22nd Century Prevails Again in Frivolous Crede Lawsuit
February 03 2017 - 09:45AM
Business Wire
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT:XXII), a plant biotechnology
company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction, announced today
that the Company prevailed again in the most recent phase of the
lawsuit filed by Crede CG III, Ltd. Crede filed the lawsuit after
the Company terminated its failed China joint venture arrangement
with Crede and its principal, Terren Peizer, due to non-performance
and other serious breaches by Crede and its principals.
In the first round of the Crede lawsuit, the Company prevailed
when the United States District Court for the Southern District of
New York (the “SDNY Court”) denied Crede’s request for a
preliminary injunction to require the Company to issue shares of
its common stock to Crede under the now void exchange feature of
the Tranche 1-A warrant previously issued to Crede. The SDNY Court
held 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.
Following the denial by the SDNY Court of Crede’s request for
the preliminary injunction, the Company filed motions requesting
the SDNY Court 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, 22nd Century
requested that the claims relating to the Tranche 1-A warrant
remain in the SDNY Court. On January 20, 2017, the SDNY Court
granted such motions by the Company to sever the Crede lawsuit into
two separate cases. The SDNY Court has now transferred the
above-described portion of the case to the WDNY Court. The SDNY
Court has also scheduled a pre-trial conference with Crede and the
Company to be held on February 21, 2017 to schedule the next steps
forward in the claims relating to the Tranche 1-A warrant.
“We believe that Crede’s lawsuit is frivolous and completely
without merit,” explained Henry Sicignano III, President and Chief
Executive Officer of 22nd Century. “We are very pleased that we
continue to prevail against Crede in this matter and we look
forward to a successful resolution of the cases in favor of 22nd
Century. If the cases continue, however, the Company intends to
file substantial counterclaims against Crede, against Terren
Peizer, personally, and against their affiliates.”
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/20170203005095/en/
Investor Relations:IRTH CommunicationsAndrew Haag,
866-976-4784xxii@irthcommunications.com
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