XML 39 R24.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.24.1
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Note 18
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 

Service and License Agreements


The Company entered into certain service and license agreements that provide for future minimum payments. The terms of these agreements vary in length. The following table shows the remaining payment obligations under these agreements as of December 31, 2023:


   
December 31, 2023
 
Year ending December 31, 2024
  $
3,245,250
 
Year ending December 31, 2025
   
3,652,500
 
Year ending December 31, 2026
   
2,854,641
 
Thereafter
   
5,077,184
 
   
$
14,829,575
 


Commitments and contingencies includes $2,553,861 recorded in accrued expenses and other liabilities, representing information license liabilities under various licensing agreements (see Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Vendors and Licensors).


Legal Proceedings



From time to time the Company may be involved in claims that arise during the ordinary course of business. For any matters where management currently believes it is probable that the Company will incur a loss and that the probable loss or range of loss can be reasonably estimated, the Company records reserves in the consolidated financial statements based on its best estimates of such loss. In other instances, because of the uncertainties related to either the probable outcome or the amount or range of loss, management is unable to make a reasonable estimate of a liability, if any. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can be costly and time consuming, and it can divert management’s attention from important business matters and initiatives, negatively impacting the Company’s overall operations. Although the results of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company does not currently have any pending litigation to which it is a party or to which its property is subject that we believe to be material, except for the below.


Audet v. Green Tree International, et. al.


On February 14, 2020, John Audet filed a complaint in 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida against multiple parties, including Green Tree International (“GTI”), an indirect subsidiary of the Company, claiming that he owned 10% of GTI. The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages equivalent to the value a 10% shareholder of GTI would have received in the subsequent Helix and Forian transactions, along with an equitable accounting and constructive trust to determine if Audet suffered any loss of profit distributions. On March 8, 2024, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement and General Release, which included a release of GTI, the Company and its subsidiaries and all related parties. The parties filed a Joint Stipulation to Dismiss with Prejudice with respect to this matter on March 18, 2024. The Court entered a Final Order of Dismissal with Prejudice with respect to this matter on March 27, 2024.


Grant Whitus et al. v. Forian Inc., Zachary Venegas and Scott Ogur


On July 30, 2021, four former Helix employees filed a lawsuit in the Arapahoe County, Colorado District Court against the Company and Helix’s former managers asserting claims of breach of contract, promissory estoppel, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, civil theft and conversion, fraudulent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment / quantum meruit, all relating to the plaintiffs’ claims that they were promised equity interest in Helix or compensation that they never received. The original complaint was never served, and in November 2021, the plaintiffs filed and served an amended complaint adding a fifth plaintiff and seeking over $27.5 million in damages as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. The Company removed the matter to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in December 2021, and both the Company and the individual defendants filed motions to dismiss on January 20, 2022. Plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint on April 21, 2022, adding Helix TCS LLC and Helix Technologies, Inc. as defendants and advancing additional claims for breach of fiduciary duty and violation of the Colorado Wage Claims Act. The Company and the individual defendants filed separate motions to dismiss on June 1, 2022, which were granted in part and denied in part by the Court on February 28, 2023. Plaintiffs supplemented their complaint on March 3, 2023, consistent with the Court’s ruling. Discovery has been completed, and dispositive motions are currently being briefed. The Company believes the lawsuit is wholly without merit and intends to defend vigorously against the claims in the lawsuit.