COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2019 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
On January 8, 2019, the Company and its two executive officers were named in a putative securities class action filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, captioned Kauffman v. Natural Health Trends Corp., Case No. 2:19-cv-00163. The complaint purports to assert claims on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired our common stock between April 27, 2016 and January 5, 2019, inclusive, under (i) Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder against the Company and Chris T. Sharng and Timothy S. Davidson (together, the “Individual Defendants”), and (ii) Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the Individual Defendants. The complaint alleges, in part, that the Company made materially false and misleading statements regarding the legality of its business operations in China, including running an allegedly illegal multilevel marketing business. The complaint seeks an indeterminate amount of damages, plus interest and costs. On May 3, 2019, the court issued an order appointing Xia Yang as lead plaintiff and appointing The Rosen Law Firm, P. A. as lead counsel. On June 3, 2019, lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint. On June 27, 2019, the parties filed a joint stipulation seeking to postpone briefing on defendants’ motion to dismiss to allow the parties to continue ongoing discussions, which stipulation was entered by the court on July 1, 2019. On September 6, 2019, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint, which plaintiff opposed on October 16, 2019. Defendants’ reply in support of their motion to dismiss was filed on November 4, 2019, and a hearing on the motion is currently set for November 18, 2019. Defendants believe that these claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against them.
Since August 2016, the SEC has been conducting a non-public investigation to determine whether there have been violations of the federal securities laws relating to the trading of the Company’s securities. The Company has fully cooperated with the SEC and has and continues to provide documents in response to subpoenas. The SEC has expressly stated that its document requests should not be construed as an indication that any violation of law has occurred, or as a reflection upon any person, entity, or security. The amount of time needed to resolve this matter is uncertain, and the Company cannot predict the outcome or whether it will face additional governmental inquiries or other actions.
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