Annual report pursuant to section 13 and 15(d)

13. Settlement with Former Officer

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13. Settlement with Former Officer
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements  
13. Settlement with Former Officer

On November 15, 2013, Cecil Kyte voluntarily resigned as a Director, Chairman of the Board, a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and CEO. Subject to terms of Mr. Kyte’s separation agreement, Kyte will receive severance pay equal to one-year’s salary ($350,000) paid in 24 equal installments ($14,853), subject to all applicable tax withholdings, beginning November 30, 2013 through November 15, 2014. The Company recognized an expense of $350,000 for severance pay plus $14,315 in deferred payroll taxes. As of December 31, 2013, the Company had paid $44,559 of the severance pay and $997 of deferred payroll taxes. The severance pay balance of $305,441 and deferred payroll tax balance of $13,318 as of December 31, 2013 are reported liabilities in Company’s balance sheet as Accrued Expense and Accounts Payable – Related Parties.

 

At the time of separation, Mr. Kyte held unvested options which had been issued in January 2011 to purchase 10,560,000 shares of common stock at $0.25 per share, of which 3,520,000 shares were due to vest in January 2014. The remaining 7,040,000 shares were due to fully vest by January 2016. Under terms of the separation agreement, the Company accelerated vesting as of the date of separation on the 3,520,000 shares due to vest in January 2014. The remaining options to purchase 7,040,000 shares terminated as of separation. Under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718, employee stock options which are subject to accelerated vesting at termination are treated as a Type III modification. As such, the Company recognized an expense related to the accelerated vesting in the amount of $3,809,325 the fair value of which was determined using a Black-Scholes Option Pricing model with the following: risk-free interest rate of 2.06%; dividend yield of 0%; volatility of 130%; and an expected life of 7 years. Previously recorded compensation recorded in 2013 related to the original vesting schedule of the 3,520,000 options was reversed, and the total of $3,809,325 is recorded in Operating Expenses in the accompanying consolidated Statement of Operations for 2013.

 

Mr. Kyte held additional unvested options which had been issued as board compensation in September 2013 to purchase 21,009 shares of common stock at $1.19 per share. These options terminated as of the date of his separation.