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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

10. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Purchase of raw materials

 

Production of the Company’s beverages requires quantities of various processed agricultural products, including malt and hops for beer. The Company fulfills its commodities requirements through purchases from various sources, some through contractual arrangements and others on the open market.

 

Legal

 

The Company is periodically involved in legal actions and claims that arise as a result of events that occur in the normal course of operations. Management and the Company’s legal counsel assess such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves the exercise of judgment.

 

On September 26, 2014, The New Buffalo Brewing Co., Inc. (“NBB”) initiated an action against Releta in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of Erie to recover damages for alleged breaches of a Brewing Production Agreement between NBB and Releta dated September 6, 2013 (the “Brewing Production Agreement”), as well as for a declaration rescinding and nullifying the Brewing Production Agreement, and, in case of Releta’s failure to answer or appear, damages resulting from the alleged breaches, rescission of the Brewing Production Agreement, attorneys’ fees and any other relief deemed proper by the court. In a demand letter to Releta dated October 16, 2014, NBB demanded payment of the sum of $500,000. The Company has engaged a law firm in New York to respond.

The Company is not currently aware of any legal proceedings or claims that the Company believes will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

 

Operating Leases

 

The Company leases some of its operating and office facilities for various terms under long-term, non-cancelable operating lease agreements. The leases expire at various dates between 2015 and 2019 and provide for renewal options ranging from month-to-month to five years. In the normal course of business, it is expected that these leases will be renewed or replaced by leases on similar properties. The leases provide for increases in future minimum annual rental payments based on defined increases which are generally meant to correlate with the Consumer Price Index, subject to certain minimum increases. Also, the agreements generally require the Company to pay certain costs, including real estate taxes, insurance and repairs.

 

MBC and its subsidiaries have various lease agreements for the brewpub and gift store in Ukiah, California, the brewery at Releta’s Saratoga Springs, New York facility, a building in the UK, and certain equipment. The New York lease includes a renewal option for three additional five-year periods, which Releta intends to exercise, and some leases are adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index.