Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

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11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Executive Employment Agreements –Gerald Easterling

 

On April 1, 2015, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Gerald Easterling at the time as the Company’s President, effective as of April 1, 2015 (the “Employment Agreement”).

 

The Employment Agreement is terminable at will and each provide for a base annual salary of $96,000. In addition, the Employment Agreement provides that the employee is entitled, at the sole and absolute discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors, to receive performance bonuses. Mr. Easterling will also be entitled to certain benefits including health insurance and monthly allowances for cell phone and automobile expenses.

 

The Employment Agreement provides that in the event the employee is terminated without cause or resigns for good reason (as defined in their Employment Agreement), the employee will receive, as severance the employee’s base salary for a period of 60 months following the date of termination. In the event of a change of control of the Company, the employee may elect to terminate the Employment Agreement within 30 days thereafter and upon such termination would receive a lump sum payment equal to 500% of the employee’s base salary.

 

The Employment Agreement contains certain restrictive covenants relating to non-competition, non-solicitation of customers and non-solicitation of employees for a period of one year following termination of the employee’s Employment Agreement.

On August 15, 2019, the late Mr. Bill Williams resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective August 31, 2019. Mr. Easterling replaced him as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The separation agreement calls for the continued payment of salary, at $8,000 semi-monthly, until his accrued compensation in the amount of approximately $217,000 is paid off, as well as his monthly rent, medical and automobile payments to continue to be paid and deducted against the accrued compensation and debt. After the accrued compensation is fully paid, the payments shall be $10,000 per month against the remaining debt balance, until such balance is paid in full. On July 15, 2020, the Company issued a promissory note to Ms. Williams in the amount of $383,604 to settle the amounts agreed to in the separation agreement for accrued compensation and debt (see Note 9).

 

Vista Capital Investments, LLC

 

On April 30, 2019, a complaint was filed against the Company in the U.S. District Court in Dallas, Texas alleging that the Company breached a provision in a common stock purchase warrant (the “Vista Warrant”) issued by the Company to Vista Capital Investments, LLC (“Vista”). Vista alleged that the Company failed to issue certain shares of the Company’s Common Stock as was required under the terms of the Warrant. Vista sought money damages in the approximate amount of $7,000,000, as well as costs and reimbursement of expenses.

 

On April 9, 2020, the Company, Vista and David Clark (“Clark”), a principal of Vista, (the “Parties”) entered into a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby the Company shall (i) pay to Vista the sum of $75,000, which the Company wired on April 10, 2020, and (ii) issue to Vista 17,500,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock (the “Settlement Shares”). For a period of time equal to 90-days from the date of the settlement, or July 8, 2020, the Company shall have the right, but not the obligation, to purchase back from Vista 8,750,000 of the Settlement Shares at a price equal to the greater of (i) the volume weighted-average trading price of the Company’s common shares over the five preceding trading days prior to the date of the delivery of the Company’s written notice of such repurchase or (ii) $0.02 per share. On May 18, 2020, the Company received $50,000 as consideration for waiving the purchase option on the Settlement Shares, thereby allowing Vista to retain all of the Settlement Shares. The Vista warrants outstanding were also cancelled as part of the Settlement Agreement. The $75,000, as well as the fair market value of the 17,500,000 common shares, which is $560,000 based on the market value of the Company’s common stock on the settlement date of $0.32, was accrued in Accrued expenses on the accompanying March 31, 2020 Balance Sheet and recognized as Loss on Warrant settlement in the fourth quarter of the year ending March 31, 2020.

 

RGA Labs, Inc.

 

On February 18, 2020, RGA Labs, Inc. (“RGA”) filed suit against the Company in the Illinois Circuit Court (23rd District) alleging that the Company owed RGA money pursuant to a written contract for the design and manufacture of certain water treatment equipment commissioned by the Company. The Company disputed the allegations and has counterclaimed against RGA for additional costs and expenses incurred by the Company in correcting, repairing and retro-fitting the equipment to enable it to work in the Company’s facilities. On December 1, 2020, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit as a sanction for the failure of RGA to comply with a court order compelling responses to the Company’s requests for production and first set of interrogatories. A hearing was held on the motion to dismiss on January 20, 2021. The Court has taken the matter under advisement and will issue its ruling on March 19, 2021.

 

Gary Shover

 

A shareholder of NaturalShrimp Holdings, Inc. (“NSH”), Gary Shover, filed suit against the Company on August 11, 2020 in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, alleging breach of contract for the Company’s failure to exchange common shares of the Company for shares Mr. Shover owns in NSH. The Company has filed its answer to the complaint and is seeking to settle the matter with Mr. Shover with the approval of the Federal District Court. A settlement stipulation has been prepared and approved by the parties and will be filed with the Court along with a proposed order. It is anticipated that the stipulation, joint motion to approve stipulation and proposed order approving the stipulation and settlement will be filed with the Court during the week of February 15, 2021.