Maison Solutions Inc. Commitments Disclosure

18. Commitments and contingencies

 

Contingencies

 

The Company is otherwise periodically involved in various legal proceedings that are incidental to the conduct of its business, including, but not limited to, employment discrimination claims, customer injury claims, and investigations. When the potential liability from a matter can be estimated and the loss is considered probable, the Company records the estimated loss. Due to uncertainties related to the resolution of lawsuits, investigations, and claims, the ultimate outcome may differ from the estimates. Although the Company cannot predict with certainty the ultimate resolution of any lawsuits, investigations, and claims asserted against it, management does not believe any currently pending legal proceeding to which the Company is a party will have a material adverse effect on its financial statements.

 

On January 2, 2024, the Company and our executive officers and directors, as well as Joseph Stone Capital LLC, and AC Sunshine Securities LLC, the underwriters in the Company’s initial public offering (together, the “Defendants”), were named in a class action complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York alleging violations of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Ilsan Kim v. Maison Solutions Inc., et. al, Index No. 150024/2024). As relief, the plaintiffs are seeking, among other things, compensatory damages.  On or about April 17, 2024, the parties agreed to stay the action in favor of the Rick Green matter described immediately below.

 

On January 4, 2024, the Defendants were named in a class action complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging violations of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, as well as violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Rick Green and Evgenia Nikitina v. Maison Solutions Inc., et. al., Case No. 2:24-cv-00063).   As relief, the plaintiffs are seeking, among other things, compensatory damages. 

 

The Company and Defendants believe the allegations in both complaints are without merit and intend to defend each suit vigorously. It is reasonably possible that a loss may be incurred; however, the possible range of losses is not reasonably estimable given the pending status of the cases. 

 

On April 9, 2024, a shareholder derivative action was brought by Shah Azad derivatively on behalf of the Company against John Xu, Tao Han, Alexandria Lopez, Bin Wang, Mark Willis, and Xiaoxia Zhang, and the Company itself as a nominal defendant. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 2:24-cv-02897. On April 12, 2024, another derivative complaint was filed by Arnab Baral in the United States District Court Central District of California, Case No. 2:24-cv-03018. The two cases have since been consolidated, with the Azad case taking lead. The lawsuits allege breaches of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, unjust enrichment, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, and contribution under Section 11(f) of the Securities Act and Section 21D of the Exchange Act. The claims arise from the allegations underlying the class action securities lawsuits. On July 19, 2024, the Court ordered the Azad case stayed until a motion to dismiss is heard in the class action securities action. The Company is not able to make a reasonable estimate about the amount of contingent loss of these cases at current stage.

 

On September 8, 2023, a complaint was filed by former employee against Maison San Gabriel for wrongful termination and labor law violation. Maison San Gabriel filed a general denial in November 2023. Status conference is scheduled for July 1, 2025, and final status conference is scheduled for February 26, 2026. Trial is scheduled for March 9, 2026. In the complaint, the plaintiff’s counsel asked for a range of $300,000 to $3,000,000. On August 4, 2025, both parties reached a confidential settlement agreement and release, the Company agreed to pay $25,000 to plaintiff in exchange for plaintiff’s release of all claims.

 

On September 3, 2024, a claim was filed against Maison El Monte alleging violations of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the California Disabled Persons Act for building not having adequate access for disabilities. The case Management Conference is scheduled for January 30, 2025. On April 8, 2025, both parties reached a confidential settlement agreement and release of claims, and the Company agreed to pay $6,000 to settle the case.

On October 17, 2024, a complaint was filed against HKGF Alhambra, HKGF Arcadia, Maison El Monte, Maison San Gabriel, Maison Monrovia, Maison Monterey Park and Tion Hin for unpaid invoices of seafood purchase for $115,388.39. The case management conference is scheduled for August 4, 2025. The management is not able to estimate the outcome of the case due to early stage of the case. 

 

Commitments

 

On April 19, 2021, JD E-commerce America Limited (“JD US”) and the Company entered into a Collaboration Agreement (the “Collaboration Agreement”) pursuant to which JD.com will provide services to Maison focused on updating in store technology through the development of a new mobile app, the updating of new in-store technology, and revising store layouts to promote efficiency. The Collaboration Agreement provided for a consultancy and initialization fee of $220,000, 40% of which was payable within three (3) days of effectiveness, 40% of which is due within three (3) days of the completion and delivery of initialization services (including initializing of a feasibility plan, store digitalization, delivery of online retailing and e-commerce business and operational solutions for the Stores) as outlined in the Collaboration Agreement, and the remaining 20% is payable within three (3) days of the completion and delivery of the implementation services (including product and merchandise supply chain configuration, staff training for operation and management of the digital solutions, installation and configuration of hardware, customization of software, concept design and implementation), as outlined in the Collaboration Agreement. The Collaboration Agreement also included certain additional storage and implementation fees to be determined by the parties and royalty fees, following the commercial launch of the platform developed by JD US, of 1.2% of gross merchandise value based on information generated by the platform. For each additional store requiring Consultancy and Initialization service, an additional $50,000 will be charged for preparing the feasibility plan for such additional store. The Collaboration Agreement has an initial term of 10 years and customary termination and indemnification provisions. Simultaneously with the effectiveness of the Collaboration Agreement, JD US and Maison entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement (the “IP Agreement”) outlining certain trademarks, logos and designs, and other intellectual property rights used in connection with the retail supermarket operations outlined in the Collaboration Agreement, which includes an initial term of 10 years and customary termination provisions. There are no additional licensing fees or costs associated with the IP Agreement. As of the date of this report, there is no new progress on the collaboration agreement with JD US.