NOTE 18. LEGAL MATTERSBetween March 26, 2003 and May 20, 2003, three putative class action lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon against ESI and David F. Bolender, James T. Dooley, and Joseph L. Reinhart, who are current and/or former officers and directors of ESI. The complaints were filed on behalf of a purported class of persons who purchased ESI’s common stock between September 17, 2002 and at the latest April 15, 2003. The complaints assert causes of action (and seek unspecified damages) for alleged violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, as well as Section 20(a) of the Act. In particular, the complaints allege that the defendants were involved in making false and misleading statements during the putative class period about ESI’s business, prospects, and operations, all of which resulted in artificially inflating ESI’s stock price. The complaints have been consolidated under the name In re Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. CV 03-404-HA. Lead plaintiffs and lead counsel for plaintiffs have been appointed. Plaintiffs’ consolidated class action complaint is due to be filed 45 days following the filing of our restated financial statements referred to below. In March 2003, our Audit Committee commenced an investigation into certain accounting matters. As a result of the investigation, which was completed on July 11, 2003, we have restated our financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 1, 2002 and for the quarters ended August 31, 2002 and November 30, 2002. The restated financial statements are set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K/A and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q/A for the corresponding periods, filed August 11, 2003. The consolidated class action complaint had not been filed and discovery had not yet commenced when this report was filed, and we were in the early stages of our assessment of the possible outcomes of this litigation. We expect, however, that the litigation will be costly and will to some degree divert management’s attention from daily operations.
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On March 31, 2003 and April 28, 2003, two separate purported shareholder derivative complaints were filed in the Circuit Court of Oregon in Washington County. The named defendants include certain current and/or former officers and directors of ESI. ESI is named as a “nominal defendant.” Lead plaintiffs and lead counsel for plaintiffs have been appointed. The parties have stipulated that the plaintiffs will file a consolidated complaint within 45 days of the filing of our restated financial statements referred to above. The existing complaints allege that certain defendants breached fiduciary duties to ESI and were unjustly enriched. The complaint seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages and seeks various equitable remedies, including a constructive trust on the proceeds received by the defendants from trading ESI common stock. As filed, the complaints are derivative in nature and do not seek monetary damages from, or the imposition of equitable remedies on, ESI. The special litigation committee of our board of directors, with the assistance of independent legal counsel, is conducting an investigation relating to the allegations asserted in the complaints. We have entered into indemnification agreements in the ordinary course of business with our officers and directors and may be obligated throughout the class action and derivative lawsuits to advance payment of legal fees and costs incurred by the defendant current and former officers and directors pursuant to the indemnification agreements and applicable Oregon law. On February 14, 2001, Cognex Corporation (Cognex) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (Cognex Corporation v. Electro Scientific Industries, Inc., No. 01-10287 RCL). The lawsuit alleges that our CorrectPlace product and some of its predecessors infringe United States Patent 5,371,690 (the ” ‘690 patent”), which is owned by Cognex. The ‘690 patent concerns the inspection of surface mount devices that are attached to the surface of an electronic circuit board. Cognex seeks injunctive relief, damages, costs and attorneys’ fees. We filed several counterclaims, including one alleging that the ‘690 patent is unenforceable by reason of inequitable conduct and another alleging that Cognex falsely marked certain products with the ‘690 patent. After the close of discovery, on October 8, 2002, we filed a motion for summary judgment of non-infringement. Cognex filed motions for summary judgment on the issues of unenforceability and mismarking on the same day. The court denied Cognex’s motion on the issue of unenforceability on April 25, 2003. Our motion for summary judgment is still pending, as is Cognex’s motion on the issue of false marking. Additionally, certain of our customers have notified us that, in the event it is subsequently determined that their use of CorrectPlace infringes any patent, they may seek indemnification from us for damages or expenses resulting from this matter. In addition to the legal matters previously discussed, in the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various other legal matters and investigations. Total amounts included in accrued expenses related to all of our legal activities, which represent estimated awards and assessments as well as unpaid legal services incurred through May 31, 2003, was approximately $1.9 million. In the opinion of management, amounts accrued for awards or assessments in connection with these matters, which specifically excludes the class action lawsuits and related derivative complaints noted above, are management’s best estimate and ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flow. We can not reliably estimate the costs related to the class action lawsuits and related derivative complaints at this time. See also Note 25 Subsequent Event – Legal Claim.
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NOTE 19. SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLANWe renewed our Shareholder Rights Plan in May 1999 and accordingly declared a dividend distribution of one Right for each outstanding share of common stock, payable to holders of record on June 4, 1999. On March 1, 2001, we amended and restated our Rights Agreement appointing Mellon Investor Services as the Rights Agent, successor to First Chicago Trust Company of New York. Under certain conditions, each right may be exercised to purchase 1/100 of a share of Series A No Par Preferred Stock at a purchase price of $270, subject to adjustment. The Rights are not presently exercisable and will only become exercisable following the occurrence of certain specified events. Generally, the Rights become exercisable after a person or group acquires or commences a tender offer that would result in beneficial ownership of 15 percent or more of our outstanding common stock. In addition, the Rights become exercisable if any party becomes a beneficial owner of 10 percent or more of our outstanding common stock and is determined by the Board of Directors to be an adverse party. If a person or group acquires 15 percent of our outstanding common stock or the Board of Directors declares a person to be an Adverse Person, each Right will be adjusted to entitle its holder to receive, upon exercise, common stock, or, in certain circumstances, other assets of ours having a value equal to twice the exercise price of the Right. If, after the Rights become exercisable, we are acquired in a merger or other business combination, each Right will be adjusted to entitle its holder to receive, upon exercise, common stock of the acquiring company having a value equal to twice the exercise price of the Right, depending on the circumstances. The Rights expire on May 7, 2009 and may be redeemed by us for $0.001 per Right. The Rights do not have voting or dividend rights and, until they become exercisable, have no dilutive effect on our earnings. NOTE 20. STOCK PLANSIn September 1989, the shareholders approved the adoption of the 1989 Stock Option Plan (the “1989 Plan”) pursuant to which 4,400,000 shares of our common stock, as amended in September 1998, have been reserved for issuance. In September 2000, the shareholders approved the adoption of the 2000 Stock Option Incentive Plan (the “2000 Incentive Plan”) and the reservation of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance thereunder. The 2000 Incentive Plan replaced the 1989 Plan. In addition, any shares that remained available for grant under the 1989 Plan upon its termination and any shares that may become available for grant under the 1989 Plan through the expiration, termination, forfeiture or cancellation of grants become available for grant under the 2000 Incentive Plan. Options under the 2000 Incentive Plan generally vest 25% per year over a four-year period from the date of grant, expire ten years from the date of grant, and are exercisable at prices generally not less than the fair market value at the grant date. The 2000 Incentive Plan allows for automatic annual grants to non-employee directors for 6,000 shares of common stock on July 31 of each year, with an option price equal to the closing market price on the date of the grant, a ten-year term and a four-year vesting schedule. The 2000 Incentive Plan allows for grants of incentive stock options, as defined in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or non-statutory stock options. Stock appreciation rights may be granted in connection with options, although no options have been granted which include stock appreciation rights. At May 31, 2003, we had options covering 1,732,809 shares of our common stock available for grant under the 2000 Incentive Plan. In September 1996, the shareholders approved the 1996 Stock Incentive Plan (the “1996 Plan”) pursuant to which 500,000 shares of our common stock, as amended in September 1998, have been reserved for issuance to participating employees. The 1996 Plan allows for the grants of stock bonuses, restricted stock or performance-based awards. Our restricted stock grants vest based on certain performance criteria that are tied to our stock price or length of service. During fiscal 2003 and 2001, we recorded $0.5 million and $1.4 million, respectively, of compensation expense related to restricted stock grants. There was not any compensation expense related to restricted stock grants during fiscal 2002. At May 31, 2003, we had stock grants covering 222,354 shares of our common stock available for grant under the 1996 Plan.
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In April 2000, the Board of Directors approved the adoption of the 2000 Stock Option Plan (the “2000 Plan”) pursuant to which 2,250,000 shares of our common stock, as amended in April 2001, have been reserved for issuance. The 2000 Plan allows for grants to non-officer employees of non-statutory stock options, stock bonuses or restricted stock. Options under the 2000 Plan generally vest 25% per year over a 4 year period from the date of grant, expire ten years from the date of grant, and are exercisable at prices generally not less than the fair market value at the grant date. At May 31, 2003, we had options or stock grants covering 596,236 shares of our common stock available for grant under the 2000 Plan. At May 31, 2003, we had 6,838,526 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under all of the above plans combined. The following table summarizes activity in the above stock plans (in thousands, except per share amounts): |