Crede Dismisses Claims in Lawsuit Against 22nd Century
23 February 2017 - 1:46AM
Business Wire
Dismissed Claims Were Frivolous and
Completely Without Merit
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII), a plant biotechnology
company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction, announced today
that Crede CG III, Ltd. has dismissed claims against the Company in
the on-going litigation related to a terminated China joint
venture. Crede filed the lawsuit in the wake of the Company’s
decision to terminate a failed China joint venture arrangement with
Crede and its principal, Terren Peizer, due to non-performance and
other breaches by Crede and its principals in their failure to
perform under the joint venture agreements and impeding the
Company’s efforts to expand into China.
As the Company previously announced, on January 20, 2017, the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
(the “SDNY Court”) granted the Company’s request to sever the Crede
lawsuit into two separate cases and transfer the claims relating to
the now terminated China joint venture to the United States
District Court for the Western District of New York (the “WDNY
Court”), where 22nd Century’s headquarters office is located. At
the same time, the Crede claims relating to the now void exchange
feature of the Tranche 1-A warrant previously issued to Crede under
a financing agreement remained in the SDNY Court according to the
jurisdictional provisions of that warrant. As previously reported,
the SDNY Court held on June 14, 2016 that Crede had not
demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that it would prevail on its
claims, and that there was likelihood that Crede violated the
activity restrictions of the Tranche 1-A warrant, which should bar
Crede’s claim for such shares from the Company.
On February 14, 2017, Crede dismissed its lawsuit against the
Company in the WDNY Court, determining not to pursue its claims
against the Company related to the failed China joint venture; thus
dismissing claims alleging damages in excess of $500 million. The
Company plans to continue its efforts to conduct business in China
without Crede and Peizer.
On February 21, 2017, the SDNY Court granted the Company’s
request to file a motion for summary judgment in the case, with all
discovery in the case being deferred until after the SDNY Court
conducts a hearing and issues its decision on the upcoming summary
judgment motion to be filed by 22nd Century. The Company intends to
continue to vigorously defend itself in this remaining case and is
confident that it will prevail against Crede.
“From the beginning, the Company has known that Crede’s lawsuit
was frivolous and completely without merit,” explained a 22nd
Century spokesman. “We are pleased that Crede has now recognized
this fact and has dismissed the claims that were transferred to the
WDNY Court. We look forward to the prompt and successful resolution
of the remaining portion of the case in the SDNY Court.”
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company focused on
technology which allows it to increase or decrease the level of
nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in
cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding. The
Company’s primary mission is to reduce the harm caused by smoking.
22nd Century currently owns or exclusively controls more than 200
issued patents and more than 50 pending patent applications around
the world. Visit www.xxiicentury.com for more information.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking information, including all
statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc.,
its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this
press release, including but not limited to our future revenue
expectations. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,”
“estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar
expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results,
levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should
be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements
that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable
law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not
intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform
these statements to reflect actual results, later events or
circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. You should carefully review and consider the various
disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed on February 18, 2016,
including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors
that may affect our business, financial condition, results of
operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those
expected or projected.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170222005957/en/
Investor Relations:IRTH CommunicationsAndrew Haag,
866-976-4784xxii@irthcommunications.com
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