If you look through the Vonage Holdings’ (VG-NYSE) annual report just filed with the SEC, you might end up asking yourself if the company is just an accounts payable entity that funds lawyers and trials rather than the company being a VoIP telephony provider.  The "RISKS" section of this 10-K filing goes on and on, but that is actually typical of many companies.  That section also spells out some of the judgements and royalties it may have to pay.  The "LEGAL PROCEEDINGS" section of the document does at least show the "actual" issues the company is involved in, and it is substantial.

The good news is that at least the company did get its 10-K filing in at the SEC, and the stock actually looks up almost 1% in after-hours.  It is actually fairly odd that the shares closed up less than 1% today when you consider the "talk of a sale" news last night had the shares up over 10%.  Perhaps the market was even more skeptical than we were about the probability that the company would be able to get shareholders to go along with it.

Here is the full link for the annual report filing at the SEC, but we copied and condensed the "Legal Proceedings" section of the Annual report.  Please be sure to read the RISKS section as well, because it highlights some of the damages that will have to paid out.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may become party to litigation and subject to claims, normally those incident to the ordinary course of our business.

IPeria, Inc. On October 10, 2003, we terminated our contract with IPeria, Inc., our former voicemail vendor. Under the terms of the contract, we were permitted to terminate the contract for any reason. On April 12, 2004, IPeria filed a complaint against Vonage in the Superior Court for the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts. IPeria asserted a number of different claims, including breach of contract, copyright infringement, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent misrepresentations, fraud and unfair and deceptive trade practices. In support of these claims, IPeria essentially alleges that it provided voicemail services to Vonage consistent with the terms of the contract and that Vonage failed to pay for those services in violation of the contract. The complaint sought payment of $619,000 plus accrued interest that IPeria asserts it is owed on the contract and treble damages. On February 11, 2007 the parties signed a settlement agreement pursuant to which Vonage agreed to pay IPeria $865,000 in return for a dismissal of the lawsuit and a release of all claims, which was fully reserved in our December 31, 2006 financial statements.

Joshua B. Tanzer. On October 18, 2005, Joshua B. Tanzer commenced a suit against Vonage in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking damages of approximately $14.24 million and has subsequently sent us a letter increasing his claim to $26.75 million. Mr. Tanzer claims that damages are due with respect to our sale of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock and Series E Convertible Preferred Stock and convertible notes pursuant to the terms of an engagement letter governing services performed by Nanes Delorme Capital Management for Vonage. We believe that our obligations with respect to Mr. Tanzer and Nanes Delorme were completely performed at the conclusion of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock offering. On December 8, 2006, Vonage and Nanes entered into a settlement agreement pursuant to which Vonage agreed to pay Nanes $25,000 in return for a full release of all claims by Nanes. However, Vonage intends to vigorously defend Tanzer’s claims and is prepared to file a summary judgment motion dismissing Tanzer’s complaint as soon as it is granted permission by the Court to do so. Vonage also believes that an unfavorable outcome would not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows in the period in which the matter is resolved. Based upon early settlement discussions, we have recorded a reserve to cover the potential exposure relating to this litigation, which reserve was not material to our financial statements.

Shaw Communications Inc. and Shaw Cablesystems G.P. On March 27, 2006, Shaw Communications Inc. and Shaw Cablesystems G.P. (collectively “Shaw”) filed a Statement of Claim with the Court of the Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Judicial Centre of Calgary. The Statement of Claim alleges that certain statements attributed to Vonage Canada regarding Shaw’s “Quality of Service Enhancement” fee are false, misleading and defamatory and have interfered with Shaw’s relations with its customers. Shaw is seeking an injunction, damages and attorney’s fees. We believe Shaw’s claims have no merit and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.

State Attorney General Proceedings. Several state attorneys general have initiated investigations and, in two states, have commenced litigation concerning our marketing disclosures and advertising. We cooperated with these investigations and on December 14, 2006 entered into agreements to settle the litigation with the state attorney general of Texas, and the investigations being conducted by the state attorneys general of Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and North Carolina. With respect to our settlements, we have recorded a reserve to cover the exposure relating to these investigations, which was not material to our December 31, 2006 financial statements.

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On May 3, 2005, the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut filed a complaint against us, alleging that our advertising and provision of emergency calling service violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and certain state regulations. We answered the complaint on July 7, 2005 and denied its allegations. We have undertaken settlement discussions with the Connecticut Attorney General and have voluntarily provided information requested during the course of those discussions. If these discussions are not successful, we intend to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

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On March 7, 2006, the Attorney General of Missouri issued a civil investigative demand for documents related to our emergency calling service. We responded to the civil investigative demand on April 3, 2006. The Missouri Attorney General has not filed a complaint against us or taken other formal action.

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We received a subpoena dated June 29, 2006 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection seeking a wide variety of documents. The Attorney General’s office has since agreed to narrow the scope of documents it seeks to certain materials relating to advertising to, and subscriptions by, Pennsylvania consumers, and the training and general form of compensation paid to personnel that market and provides customer care functions for our service. We made a rolling production of responsive materials, which was completed in 2006.

Federal Trade Commission Investigation. On August 31, 2005, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, issued a Civil Investigative Demand to us which requested information regarding our 911 service and complaints or notices pertaining to that service, our residential unlimited calling plan and our compliance and our telemarketing vendors’ compliance with the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule including, but not limited to, the requirement to refrain from telemarketing to persons who appear on the National Do Not Call Registry. No formal action has been filed against Vonage at this time. We are unable at this time to predict the outcome of the FTC’s investigation, whether a formal action will be filed against Vonage, to assess the likelihood of a favorable or unfavorable outcome in that event, or to estimate the amount of liability in the event of an unfavorable outcome.

Patent Litigation.

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Sprint. On October 12, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against us by Sprint Communications Company L.P. in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Sprint alleges that we have infringed seven patents in connection with providing VoIP services. Sprint seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages and attorney’s fees in unspecified amounts. In our answer filed on November 3, 2005, we have denied Sprint’s allegations and have counterclaimed for a declaration of non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability of the patents. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims asserted by Sprint and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit. This matter is currently in the discovery stage and a trial may begin by the end of 2007.

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Rates Technology. On October 6, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against us by Rates Technology Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Rates alleged that we infringed two patents in connection with the least cost routing of telephone calls over the public switched telephone network. Rates sought injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, compensatory damages in excess of one billion dollars and a trebling thereof. On March 9, 2007, Rates dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.

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Verizon. On June 12, 2006, a lawsuit was filed against us and our subsidiary Vonage America Inc., by Verizon Services Corp., Verizon Laboratories Inc. and Verizon Communications, Inc., in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Verizon alleged that we infringed seven patents in connection with providing VoIP services and sought injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages, and attorney’s fees. Verizon dismissed its claims with respect to two of the patents prior to trial, which commenced on February 21, 2007. After trial on the merits, a jury returned a verdict finding that we did not infringe two of the five patents-in-suit, and finding that we infringed three of the patents-in-suit. The jury rejected Verizon’s claim for willful infringement, treble damages, and attorney’s fees, and awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $58 million. The trial court subsequently indicated that it would award Verizon $1.6 million in prejudgment interest on the $58 million jury award. We filed post-trial motions challenging the jury’s verdict and related rulings, which were denied by the trial court. The trial court issued a permanent injunction with respect to the three patents the jury found to be infringed effective April 12, 2007. The trial court has permitted us to continue to service existing customers pending appeal, subject to deposit into escrow of a 5.5% royalty on a quarterly basis. The trial court also ordered that we may not service new customers using our technology that was found to be infringing pending appeal. In addition, we posted a $66 million bond to stay execution of the monetary judgment pending appeal. On April 6, 2007, we filed an amended notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which issued a temporary stay of the injunction. The temporary stay will remain in effect until the appellate court rules on whether to grant a stay for the duration of the appeal. The Court has set a briefing schedule and ordered the parties to appear for oral argument on our request for a stay pending appeal on April 24, 2007. We will continue to vigorously defend against Verizon’s claims, which we believe are without merit.

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Klausner Technologies. On July 10, 2006, a lawsuit was filed against us and Vonage America by Klausner Technologies, Inc., in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Klausner alleges that we have infringed one of its patents with voice mail technology. Klausner seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages and attorney’s fees. In our answer filed on September 14, 2006, we denied Klausner’s allegations and have counterclaimed for a declaration of non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability of the patent. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims asserted by Klausner, and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.

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Web Telephony. On March 14, 2007, Web Telephony, LLC filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Vonage Holdings Corp., Vonage America Inc., and several other defendants. The complaint in this litigation alleges that we are infringing two telecommunications patents held by Web Telephony and seeks monetary compensation for claimed damages as well as injunctive relief. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against these claims and intend to contest vigorously Web Telephony’s infringement allegations. The Court has not set a discovery or trial schedule in this matter.

With respect to the patent litigation identified above, we believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims. However, we might not ultimately prevail in these actions. Whether or not we ultimately prevail, litigation could be time-consuming and costly and injure our reputation. If any of the plaintiffs prevail in their respective actions, we may be required to negotiate royalty or license agreements with respect to the patents at issue, and may not be able to enter into such agreements on acceptable terms, if at all. Any limitation on our ability to provide a service or product could cause us to lose revenue-generating opportunities and require us to incur additional expenses. These potential costs and expenses, as well as the need to pay additional damages awarded in the favor of the plaintiffs could materially adversely affect our business.

IPO Litigations. During June 2006 and July 2006, Vonage, several of our officers and directors, and the firms who served as the underwriters in our initial public offering, or IPO, were named as defendants in several similar purported class action lawsuits. The cases were filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, which was subsequently removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Superior Court of New Jersey, which was subsequently removed to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The complaints assert claims under the federal securities laws on behalf of a professed class consisting of all those who were allegedly damaged as a result of acquiring our common stock in connection with our IPO. The complaints allege, among other things, that we omitted and/or misstated certain facts concerning the IPO’s Customer Directed Share Program. Some complaints also allege the IPO prospectus contained misrepresentations or omissions concerning certain of our products and/or the prior experience of some of our management. One complaint (Inouye v. Vonage Holdings Corp. et al. ), which was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and subsequently voluntarily dismissed, included an allegation of open market securities fraud during a purported class period of May 24, 2006 to June 19, 2006 in addition to claims arising out of the IPO. On January 9, 2007, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred all remaining complaints to the District of New Jersey and we expect a consolidated complaint to be filed at some time in the future.

On July 14, 2006, Vonage and the firms who served as the underwriters in our IPO were named as defendants in a separate lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Norsworthy v. Vonage Holdings Corp. et al.). This purported class action lawsuit asserts state law breach of contract and negligence claims relating to the alleged inability of participants’ in our Customer Directed Share Program to trade their shares after the IPO. On March 16, 2007, an Order was entered voluntarily dismissing the case without prejudice.

Although we believe that we and the individual defendants have meritorious defenses to the claims made in each of the aforementioned complaints and intend to contest each lawsuit vigorously, an adverse resolution of any of the lawsuits may have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period in which the lawsuits are resolved. We are not presently able to reasonably estimate potential losses, if any, related to the lawsuits.

We also are involved in certain other threatened and pending legal proceedings, including several class actions asserting claims as relating to our marketing, business practices, and quality of service. From time to time, we receive subpoenas or civil investigative demands from governmental agencies for information that may be pertinent to their confidential investigations. Although the results of litigation claims and investigations cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the final outcome of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

Overview of Regulatory Environment

Traditional telephone service historically has been subject to extensive federal and state regulation, while Internet services generally have been subject to less regulation. Because some elements of VoIP resemble the services provided by traditional telephone companies and others resemble the services provided by Internet service providers, the VoIP industry has not fit easily within the existing framework of telecommunications law and until recently has developed in an environment largely free from regulation.

The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, the U.S. Congress and various regulatory bodies in the states and in foreign countries have begun to assert regulatory authority over VoIP providers and are continuing to evaluate how VoIP will be regulated in the future. In addition, while some of the existing regulation concerning VoIP is applicable to the entire industry, many rulings are limited to individual companies or categories of service. As a result, both the application of existing rules to us and our competitors and the effects of future regulatory developments are uncertain.

Jurisdiction over Vonage’s VoIP Services

On November 12, 2004, the FCC declared that our service is subject to federal regulation and preempted the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, or MPUC, from imposing certain of its regulations on us. The FCC’s decision was based on its conclusion that our service is interstate in nature and cannot be separated into interstate and intrastate components. While this ruling does not exempt us from all state oversight of our service, it effectively prevents state telecommunications regulators from imposing certain burdensome and inconsistent market entry requirements and certain other state utility rules and regulations on our service.

The MPUC, the state public utility commissions of California, New York and Ohio, and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates appealed the FCC’s November 12, 2004 order. California has since withdrawn its appeal. The appeals have been consolidated in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Briefing has been completed, and oral argument was held on January 12, 2006. On March 21, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit affirmed the FCC’s declaratory ruling preempting state regulation of Vonage’s service. The 8th Circuit found that it is impossible for Vonage to separate its interstate traffic from its intrastate traffic because of the nomadic nature of the service. As a result, the 8th Circuit held that it was reasonable for the FCC to preempt state regulation of Vonage’s service. The 8th Circuit was clear, however, that the preemptive effect of the FCC’s declaratory ruling may be reexamined if technological advances allow for the separation of interstate and intrastate components of the nomadic VoIP service. Therefore, the preemption of state authority over Vonage’s service hinges on the inability to separate the interstate and intrastate components of the service.

The New York State Public Service Commission, or NYPSC, also attempted to assert regulatory authority over our services. On September 10, 2003, Frontier Telephone of Rochester, Inc. filed a complaint with the NYPSC, alleging that our provision of service violated New York law. In response, the NYPSC initiated a generic proceeding to examine VoIP issues. The NYPSC later ruled that our service was subject to its jurisdiction and ordered us to file a tariff and an application for authority to offer communications services in New York. However, on July 16, 2004, we obtained a preliminary injunction from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York preventing the NYPSC from enforcing its order until the conclusion of further proceedings. The District Court’s order noted that we were likely to succeed on the merits of our claim that we were exempt from regulation by the NYPSC. On December 20, 2004, we filed a motion for a permanent injunction. On December 14, 2005, the District Court denied that motion. However, the court stated that its preliminary injunction would remain in place until the FCC concludes its ongoing rulemaking regarding the regulatory classification of VoIP services, which is discussed below.

In addition to these proceedings, we have received inquiries regarding our service from various state telecommunications regulators. We also are aware of a number of proceedings, informal investigations and complaints not directed at us but concerning various forms of VoIP in several other states.

Regulatory Classification of VoIP Services

On February 12, 2004, the FCC initiated a rulemaking proceeding concerning the provision of voice and other services and applications utilizing Internet Protocol technology. As part of this proceeding, the FCC is considering whether VoIP services like ours should be classified as information services or telecommunications services. We believe our service should be classified as an information service. If the FCC decides to classify VoIP services like ours as telecommunications services, we could become subject to rules and regulations that apply to providers of traditional telephony services. This could require us to restructure our service offering or raise the price of our service, or could otherwise significantly harm our business.

While the FCC has not reached a decision on the classification of VoIP services like ours, it has ruled on the classification of specific VoIP services offered by others. The FCC has drawn distinctions among different types of VoIP services, and has concluded that some VoIP services are telecommunications services while others are information services. The FCC’s conclusions in those proceedings do not determine the classification of our service, but they likely will inform the FCC’s decision regarding VoIP services like ours.

VoIP E-911 Matters

On June 3, 2005, the FCC released an order and notice of proposed rulemaking concerning VoIP emergency services. The order set forth two primary requirements for providers of “interconnected VoIP services” such as ours, meaning VoIP services that can be used to send calls to and receive calls from users on the public switched telephone network.

First, the order requires us to notify our customers of the differences between the emergency services available through us and those available through traditional telephony providers. We also must receive affirmative acknowledgment from all of our customers that they understand the nature of the emergency services available through our service. On September 27, 2005, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau released an order stating that the Enforcement Bureau will not pursue enforcement actions against VoIP providers, like us, that have received affirmative acknowledgement from at least 90% of their subscribers. We are required to file a report with the FCC when we receive affirmative acknowledgments from 100% of our customer base. We have received affirmative acknowledgment from substantially all of our customers that they understand the nature of the emergency services available through our service, and thus we are substantially in compliance with the first aspect of the FCC’s June 3, 2005 order.

Second, the order requires us to provide enhanced emergency dialing capabilities, or E-911, to all of our customers by November 28, 2005. Under the terms of the order, we are required to use the dedicated wireline E-911 network to transmit customers’ 911 calls, callback number and customer-provided location information to the emergency authority serving the customer’s specified location.

On November 7, 2005, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a Public Notice with respect to that requirement. The Public Notice indicated that providers who have not fully complied with the enhanced emergency dialing capabilities requirement are not required to discontinue the provision of services to existing clients, but that the FCC expects that such providers will discontinue marketing their services and accepting new customers in areas in which the providers cannot offer enhanced emergency dialing capabilities.

We also have taken steps to comply with the enhanced emergency service rules, but we were unable to comply with all of the requirements of the FCC’s order by the November 28, 2005 deadline, are not currently in compliance with the FCC’s expectations on marketing, and do not expect to be in compliance in the short term unless we are granted a waiver of the requirements by the FCC. For approximately 7% of our customers, we are currently unable to provide E-911 coverage. We may be subject to enforcement action by the FCC that could include monetary forfeitures, cease and desist orders, and other penalties. Any of these penalties could materially harm our business. Although we are not currently required to do so, we have advised the FCC that we will not provide service in any new rate center until we can provide E-911 service in that rate center. As of December 31, 2006, we were providing E-911 services to approximately 93% of our U.S. subscriber lines. Additional progress is being made on a regular basis, and we hope to be able to provide E-911 capabilities to nearly all of our remaining subscriber lines within the year. If the FCC orders us to disconnect customers or stop accepting new customers in areas where we have not yet implemented E-911 capability, it would reduce our subscriber growth while we work to complete the roll-out. This may result in an increase in our marketing cost per gross subscriber line addition, since most of our marketing programs are national in nature and we cannot significantly reduce our marketing costs in areas in which we could not accept new customers.

The FCC’s June 3, 2005 order also included a notice of proposed rulemaking that considers, among other things, whether interconnected VoIP providers like us must transition to an emergency services system that would enable interconnected VoIP providers to establish the location of their customers without the customer providing location information. The comment period closed September 12, 2005. We do not know when the FCC may take further action in this proceeding, but anticipate that it could be before the end of the year. If the FCC adopts additional regulatory obligations, implementing systems to comply with the obligations could be time consuming and expensive.

CALEA

On August 5, 2005, the FCC released an Order extending the obligations of Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, to interconnected VoIP providers. Under CALEA, telecommunications carriers must assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance, which include the capability of providing call content and call-identifying information to a local enforcement agency, or LEA, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization.

The FCC in a subsequent Order released on May 12, 2006 required all interconnected VoIP providers to become fully CALEA compliant by May 14, 2007. The FCC allowed VoIP providers to comply with CALEA through the use of a solution provided by a trusted third party, or TTP, with the ability to extract call content and call-identifying information from a VoIP provider’s network. While the FCC permits carriers to use the services provided by TTPs to become CALEA compliant by the deadline, the carrier remains ultimately responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of call content and call-identifying information to law enforcement, and for protecting subscriber privacy, as required by CALEA. We selected a TTP to provide a solution for CALEA compliant lawful interception of communications by May 14, 2007.

To date, we have taken significant steps towards CALEA compliance, which include testing the CALEA solution with the FBI. However, recent issues with testing may affect our compliance with the CALEA requirements by the May 14, 2007 deadline. We are actively working through these issues and expect resolution prior to May 14, 2007, but in the interim, we are pursuing alternative solutions that will allow LEAs access to call content and call-identifying information by the deadline. We have also advised the FCC of our CALEA progress and our efforts at implementing alternative solutions if deemed necessary. While unlikely, we could be subject to an enforcement action by the FCC if our CALEA solution is not fully operational by May 14, 2007 and our alternative solutions are proven ineffective.

Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI)

On April 2, 2007, the FCC released its Order extending the application of the customer proprietary network information, or CPNI, rules to interconnected VoIP providers. VoIP providers have six months from the effective date of the Order to implement all the CPNI rules.

CPNI includes information such as the phone numbers called by a consumer; the frequency, duration, and timing of such calls; and any services/features purchased by the consumer, such as call waiting, call forwarding, and caller ID, in addition to other information that may appear on a consumer’s bill.

Under the FCC’s existing rules, carriers may not use CPNI without customer approval except in narrow circumstances related to their provision of existing services, and must comply with detailed customer approval processes when using CPNI outside of these narrow circumstances. The new CPNI requirements are aimed at establishing more stringent security measures for access to a customer’s CPNI data in the form of enhanced passwords for on-line access and call-in access to account information as well as customer notification of account or password changes.

At the present time we do not utilize our customer’s CPNI in a manner which would require us to obtain consent from our customers, but in the event that we do in the future, we will be required to adhere to specific CPNI rules aimed at marketing such services. Within the next six months we will be required to implement internal processes in order to be compliant with all the CPNI rules. We have engaged all the impacted business units and compliance is expected by the deadline.

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