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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Proceedings
We are involved from time to time in various claims, proceedings, and litigation. We establish reserves for specific legal proceedings when we determine that the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome is probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated.
On July 5, 2022, Brad Thomascik, a purported shareholder of the Company’s equity securities, filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On behalf of the Company, the lawsuit purports to bring claims against certain of the Company’s officers and directors. The complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the Company’s statements regarding the timing and status of government permits for Carolina Lithium in North Carolina at various times between March 16, 2018 and July 19, 2021. No litigation demand was made to the Company in connection with this action. The lawsuit focuses on the same public statements as the shareholder derivative suit described above. In September 2022, the parties agreed to a stipulation to stay the proceeding pending resolution of the motion to dismiss in the securities law matters described in the second paragraph of this section, and the Court ordered the case stayed in October 2022. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims. Although there can be no assurance as to the outcome, we do not believe these claims have merit. The potential monetary relief, if any, is not probable and cannot be estimated at this time; accordingly, we have not recorded a liability for this matter.
On October 14, 2021, Vincent Varbaro, a purported holder of Piedmont Australia’s American Depositary Shares and the Company’s equity securities, filed a shareholder derivative suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, purporting to bring claims on behalf of the Company against certain of the Company’s officers and directors. The complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the Company’s statements regarding the timing and status of government permits for Carolina Lithium in North Carolina, at various times between March 16, 2018 and July 19, 2021. No litigation demand was made to the Company in connection with this action. In December 2021, the parties agreed to a stipulation to stay the proceeding pending resolution of the motion to dismiss in the securities law matters described in the immediately preceding paragraph, and the Court ordered the case stayed. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims. Although there can be no assurance as to the outcome,
we do not believe these claims have merit. The potential monetary relief, if any, is not probable and cannot be estimated at this time; accordingly, we have not recorded a liability for this matter.
On September 8, 2023, the parties in the Thomascik and Varbaro cases stipulated to consolidate the two actions. That stipulation has not yet been acted on by the court.
In July 2021, a lawsuit was filed against us in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of a class of putative plaintiffs claiming violations of the Exchange Act. The complaint alleged, among other things, that we made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to make disclosure relating to proper and necessary permits. In February 2022, the Court appointed a lead plaintiff in this action, and the lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint in April 2022. On July 18, 2022, we moved to dismiss the amended complaint. On September 1, 2022, the lead plaintiff filed his Memorandum of Law in Opposition to our Motion to Dismiss. On October 7, 2022, we filed our Reply Memorandum in support of our Motion to Dismiss. The Court has yet to rule on our Motion to Dismiss. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims should the amended complaint survive. Although there can be no assurance as to the outcome, we do not believe these claims have merit. The potential monetary relief, if any, is not probable and cannot be estimated at this time, accordingly, we have not recorded a liability for this matter.
Other Commitments and Contingencies
In May 2023, we entered into a community development agreement with the City of Cherryville, North Carolina, whereby we committed to fund $11.0 million as follows: (i) $1.0 million to support certain parks and recreation projects and the reestablishment of a department of recreation, of which $0.5 million was paid in July 2023 and $0.5 million was paid in October 2023, and (ii) $10.0 million paid in annual installments of $0.5 million over a 20-year period commencing upon the first shipment of lithium hydroxide from Carolina Lithium. As part of the agreement, the City of Cherryville relinquished extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction over certain real property owned by Piedmont Lithium to Gaston County, North Carolina.