NOTE 10 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, the Company is a defendant or plaintiff in various legal actions that arise in the normal course of business. Liabilities for loss contingencies arising from claims, assessments, litigation, fines and penalties and other sources are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the assessment can be reasonably estimated.

Settlement Agreement

On March 11, 2022, the Company, Aureus Holdings, LLC d/b/a Lo70s (“Lo70s”) and JPAR, LLC entered into a Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release (the “Lo70s Settlement Agreement”).  Pursuant to the Lo70s Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed to dismiss the litigation (Aureus Holdings, LLC d/b/a Lo70s v. Kubient, Inc., et al., Superior Court of Delaware, Case No. N20C-07-061) and resolve all claims among them, including potential or future claims arising from the letter of intent that the Company and Lo70s had entered into in March 2019, as well as a consulting agreement entered into between the Company and an employee of Lo70s in connection with such letter of intent. Under the terms of the Lo70s Settlement Agreement, the Company made a cash payment in March  2022 of $975,000 to Lo70s in consideration of the dismissal of the ligation among the parties, as well as the releases and covenants of Lo70s and JPAR, LLC set forth in the Lo70s Settlement Agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recognized a loss on settlement of approximately $875,000 such that, as of December 31, 2021, it had accrued for the $975,000 cash payment.

Obligations Arising from Employment Agreements

On April 9, 2021, the Company entered into an at-will employment agreement with its new Chief Product Officer, Mr. Leon Zemel, that provides for an annual base salary of $390,000, plus annual performance bonuses with a target achievement of up to 20% of Mr. Zemel’s base salary. Subject to the approval of the board or its compensation committee, the Company agreed to take appropriate action within ninety (90) days following April 9, 2021 to make an award of 100,000 shares of common stock to Mr. Zemel, which will vest at the rate of 1/4th of the total number of shares on the first anniversary of the Effective Date and 1/36th of the total number of remaining unvested shares each month thereafter. As of September 30, 2021, the award had not been granted. Upon termination of Mr. Zemel’s employment for any reason, Mr. Zemel is entitled to (i) any portion of his base salary earned through the date of his termination date, (ii) any expenses owed to him, (iii) subject to Company policy and the law, any accrued, but unused vacation pay owed to him, pursuant to Company policy, if any, to the extent not inconsistent with applicable laws, and (iv) any amount arising from Mr. Zemel’s participation in, or benefits under, the Company’s employee benefit plans. In the event Mr. Zemel is terminated without cause or that Mr. Zemel resigns for Good Reason (as defined in his employment agreement), Mr. Zemel is entitled to receive: to six month’s salary paid in one lump sum, six months continued healthcare coverage, any pro-rated bonus amounts outstanding at the time of termination, and immediate vesting of any equity awards that would have become vested and exercisable during the three months after his termination. Mr. Zemel’s employment agreement contains an accelerated vesting provision which provides that 25% of his share award under the agreement shall vest if he is terminated before the one-year anniversary date of the agreement for good cause, or if he chooses to terminate his employment with the Company for Good Reason (as defined in the agreement), then 100% of his share award under the agreement shall vest immediately. All outstanding awards due to Mr. Zemel automatically vest upon a change in control of the Company.

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On June 4, 2021 (the “Effective Date”), the Company entered into two-year employment agreements with its two new Vice Presidents of Performance Media. The agreements provide for a bonus paid to each Vice President of Performance Media of (i) the issuance of up to 67,738 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “First Year Bonus”) on the 12-month anniversary of the Effective Date if as of such date the net revenue, as defined within the agreement, generated from the Customer List through the respective Vice President of Performance Media’s performance marketing is between $175,000 and an amount in excess of $350,000, which First Year Bonus shall vest in two equal equity installments, the first of which occurring on the second anniversary of the issuance thereof and the second of which occurring on the fourth anniversary of the issuance thereof (the “Year 1 Equity Grant”), and (ii) the issuance of up to 67,738 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Second Year Bonus”) on the 24-month anniversary of the Effective Date if as of such date the net revenue, as defined within the agreement, generated from the Customer List through the respective Vice President of Performance Media’s performance marketing is between $262,000 and an amount in excess of $525,000, which Second Year Bonus shall vest in two equal equity installments, the first of which occurring on the second anniversary of the issuance thereof and the second of which occurring on the fourth anniversary of the issuance thereof (the “Year 2 Equity Grant”). If either Vice President of Performance Media ends the Term of Employment for good reason, as defined within the agreement, or the Company terminates either Vice President of Performance Media without cause, such Vice President of Performance Media shall (i) receive $150,000 prorated for two months following such termination and for an additional year for every year the Vice President of Performance Media was employed by Company, and (ii) payment of any earned, but unpaid, performance-based performances due as of the date of such termination (“Severance”). The Company determined that the First Year Bonus and Second Year Bonus to each Vice President of Performance Media represents an accounting grant with a performance-based vesting condition pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification 718. The aggregate grant date fair value of the awards of $1,400,822 will be recognized over the respective vesting term for awards that are deemed to be probable to vest.

On November 29, 2021, Mitchell Berg was appointed to serve as its Chief Technology Officer of the Company. Upon joining the Company as Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Berg will receive an annual base salary of $300,000, a restricted stock unit (“RSU”) award of 80,000 shares of common stock of the Company, and a performance stock unit (“PSU”) award of 50,000 shares of common stock of the Company. Mr. Berg will also be eligible to participate in the Company’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STIP”) and his target bonus pursuant to the STIP will be $100,000. Provided, however that any payout pursuant to the STIP will be determined by the Company and its board of directors or compensation committee, in its discretion, after considering Mr. Berg’s individual performance and the overall performance of the Company’s business. Upon a termination for any reason, Mr. Berg is entitled to any unpaid but accrued portion of his base salary earned through the date of his termination, payment for any accrued but unused vacation pay, any expenses owed to him pursuant to his employment agreement, and any amounts owed under the Company’s benefit plans. In the event Mr. Berg experiences a Covered Termination (as defined in his employment agreement), Mr. Berg shall be entitled to six month’s salary paid in one lump sum, six months continued healthcare coverage, payment of any Annual Bonus (as defined in his employment agreement) earned but that has not been paid and a pro-rata portion of any Annual Bonus earned in the fiscal year in which the Covered Termination takes place, and immediate vesting of any equity awards that would have become vested and exercisable during the three months after his termination. All outstanding RSU awards due to Mr. Berg automatically vest upon a change in control of the Company. The RSU was determined to be granted for accounting purposes on November 29, 2021 under the 2021 Plan and had a grant date fair value $216,800 that will be recognized vesting term. Given that the PSU contains performance conditions that had not been determined as of December 31, 2021, the Company determined that the PSU had not been considered granted for accounting purposes as of December 31, 2021. The PSU was deemed to be granted on January 12, 2022 and both PSU and RSU awards were issued on February 15, 2022.