Commitments, Contingencies and Other | 16. Commitments, Contingencies and Other (a) On or about May 17, 2011, the Merit Group, Inc. (“Merit”) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. On or about December 14, 2011, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of TMG Liquidation Company (formerly known as The Merit Group, Inc.) filed in that court an adversary proceeding against the Company (the “Avoidance Action”) now captioned CohnResnick LLP, as Plan Administrator v. National Patent Development Corp. In re TMG Liquidation Co. On August 2, 2013, the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) with CohnReznick LLP (the “Plan Administrator”) to settle the Avoidance Action. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the Plan Administrator was required to file with the Bankruptcy Court, no later than August 9, 2013, a motion to approve the Settlement Agreement (the “Settlement Motion”) and a proposed order approving relief to be requested in the Settlement Motion (the “Proposed Order”). Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Company agreed to make a settlement payment of $2,375,000 (the “Settlement Payment”) to the Plan Administrator conditioned upon the entry of an order (the “Approval Order”) by the Bankruptcy Court approving the Settlement Motion, that is in a form acceptable to the Company and in substantially the same form as the Proposed Order. The Bankruptcy Court entered an order approving the Settlement Agreement on September 4, 2013, and the Settlement Agreement required the Company to make the Settlement Payment within fifteen days of the Approval Order becoming a final, non-appealable order (a “Final Order”). On October 3, 2013, the Company made a payment of $2,375,000 to the Plan Administrator pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement also provides for general mutual releases by each of the parties, including a general release in favor of the Company and its affiliates, and the Company’s and its affiliates’ officers, directors, employees, agents, and professionals. The mutual releases became effective upon entry of the Final Order and receipt of the Settlement Payment by the Plan Administrator. In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, on October 9, 2013 the Plan Administrator made the requisite filings to dismiss, with prejudice, the Avoidance Action and a second pending adversary complaint against the Company. Upon entry of the Final Order by the Bankruptcy Court, the Company resolved all claims and causes of action that have been or could have been asserted against it by the Plan Administrator. As a result of entering into the Settlement Agreement, during the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company recorded a loss in discontinued operations of $2,375,000 in connection with the Avoidance Action. In April 2014, the Company agreed to a settlement of its insurance claim related to this matter, and received a net payment of $525,000, which was recorded as income in discontinued operations during the year ended December 31, 2014. (b) Pursuant to his Employment Agreement, Mr. Peter Donovan serves as Chief Executive Officer of Winthrop, commencing upon the Closing Date. Mr. Donovan’s Employment Agreement provides for a term of five years, with automatic annual renewals unless notice of non-renewal is given at least six months prior to the applicable employment period. Mr. Donovan is receiving an annual base salary of $300,000, subject to increases at the discretion of the Compensation Committee of Winthrop’s Board of Directors. During the initial term of Mr. Donovan’s Employment Agreement but subsequent to the third anniversary of the Closing Date, in the sole discretion of the Board of Directors of Winthrop, Mr. Donovan will assume the position of Executive Chairman of Winthrop in lieu of his position as Chief Executive Officer, with such authority, duties and responsibilities as are commensurate with his position as Executive Chairman and such other duties and responsibilities as may reasonably be assigned to him by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. As Executive Chairman, Mr. Donovan is receiving an annual base salary of $200,000. Under their respective Employment Agreements, the three other key executives were serving as Senior Managing Directors of Winthrop. Their Employment Agreements each provide for a term of three years, with automatic annual renewals unless notice of non-renewal is given at least six months prior to the applicable employment period. On June 16, 2015, the other three key executives were informed that their contracts would not be automatically renewed. Each of the three key executives is receiving an annual base salary of $250,000. In addition to their base salaries, each of the other three key executives are entitled to receive a “Stay/Client Retention Bonus” of $114,000. The Stay/Client Retention Bonus was payable in equal installments on the Closing Date and first, second and third anniversaries of the Closing Date. Two of the executives elected to receive the Stay/Client Retention Bonus in RSUs, valued at $2.00 per RSU (a total of 114,000 RSUs) which vested in equal annual installments on the first, second and third anniversaries of the Closing and one elected to receive cash payable in four equal installments of $28,500, the first paid and expensed on the Closing Date. In the first quarter of 2016, one of the three key executives was no longer employed by the Company. (c) On July 1, 2014, Winthrop, pursuant to the terms of its Milford Connecticut facility lease, gave eight months’ notice to their landlord to terminate their lease in Milford, Connecticut. In August 2014, the Company entered into a five year sublease in Greenwich, Connecticut for 10,000 square feet. At December 31, 2015, annual future rent for the Greenwich space, which expires on September 30, 2019 aggregated $939,000 payable as follows; $240,000 (2016), $248,000 (2017), $255,000 (2018), and $196,000 (through September 30, 2019). Rent expense charged to operations related to the facilities aggregated $225,000 and $165,000 in 2015 and 2014, respectively. The rent expense in 2015 and 2014 included deferred rent of $65,000 and $68,000, respectively, due to straight lining the amounts payable over the lease term commencing in August 2014 upon the Company gaining access to the premises. The Company also moved their corporate office from Mount Kisco, New York (see Note 17) to the new Greenwich facility in March 2015, which resulted in a consolidation of the Company’s corporate headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut. (d) On September 26, 2014, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) issued two Orders requiring the investigation and repair of two dams in which the Company and its subsidiaries have certain ownership interests. The first Order requires that the Company investigate and make specified repairs to the ACME Pond Dam located in Killingly, Connecticut. The second Order, as subsequently revised by DEEP on October 10, 2014, requires that the Company investigate and make specified repairs to the Killingly Pond Dam located in Killingly, Connecticut. These two properties are included in Investment in undeveloped land in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company has administratively appealed and contested the allegations in both Orders. As the administrative appeal of both Orders is in its early stages, it is not possible at this time to evaluate the likelihood of, or to estimate the range of loss from, an unfavorable outcome. |