8. Commitments and contingencies

Leases

The Company leases its offices and certain equipment under operating leases that expire through January 2022. At December 31, 2016, the minimum aggregate payments due under non-cancelable leases are summarized as follows:

Rent expense of $1,028, $900 and $750 for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively, was included in the accompanying statements of comprehensive income.

Purchase obligations

The Company had $44,800 of outstanding purchase orders with its outside vendors and suppliers as of December 31, 2016. In addition, the Company entered into agreements for other services.

Warranty obligation

The following table identifies the changes in the Company’s aggregate product warranty liabilities for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014:

Legislation and HIPAA

The healthcare industry is subject to numerous laws and regulations of federal, state and local governments. These laws and regulations include, but are not necessarily limited to, matters such as licensure, accreditation, government healthcare program participation requirements, reimbursement for patient services, and Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse. Government activity has continued with respect to investigations and allegations concerning possible violations of fraud and abuse statutes and regulations by healthcare providers. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in expulsion from government healthcare programs together with the imposition of significant fines and penalties, as well as significant repayments for patient services previously billed.

The Company believes that it is in compliance in all material respects with applicable fraud and abuse regulations and other applicable government laws and regulations. Compliance with such laws and regulations can be subject to future government review and interpretation as well as regulatory actions unknown or unasserted at this time. The Company believes that it complies in all material respects with the provisions of those regulations that are applicable to the Company’s business.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) assures health insurance portability, reduces healthcare fraud and abuse, guarantees security and privacy of health information, and enforces standards for health information. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) imposes notification requirements of certain security breaches relating to protected health information. The Company may be subject to significant fines and penalties if found not to be compliant with the provisions outlined in the regulations.  

Legal proceedings

Inova Labs lawsuit

On November 4, 2011, the Company filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Inova Labs Inc., or Defendant, for infringement of two of the Company’s patents. The case, Inogen Inc. v. Inova Labs Inc., Case No. 8:11-cv-01692-JGB-AN, or the Inova Labs Lawsuit, involves U.S. Patent Nos. 7,841,343, entitled “Systems and Methods For Delivering Therapeutic Gas to Patients”, or the ’343 patent, and 6,605,136 entitled “Pressure Swing Adsorption Process Operation And Optimization”, or the ’136 patent. The Company alleged in the Inova Labs Lawsuit that certain of Defendant’s oxygen concentrators infringe various claims of the ’343 and ’136 patents. The Inova Labs Lawsuit sought damages, injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

The Defendant answered the complaint, denying infringement and asserting various sets of defenses including non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability, patent misuse, unclean hands, laches and estoppel. The Defendant also filed counterclaims against the Company alleging patent invalidity, non-infringement and inequitable conduct. The Company denied the allegations in the Defendant’s counterclaims and filed a motion to dismiss Defendant’s inequitable conduct counterclaim.

The Defendant filed requests with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking an inter partes reexamination of the ’343 and ’136 patents. The Defendant also filed a motion to stay the Inova Labs Lawsuit pending outcome of the reexamination. On March 20, 2012, the Court granted the Defendant’s motion to stay the Inova Labs Lawsuit pending outcome of the reexamination and also granted the Company’s motion to dismiss the Defendant’s inequitable conduct counterclaim. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued an inter partes Reexamination Certificate for the ‘343 patent on December 7, 2015 and issued an inter partes Reexamination Certificate for the ‘136 patent on October 16, 2016.

On February 4, 2016, ResMed Inc. announced the completion of the acquisition of Inova Labs Inc.  The parties reached a mutually agreeable settlement in June 2016. On June 30, 2016, the parties filed a Stipulated Dismissal with Prejudice of all claims in this lawsuit and a Joint Motion to Dismiss the reexamination proceeding for the ‘136 patent. The Company recognized a gain of $1,000 related to the settlement during the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 classified within general and administrative expense and the receivable was recorded in prepaid expenses and other current assets as of December 31, 2016. In addition, the settlement included a gain contingency of $250 for future services and licensing fees charged by the Defendant. The Company received $1,250 on July 26, 2016 finalizing the payment of this settlement. The Company recorded a gain of $1,126 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 classified within general and administrative expense. The remaining deferred gain contingency of $124 as of December 31, 2016 was recorded within accounts payable and accrued expenses and will be recognized when services are rendered or incurred.  The parties are also collaborating on a study of the use of portable oxygen concentrators.

Separation Design Group litigation

On October 23, 2015, Separation Design Group IP Holdings, LLC (SDGIP) filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. On December 7, 2015, SDGIP filed a First Amended Complaint in the SDGIP Lawsuit.

SDGIP alleges that the Company willfully infringes U.S. Patent Nos. 8,894,751 and 9,199,055, both of which are titled “Ultra Rapid Cycle Portable Oxygen Concentrator.” SDGIP also alleges misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract stemming from a meeting in September 2010. The Company never received any communication from SDGIP related to patent infringement, misuse of trade secrets, or breach of the mutual non-disclosure agreement prior to SDGIP filing the lawsuit. SDGIP seeks to recover damages (including compensatory and treble damages), costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees), pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, and other relief that the Court deems proper. SDGIP also seeks a permanent injunction against the Company.  

The Company has and continues to vigorously contest SDGIP’s claims. The Company has answered SDGIP’s First Amended Complaint, denying SDGIP’s allegations of patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of contract and asserting several affirmative defenses. The Company has also filed counterclaims against SDGIP alleging that the patents-in-suit are unenforceable due to inequitable conduct.

Labor law dispute

On April 13, 2016, Ryan Casper and Shane Hoefer (Plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit against the Company on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated employees in the Superior Court for Santa Barbara County, California. The complaint alleges failure to pay overtime wages, failure to allow and pay for meal periods, and other alleged violations of California wage and hour law. The Plaintiffs and class members are seeking compensatory damages in the amount of all wages, interest, and penalties allegedly due, as well as liquidated damages, attorney’s fees and other relief. The parties successfully mediated the claims and reached a settlement in April 2016. While the Company disputes the claims, it agreed to the settlement with no admission of liability to avoid the risks and costs associated with litigating the claims. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, the Company incurred approximately $924 for the settlement costs which were paid in December 2016.

CAIRE Inc. lawsuit

On September 12, 2016, CAIRE Inc. (CAIRE) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against the Company. CAIRE alleges that the Company infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,949,133, entitled “Portable Oxygen Concentrator.” CAIRE alleges willful infringement and seeks damages, injunctive relief, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The Company denies CAIRE’s allegations and plans to vigorously contest CAIRE’s claims.

Other legal proceedings

The Company is party to various legal proceedings arising in the normal course of business. The Company carries insurance, subject to specified deductibles under the policies, to protect against losses from certain types of legal claims. At this time, the Company does not anticipate that any of these other proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on the Company because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors.