UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of
Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): September 11,
2009
CNS
RESPONSE, INC.
(Exact
name of Company as specified in its charter)
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Delaware
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0-26285
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87-0419387
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(State
or other
jurisdiction
of
incorporation)
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(Commission
File No.)
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(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
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2755
Bristol Street, Suite 285
Costa
Mesa, CA 92626
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(714)
545-3288
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Not
Applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
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o
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Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
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Q
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Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
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o
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Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
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o
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Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))
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Item
8.01 Other
Events.
CNS
Response, Inc. (the “Company”) is providing certain information for the benefit
of its stockholders regarding the status of litigation involving the Company and
Leonard J. Brandt, a stockholder, current director and former Chief Executive
Officer of the Company (“Brandt”) and a stockholder meeting purportedly called
and held by Brandt on September 4, 2009.
United States District Court
- - CNS Response, Inc. v. Leonard Brandt, EAC Investment Limited
Partnership and EAC Investment, Inc. (Case No. SACV
09-00756-CJC)
As
previously announced, on July 2, 2009, the Company filed its initial complaint
against Brandt, EAC Investment Limited Partnership and EAC Investment, Inc.
(collectively, “EAC”), another stockholder of the Company. In that
complaint, the Company alleges that Brandt has violated sections 14(a) and 13(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and related SEC rules and
regulations (the “Exchange Act”), in connection with his ongoing campaign to
seize control of the Company by unseating the incumbent directors (other than
Brandt). The Company alleges that EAC violated Section 13(d) of the
Exchange Act. As part of the suit, the Company is seeking an
injunction enjoining the use of proxies and written consents that Brandt or the
other defendants have obtained in violation of law, an injunction or declaratory
judgment declaring all of the proxies obtained by Brandt to be invalid, an
injunction against further unlawful proxy solicitation by the defendants, an
injunction enjoining any further violations of Section 13(d) and 14(a) under the
Exchange Act and ordering that remedial disclosures be filed, and damages in an
amount to be determined.
Brandt
responded to the Company’s complaint by filing a motion to dismiss on July 27,
2009 pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the federal rules of civil procedure, basing
his motion on two primary arguments: (i) that he had filed preliminary proxy
materials, preliminary consent solicitation materials and an amended Schedule
13D with the SEC, and those filings cured any alleged violations and (ii) that
the Company faced no imminent threat of harm from Brandt’s alleged misdeeds and,
therefore, is not entitled to injunctive relief. EAC moved to dismiss
the complaint against it on the basis that the Company had filed the action in
the wrong venue. The Company filed its oppositions to the motions to
dismiss on August 10, 2009. On August 18, 2009, the court denied the
motions to dismiss, finding, among other things, that the Company’s complaint
adequately pled a basis for relief and that whether Brandt’s filings could cure
the alleged violations of sections 14(a) and 13(d) were questions of fact that
cannot be resolved in a motion to dismiss.
On August
17, 2009, Brandt distributed to Company stockholders by email preliminary proxy
materials and a form of proxy card. On August 21, 2009, the Company
filed a motion for temporary restraining order to enjoin Brandt from using any
invalidly obtained proxies or consents, including any proxies or consents
obtained in response to his preliminary proxy statement
distribution. The Company alleged, among other things, that the
delivery of preliminary proxy materials including a proxy card violates Rule
14a-4(f) under the Exchange Act and that the disclosure contained in or omitted
from those materials violates Rule 14a-9 under the Exchange Act. On
August 25, 2009, the court denied the Company’s motion for the temporary
restraining order, citing, among other things, an affidavit provided by Brandt
that he would not solicit proxies until he has filed a definitive proxy
statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The
Company intends to continue with its action against Brandt and the other
defendants for injunctive and other relief as described above.
Delaware Chancery Court –
CNS Response, Inc. v. Leonard Brandt, MEYERLEN LLC, EAC Investment Limited
Partnership and "John Does 1-20" (Any CNS Stockholder Purporting to be Among
Holders of Shares Constituting 25% Of the Company's Stock As Referenced In the
June 20, 2009 Notice Of Special Meeting) – C.A. No. 4688-CC
On June
26, 2009, the Company commenced an action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
against Leonard Brandt and certain other parties in connection with Brandt’s
efforts to seize control of the Company by unseating the incumbent directors
(other than Brandt). In its complaint, the Company alleges that
Brandt’s actions in connection with his purported special meeting notices and
attempts to call and hold a special meeting violate certain provisions of the
Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), and seeks declaratory and
injunctive relief to invalidate a special meeting called by Brandt.
On June
26, 2009, the Company also moved for issuance of a temporary restraining order
against Brandt’s holding a special meeting. Brandt opposed the
motion, and on June 29 the Chancery Court heard and denied the Company’s motion
for a temporary restraining order, on the grounds that the Company could seek
relief from Brandt’s actions after his special meeting occurred.
On August
12, 2009, Brandt and Defendant MeyerLen, LLC filed an answer to the Company’s
June 26, 2009 complaint. In addition, Brand filed a counterclaim and
third-party complaint against the Company, the Company’s other directors,
affiliates of one of the directors, and investors who are not employees,
officers or directors of the Company. In his answer and the
counterclaims and third party claims, Brandt alleges, among other things, that
the other directors acted without authority in connection with his removal as
the CEO and violated their fiduciary duties in connection with their
consideration and approval of certain financings completed by the Company
subsequent to Brandt’s termination as CEO. Brandt alleges that
certain defendants aided and abetted the directors in their breaches and
wrongful acts. Brandt also asks the court to invalidate certain bylaw
changes adopted by the Company’s board of directors.
The
Company believes all of these allegations are without merit and intends to
vigorously defend itself against them. On September 3, 2009, CNS and
the defendants who were directors on August 12, 2009 moved to dismiss the
counterclaim and third-party complaint pursuant to Chancery Court Rules 7, 12
and 23.1. On September 2, 2009, defendant John Pappajohn, who was not
a director on August 12, 2009, moved to dismiss the third-party complaint
against him pursuant to Chancery Court Rules 12(b) and 23.1. On
September 3, 2009 defendants Sail Venture Partners, LP and Sail Venture
Partners, LLC moved to dismiss the third-party complaint against them pursuant
to Chancery Court Rules 12(b) and 23.1.
On August
24, 2009, Brandt filed a motion seeking an injunction against the Company’s
issuance of shares of its stock to John Pappajohn or Sail Ventures pursuant to
existing agreements between the Company and those investors, and against the
implementation of the Company’s previously-announced bylaw
amendments. Brandt has done nothing to get this motion briefed or
scheduled, and much of the relief the motion purported to seek is now
moot. The Company intends to oppose this motion when and if a
response is required.
Delaware Chancery Court –
Leonard J. Brandt v. CNS Response, Inc., C.A. no, 4773-CC
On July
31, 2009, Brandt filed an action under Section 220 of the DGCL asking the
Chancery Court to require the Company to provide him with certain Company books
and records, including stockholder information. On July 31 Brandt
also requested emergency injunctive relief against the Company compelling the
Company to provide the records immediately. The Company opposed the
motion. On August 3, 2009 the Chancery Court heard argument and
denied the requested emergency relief. On August 24, 2009, the
Company answered the complaint and asserted affirmative defenses to
it. Brandt has done nothing to prosecute this action since August 3,
2009.
Purported September 4
Stockholders Meeting and Subsequent Action Filed by Brandt Under DGCL 225 --
Leonard J. Brandt v. CNS Response, Inc., George Carpenter, Henry T. Harbin,
M.D., David B. Jones, Jerome Vaccaro, M.D., John Pappajohn and Tommy Thompson,
C.A. no. 4867-CC
Pursuant
to a notice dated August 25, Brandt purported to hold a special meeting of
stockholders on September 4, 2009. In his proxy materials
accompanying the notice, Brandt claimed that the record date for the purported
meeting was August 24. Representatives of the Company attended the
purported meeting for the purposes of objecting to the meeting and any attempt
to take action and to observe the proceedings. Brandt claimed that a
quorum was present and proceeded to call a vote on his proposal to elect himself
and his nominees as directors. He then claimed that his own shares
and the shares for which he purportedly held proxies were sufficient to elect
Brandt and the other nominees.
As the
Company has previously indicated, Brandt could not call and hold a special
meeting for the purpose of electing directors and, therefore, the Company takes
the position that no valid stockholder action was taken on September 4, that no
changes to the board of directors has occurred, and that the election of the
Company’s directors still will occur at the previously scheduled CNS annual
meeting of stockholders on September 29, 2009. While the Company’s bylaws permit
stockholders to call special meetings under certain circumstances, those
meetings (i) require the stockholders wishing to call the meeting to follow
certain procedures that Brandt did not follow and (ii) cannot involve the
election of directors. In addition, his purported record date of
August 24 was invalid because the Company’s board of directors had already
established August 27 as the record date and, as a result, not all of the
stockholders entitled to vote at his purported meeting were permitted to do
so.
Based on
the Company’s review of documents provided by Brandt, he obtained a total of 60
proxies representing an aggregate of 16,334,777 shares. As of his
purported record date of August 24, there were a total of 28,923,273 shares
outstanding, but as of the correct record date of August 27, there were a total
of 41,781,129 shares outstanding. As a result, Brandt’s claim that he
achieved a quorum at the meeting can only be correct if he relies on the
incorrect record date. If the correct record date of August 27 were
used, he would not have achieved a quorum. Of the 16,334,777 shares
purportedly present at the September 4 meeting, only approximately 14,300,000
voted in favor of Brandt and his nominees. If Brandt’s own “For”
votes are excluded (including those of his minor children), only approximately
15.3% of the outstanding shares voted for him. That percentage drops
to 12.2% if the shares of EAC Investment, part of Brandt’s group that
purportedly called the meeting, are excluded.
Late in
the evening on September 4, Brandt filed an action seeking relief under Section
225 of the DGCL in the Delaware Court of Chancery against the Company and its
current directors George Carpenter, Henry T. Harbin, M.D., David B. Jones,
Jerome Vaccaro, M.D., John Pappajohn and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy
Thompson. Section 225 provides a statutory mechanism for review of
contested elections and any other stockholder vote. Brandt’s action seeks to
have the Court declare that his meeting and election were
valid. Brandt has the burden of persuasion. The Company is
vigorously contesting Brandt’s claims. No date has been set for any
hearings with respect to these matters and it is currently unclear when the case
will be tried or decided. Until that time, the Company’s current
directors remain in office and continue to be responsible for all matters
relating to CNS.
On
September 4, 2009, Brandt also filed a motion for what is known as a “status
quo” order, which asks the Court to order the current directors to operate the
Company in the ordinary course of business while the Section 225 action is
pending and to take or refrain from taking certain actions during that
time. To justify the entry of a status quo order, Brandt must
demonstrate (i) that the order will avoid irreparable harm, (ii) that he has a
reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of his case, and (iii) that the
harm to Brandt in not having the order outweighs the harm to the Company if it
is imposed. On September 10, 2009, the Company filed its opposition
to the motion and in particular to the contents of the order Brandt has
proposed. The Company takes the position that no order should be
entered because Brandt has failed to demonstrate any of the requirements for
entry of such an order. In the alternative, if the Court determines
that a status quo order should be entered, the Company opposes the form of order
submitted by Brandt and has proposed to the Court its own form of
order. No date has been set for the hearing on this
motion.
Additional Information and
Where to Find It
The
Company has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with its Annual Meeting of
Stockholders. These materials are not a substitute for the definitive
proxy statement or any other documents the Company will file with the SEC.
Stockholders are urged to read the definitive proxy statement and any other such
documents, when available, which will contain important
information. CNS stockholders may obtain free copies of the
proxy statement and related documents filed by the Company and other documents
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s web site at www.sec.gov. CNS stockholders
also will be able to receive the proxy statement, when available, and other
relevant documents free of charge from the Company at 2755 Bristol Street, Suite
285, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.
Participants in
Solicitation
CNS and
its directors (other than Leonard J. Brandt) and executive officer (George
Carpenter, who also serves as a director) may be deemed to be participants in
the solicitation of proxies in respect of the matters to be considered at the
Company’s 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Securityholders may
obtain information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of such
individuals in CNS’s Form 10-K and Form 10-K/A filings with the SEC on January
13, 2009 and January 28, 2009, respectively. To the extent holdings
of CNS securities of the participants have changed since the amounts reflected
in those filings, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of
Change in Ownership on Form 4 or Form 5 filed by those persons with the SEC or
in the Company’s proxy statement. Additional information regarding the interests
of these persons in these matters is included in the Company’s proxy
statement.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
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CNS
Response, Inc.
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By:
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/s/
George Carpenter
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September
11, 2009
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George
Carpenter
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Chief
Executive Officer
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