Commitments and contingencies |
3 Months Ended |
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Mar. 31, 2026 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Commitments and contingencies | Commitments and contingencies In the ordinary course of business, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings and claims. The Company makes a provision for a liability relating to legal matters when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. These provisions are reviewed at least each quarter and adjusted to reflect the impacts of negotiations, estimated settlements, legal rulings, advice of legal counsel and other information and events pertaining to a particular matter. Legal fees are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. Investor dispute On December 23, 2024, 22NW Fund, L.P. (“22NW”), a holder of shares of the Company’s Common Stock and Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock (see note 10), filed a complaint against the Company, two former officers, and five former or current directors in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. The complaint seeks money damages (including compensatory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees) for (i) alleged material misrepresentations by the Company on which 22NW allegedly relied when purchasing shares of the Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Common Stock, (ii) alleged breaches of certain express representations in the stock purchase agreement through which 22NW acquired its shares, and (iii) registration delay fees owed under a registration rights agreement entered into in connection with the issuance of the Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, which the Company has since paid. The complaint also seeks the equitable remedy of specific performance under the aforementioned stock purchase agreement, requesting an order compelling the Company to file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and to hold a stockholder meeting to seek the approval of the removal of the current cap on the conversion of Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock into Common Stock as set forth in the Certificate of Designations related to the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, which the Company has since satisfied. On February 24, 2025, the Company filed a motion to dismiss all claims against it except for the claims relating to the registration delay fees, which the Company subsequently paid to 22NW in full in November 2025. On that same day, the individual defendants also filed a separate motion to dismiss the complaint against them in its entirety. On April 22, 2026, the Court granted the Company’s motion to dismiss in part and the individual defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety. With respect to the Company, all but two claims were dismissed: the claim for alleged breaches of certain express representations in the Series A stock purchase agreement and the claim for failure to pay registration delay fees. At the prior oral argument on the motions, 22NW’s counsel agreed on the record that the registration delay fees claim was mooted by the Company’s prior payments. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself against these remaining claims. Any potential remaining loss arising from these claims is not currently probable or estimable. Class action complaint On July 29, 2024, a putative class action complaint was filed on behalf of stockholders of the Company in the United States District Court of Minnesota against the Company and certain of its named executive officers. The complaint generally alleges that statements made to the Company’s stockholders between October 7, 2020, and March 19, 2024 regarding the Company’s financial results, internal controls, remediation efforts, periodic reporting, and financial prospects were false and misleading in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and that the individual defendants are liable for such statements because they are controlling persons under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks compensatory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees. On November 15, 2024, the Court appointed co-lead plaintiffs and their respective counsel. The co-lead plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on January 24, 2025, which contained substantially similar allegations and claims as those set forth in the original complaint. The Company filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on March 25, 2025, and the plaintiffs filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss on May 23, 2025. In November 2025, the Company and individual defendants entered into an agreement in principle with the plaintiffs to settle this matter, without any admission of wrongdoing, which is subject to court approval. On March 13, 2026, the Court granted preliminary approval of the proposed settlement, and the final approval hearing has been scheduled for late July 2026. If final approval of the proposed settlement is granted by the court in its current form, this settlement is expected to be covered by the Company’s insurance policies with no material loss incurred by the Company. The Company continues to believe that the claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against them if the settlement is not so approved. SEC subpoena On February 16, 2024, the Chicago Regional Office of the SEC issued a subpoena to the Company seeking documents and information concerning the financial statement restatement. The Company cooperated with the SEC during its review of the matter. On March 9, 2026, the Company received notice from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement that it had concluded its investigation with no action taken against the Company. Yucatan litigation On December 1, 2018, the Company acquired all of the voting interests and substantially all of the assets of Yucatan Foods L.P. (“Yucatan”, collectively the “Yucatan Acquisition”), which owned a guacamole manufacturing plant in Mexico called Procesadora Tanok, S de RL de C.V. (“Tanok”). On September 2, 2020, one of the former owners of Yucatan filed a lawsuit against the Company in Los Angeles County Superior Court for breach of employment agreement, breach of contract, breach of holdback agreement, declaratory relief and accounting, and related claims. The Plaintiff sought over $10,000 in damages, including delivery of shares of his stock held in escrow for Company’s indemnification claims to recover the cost of a portion of the liabilities that were incurred by the Company in connection with certain compliance matters arising from facts and circumstances prior to the closing of the Yucatan Acquisition. On November 3, 2020, the Company filed an answer and cross-complaint against the Plaintiff and other former equity holders of Yucatan for fraud, indemnification, and other claims, and seeking no less than $80,000 in damages. The Company previously reached settlements with several of the cross-defendants, pursuant to which the settling cross-defendants agreed that certain of the shares of stock they received when the Company acquired Yucatan either be sold and the proceeds paid to the Company, or that those shares be released to the Company. The trial for the remaining defendants was severed into two trials by the Court: •The first trial involved claims by and against one defendant only. This trial concluded on October 18, 2024, and final judgment was entered on March 21, 2025, with offsetting verdicts that resulted in a net award in the Company’s favor of $902 against the defendant and an award of recoverable costs of $275 for a total judgment of $1,177. The Company filed a notice of appeal on June 9, 2025 and the Plaintiff filed a notice of cross-appeal on July 1, 2025. •The second trial for the other defendants will involve only the Company’s claims against them, and there are no claims made by those defendants against the Company. That second trial has been stayed by the Court pending a final judgment, including any appeal, in the first trial. •The Plaintiff filed a new complaint seeking over $15,000 in damages and delivery of shares of his stock held in escrow, and served it on the Company on June 30, 2025. The Plaintiff’s new lawsuit arises out of the same allegations as his earlier lawsuit, asserts the same claims, and seeks the same damages. The Company’s motion to dismiss the new complaint on the grounds it is duplicative of the first lawsuit was denied by the trial court, but the Company appealed the trial court’s decision on February 17, 2026. The ultimate outcome of these matters or any other investigations, legal actions, or potential claims that may arise from these matters remains uncertain. The Company cannot reasonably predict the timing or outcomes, or estimate the amount of final judgments, or the effect, if any, they may have on its financial statements. Separately, future rulings from the Court will affect pending claims against the severed defendants for indemnification under provisions in the purchase agreement for the Yucatan Acquisition. Because recovery of amounts is still contingent upon the resolution of certain issues, no amounts have been recorded as recoverable costs through March 31, 2026.
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