Quarterly report pursuant to sections 13 or 15(d)

Contingencies

v2.3.0.11
Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Contingencies [Abstract]  
Contingencies

Note 9. - Contingencies

Shareholder Derivative Actions

On October 29, 2008, Alico was served with a shareholder derivative action complaint filed by Baxter Troutman against John R. Alexander, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and JD Alexander, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, (the "Alexanders") which names Alico as a nominal defendant. Mr. Troutman is the nephew and cousin of the two defendants, respectively, and is a shareholder in Atlantic Blue Group, Inc. (formerly Atlantic Blue Trust, Inc.) ("Atlanticblue"), a 51% shareholder of Alico. From February 26, 2004 until January 18, 2008, Mr. Troutman was a director of Alico. The complaint alleges that the Alexanders committed breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with a proposed merger of Atlanticblue into Alico which was proposed in 2004 and withdrawn by Atlanticblue in 2005. The suit also alleges, among other things, that the merger proposal was wrongly requested by the Alexanders, and improperly included a proposed special dividend and that the Alexanders sought to circumvent the Board's nominating process and these actions were contrary to the position of Alico's independent directors at the time causing a waste of Alico's funds and the resignations of the independent directors in 2005. As a result, the complaint is seeking damages to be paid to Alico by the Alexanders in excess of $1.0 million. The complaint concedes that Mr. Troutman had not previously made demand upon Alico to take action for the alleged wrongdoing as required by Florida law alleging that he believed such a demand would be futile. A copy of the Complaint may be obtained from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Polk County, Florida.

On June 3, 2009, a Special Committee of Independent Directors from Alico's Board of Directors, the ("Committee") was created to investigate the shareholder derivative action filed by Mr. Troutman. The Committee completed its investigation with the assistance of independent legal counsel and determined that it would not be in the Company's best interest to pursue such litigation. Alico filed a motion to dismiss the litigation based upon the findings of the Special Committee; a hearing on this motion was held on December 7, 2010. The Court issued an order denying the motion to dismiss the shareholder derivative suit on May 24, 2011.

The Alexanders filed a motion to dismiss the shareholder derivative action complaint filed by Baxter Troutman and on November 21, 2011, the Circuit Court in Polk County, Florida issued an order dismissing the shareholder derivative action for failing to state a cause of action. The complaint was dismissed without prejudice and allowed the complaint to be amended up to December 16, 2011. On December 16, 2011, Baxter Troutman filed an amendment to his complaint with the Court. A copy of the complaint and the order of denial amendment and other pleadings in the case are available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Polk County, Florida by reference to the matter of Baxter G. Troutman, Plaintiff vs. John R. Alexander, John D. Alexander, Defendants and Alico, Inc., Nominal Defendant, Case No. 08-CA-10178 Circuit Court, 10th Judicial Circuit, Polk County, Florida.

On April 1, 2012, a settlement agreement was reached between Baxter Troutman and John R. Alexander and John D. Alexander. See Note. 12. Subsequent Events for the terms of the Settlement Agreement and the notice of hearing on May 4, 2012 to approve the Settlement Agreement.

The Company is also involved from time to time in routine legal matters incidental to its business. When appropriate, the Company establishes estimated accruals for litigation matters which meet the requirements of ASC 450- Contingencies. Based upon available information, the Company believes that the resolution of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on its financial position or results of operations.