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Item 5.03
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Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year
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On June 1, 2020, the board of directors of Daré Bioscience, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) approved an amendment (the “By-laws Amendment”) to the Company’s by-laws (the “By-laws”), effective immediately. The By-laws Amendment provides that, among other things, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts located within the State of Delaware will serve as the exclusive forum for the adjudication of (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company; (ii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Company, to the Company or our stockholders; (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Company, arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), the Company’s certificate of incorporation or the By-laws (as each may be amended from time to time); (iv) any action or proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Company’s certificate of incorporation or the By-laws (including any right, obligation, or remedy thereunder); (v) any action or proceeding as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and (vi) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any director, officer or other employee of the Company, governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. The foregoing Delaware exclusive forum provision will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
In addition, the By-laws Amendment provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the 1933 Act.
A copy of the By-laws, as amended by the By-laws Amendment, is attached as an exhibit to this report.
In connection with the By-laws Amendment, the Company refers stockholders to the following risk factor:
Provisions in our amended and restated by-laws could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated by-laws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for most legal actions involving actions brought against us by stockholders; provided that, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated by-laws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to these provisions.
Under the Securities Act, federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act. There is uncertainty as to whether a court (other than state courts in the State of Delaware, where the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware recently decided that exclusive forum provisions for causes of action arising under the Securities Act are facially valid under Delaware law) would enforce forum selection provisions and whether investors can waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. We believe the forum selection provisions in our amended and restated by-laws may benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal securities laws by chancellors and judges, as applicable, particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. However, these provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us and/or our directors, officers and employees as it may limit any stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that such stockholder finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees. The enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that, in connection with any applicable action brought against us, a future court could find the choice of forum provisions contained in our amended and restated by-laws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in such action. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision
contained in our amended and restated by-laws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
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Item 9.01
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Financial Statements and Exhibits.
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(d) Exhibits.
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Exhibit No.
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Description
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3.1
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