aus dem Bericht 1627
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
From time to time, we become involved in various routine legal proceedings incidental to the ordinary course of our business. We do not believe that the outcomes of these legal proceedings have had in the recent past, or will have (with respect to any pending proceedings), significant effects on our financial position or profitability.
On March 26, 2012, we filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Civil Action No. 12-cv-2224-AJN) for selling NFC enabled phones, including the Nokia Astound and HTC Amaze, that infringe our U.S. Patent No. 6,045,043. Our requested relief in this action is a declaration that T-Mobile infringes our patent, an injunction against further infringement, direct and indirect damages for the infringement, and attorneys’ fees. Our NFC technology in the phones enables contactless payments with mobile phones, loyalty programs, data mining, and other applications. T-Mobile answered the complaint, denying that it infringes the patent, alleging that the patent is invalid, and asserting other equitable defenses. On May 7 and 9, 2013, the Court heard arguments from both parties on proposed constructions of the asserted claim terms. The Court issued an opinion on June 20, 2013, adopting our proposed constructions. T-Mobile subsequently filed a motion to reconsider the Court’s claim construction, which the Court denied on August 27, 2013. Fact discovery has been completed. The parties have until the end of March 2014, to file dispositive motions.
On September 2, 2012, we filed an insurance lawsuit in the Israeli District Court Merkaz against Harel Insurance Company Ltd. (Civil Action 2399-09-12) for damages incurred by us due to flooding in our subcontractor’s (Smartrac) manufacturing site in Thailand, in the amount of approximately $11 million. This caused disruptions to our supply chain and specifically affected our ability to deliver products to our customers. The parties have until the end of March 2014 to submit its depositions and the Court has rescheduled a preliminary hearing of the claim for July 15, 2014.
On October 3, 2013 , the Company received from the Commercial Court of Paris, France, or the Court , notification that a French company named SMJ PARK’IN SARL, or the Plaintiff , submitted on June 2013 a monetary claim against the Company and its French subsidiary, Parx France, or the Defendants, alleging, among others, the Defendants entered on mid 2008 into an agreement with the Plaintiff granting it the exclusive marketing rights to distribute and operate the Defendants , EasyPark Parking System (locally named PIAF) in Paris and ILE the France, and that the Defendants failed to fulfill their undertakings under such alleged agreement, by marketing their products by themselves or others causing the Plaintiff losses that it requires compensation for in its lawsuit. The total claim amount made by Plaintiff under this action is approximately € 1.5 Million. The Company rejects all Plaintiff’s allegations and claims, including, the alleged agreement and the then exclusive right of the Plaintiff to distribute Company’s products, which were at the relevant time in negotiation. Following a preliminary hearing held by the Court on December 2013, the Plaintiff was required to provide additional documents and Defendants are expected to submit its detailed defense to the Court by end of April 2014. Based on the advice of counsel, management believes that the Company had no material obligation to the Plaintiff.