v3.22.4
Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

Note 10 - Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

In the normal course of business, the Company is party to litigation from time to time. The Company maintains insurance to cover certain actions and believes that resolution of such litigation will not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

 

On March 19, 2018, Whisler Holdings, LLC, Mitesh Kalthia, and Jean M. Noutary, the owners of the property leased by El Toro for the Company’s El Toro station, initiated a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Orange County, California, related to the lease agreement for the El Toro station. The complaint alleges breach of contract and sought money damages, costs, attorneys’ fees and other appropriate relief. On October 11, 2018, the court issued a default judgement in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of approximately $0.2 million, which the Company has fully reserved for and is included in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. No payments have been made to date.

 

Except as described above and with respect to claims covered by insurance, there are no other currently pending material legal or governmental proceedings and, as far as we are aware, no governmental authority is contemplating any proceeding to which we are a party or to which any of our properties is subject.

 

PPP Loan

On May 8, 2020, we received a letter from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the U.S. House of Representatives demanding that we return the $10.0 million PPP loan that we applied for and received under the CARES Act in April 2020. We elected not to return the PPP loan proceeds as requested and our PPP loan was subsequently forgiven in July 2021. Also, the United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") has stated that it intends to audit the PPP loan application of any company, like us, that received PPP loan proceeds of more than $2 million. However, we are not currently party to or aware of any contemplated proceeding with the Select Subcommittee, the SBA, or any other governmental authority with respect to our PPP loan.

 

Long-Term Take-or-Pay Natural Gas Supply Contracts

 

As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the Company had commitments to purchase natural gas on a take-or-pay basis with three vendors. It is anticipated these are normal purchases that will be necessary for sales, and that any penalties for failing to meet minimum volume requirements will be immaterial. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, the estimated remaining liability under the take-or-pay arrangements was approximately $0.3 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

 

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements – Captive Insurance

Prior to the acquisition, Sheehy was self-insured for certain insurance risks with a captive insurance company under SEI. Upon the acquisition of Sheehy from SEI in January 2019, the Company became a member of the captive and Sheehy was transferred to the EVO member account. As a member of the captive, the Company is required to maintain a collateral deposit. The collateral deposit requirement is calculated at the renewal date of March 1st each year and is based on the prior three years of premium experience. The collateral deposit may be satisfied with either cash and/or investment collateral held in the captive or with a letter of credit. SEI agreed to pledge approximately $0.9 million in excess cash and investments held in the captive under the SEI member account to satisfy the Company’s collateral deposit requirement following the Company's acquisition of Sheehy. The letter agreement between the Company and SEI expired on March 1, 2020, however, the underlying Collateral Security Pledge Agreement among the Company, SEI and the captive has not expired and requires the Company’s consent for its amendment. The Company will be responsible for providing sufficient collateral to satisfy the security deposit with the captive if and when it comes to terms with SEI. See Note 3, Related Parties – Off Balance Sheet Arrangements – Collateral Security Pledge Agreement for terms of the agreement. The Company is also responsible for providing any additional collateral that may be requested by the captive. On September 27, 2022, Sheehy agreed to pledge $0.8 million in cash collateral to the insurance captive on or before March 1, 2024 and SEI agreed to continue its collateral pledge until that time (see Note 12, Subsequent Events – Sheehy Settlement Agreement).

Letter of Credit

 

EAF entered into an incremental natural gas facilities agreement dated February 24, 2014 with Southwest Gas Corporation (“Southwest Gas”). Under the terms of the agreement, Southwest Gas agreed to install a pipeline connecting an EAF CNG station to its existing infrastructure at no

upfront cost to EAF, and EAF agreed to use Southwest Gas to transport natural gas to the station through its infrastructure. The term was originally five years but has since been modified to ten years. Each year of the ten-year term, EAF is required to make a payment to Southwest Gas equal to $0.1 million minus the amount of delivery and demand charges paid by EAF during the applicable contract year. EAF is required to provide financial security in the form of a letter of credit originally in the amount of $0.5 million, which amount may decrease annually during the term of the agreement and was equal to $0.2 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.