PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
We and our subsidiaries are, from time to time, parties to litigation arising from the ordinary course of business. As of June 30, 2020, management does not believe that any such litigation will have a material adverse effect, individually or in the aggregate, on our financial position or results of operations.
The following risk factor updates the risk factor in Part II, Item 1A of our Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q
for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and supplements the risk factors disclosed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2019. Except as presented below or in the section titled “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition” in this Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q,
there have been no material changes from the risk factors set forth in such Annual Report.
The current pandemic of the novel coronavirus
(“COVID-19”),
and the future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, ability to pay dividends and the per share market price of our common stock or preferred stock.
Since being reported in December 2019,
COVID-19
has spread globally, including to every state in the United States. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared
COVID-19
a pandemic, and on March 13, 2020, the United States declared a national emergency with respect to
COVID-19.
Since that time, the global impact of the outbreak has been rapidly evolving and, as cases of
COVID-19
have continued to be identified in additional countries, many countries, including the United States, have reacted by instituting quarantines, mandating business and school closures and restricting travel.
The
COVID-19
pandemic has had, and a future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases could have, repercussions across regional and global financial markets and economies. The outbreak of
COVID-19
in many countries, including the United States, has adversely impacted global economic activity and has contributed to significant volatility in financial markets.
Certain states and cities, including where we own properties and where our principal place of business is located, have also reacted by instituting quarantines, restrictions on travel,
rules and restrictions on the types of businesses that may continue to operate. The Company cannot predict if additional states and cities will implement similar restrictions, whether or how the nature of these restrictions may evolve or when restrictions currently in place or modified restrictions in the future will expire. As a result, the
COVID-19
pandemic is negatively impacting many industries and governmental operations directly or indirectly, including the industries in which the Company and our tenants operate. A number of our tenants have announced temporary closures of their offices and other operations, and requested rent deferral or rent abatements during this pandemic. In addition, many of our employees in our principal offices are currently working remotely. The effects of an extended period of remote work arrangements, could strain our business continuity plans, introduce operational risk, including but not limited to cybersecurity risks, and impair our ability to manage our business. To date, we have provided temporary relief to certain tenants in the form of rent deferral and rent abatements, the financial impacts of which have been immaterial to the Company. However, it is impossible to predict the extent to which future requests from tenants for rent deferrals, rent abatements or relief from other contractual obligations, or a failure to pay rent, as a result of changes in business behavior stemming from the ongoing
COVID-19
pandemic or otherwise, may impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
The
COVID-19
pandemic, or a future outbreak of other highly infectious or contagious diseases, could also have adverse effects on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, ability to pay dividends and the per share market price of our common stock or preferred stock, among other factors:
| • | | a complete or partial closure of, decline or cessation in the usage of, or other operational issues at, one or more of our properties resulting from government or tenant action; |