court issued its ruling in this matter dismissing all claims against the Company but ordering Parx France to pay the plaintiff €50 ($57) plus interest in damages plus another approximately €5 ($6) in other fees and penalties. The Company offered to pay the amounts mentioned above to the plaintiff in consideration for not filing future appeals. The Plaintiff rejected this offer and filed an appeal against Parx France and the Company claiming the sum of €503 ($573) plus interest and expenses. The Company will submit its answer to the appeal by November 7, 2019, and the appeal hearing is scheduled for December 5, 2019. Based on the assessment of the Company's external legal counsel, the Company's management is of the opinion that the chances of the appeal being approved against the Company are low. 4. In July, 2019, the Company received a request (the "Request"), to allow a petitioner to submit a class action, which concerns the petitioner's claims that, inter alia, through the EasyPark card, drivers are permitted to exceed the quota of permitted hours in accordance with the instructions of various local authorities in Israel. The Request was submitted against a company (the "Buyer's Company") incorporated by the buyer of the assets (including the parking activity) of the Israeli subsidiaries of the Company (the "Company's Subsidiaries") and against two other companies that operate technological means for payment for public parking spaces scattered throughout the cities. Since the majority of potential claims against the Company's Subsidiaries relate to the period following the sale of the Company's Subsidiaries' assets, including the parking activity, it appears that the Company's exposure through this channel is limited. Furthermore, even if payment will be required, the buyer would be liable for the majority of such payment. Therefore the Company will not participate in such procedure at this stage. Based on the assessment of the Company's external legal counsel, the exposure of the Company cannot be assessed at this point. B. Guarantees As of September 30, 2019, the Company has granted performance guarantees and guarantees to secure customer advances in the sum of $387. The expiration dates of the guarantees range from April 2020 to September 2021. |