C. Employee will not, for a period of one year immediately following the Resignation Date, directly or indirectly, call upon any person who is, at that time, an employee of the Company for the purpose or with the intent of enticing such employee away from or out of the employ of the Company.
D. Employee agrees not to make any public or private remarks disparaging the conduct or character of the Company, or any of its parents or their affiliates, agents, employees, officers, directors, successors or assigns. The Company agrees that its officers and directors will not make any public or private statement that disparages the Employee. If the Company is contacted regarding Employees’ employment with the Company, the Company will verify dates of employment, positions held and last salary and will confirm that Employee’s employment ended by Employee’s resignation.
5. Injunctive Relief. Employee acknowledges that a breach by Employee of Section 4 of this agreement would cause immediate and irreparable harm to the Company for which an adequate monetary remedy does not exist; hence, Employee agrees that in the event of a breach or threatened breach by Employee of the provisions of Section 4 of this Agreement, the Company shall be entitled to injunctive relief restraining Employee from such violation without the necessity of proof of actual damage or the posting of any bond, except as required by non-waivable, applicable law. Nothing herein, however, shall be construed as prohibiting the Company from pursuing any other remedy at law or in equity to which the Company may be entitled under applicable law in the event of a breach or threatened breach of this Agreement by Employee, including, without limitation the recovery of damages and/or costs and expenses, such as reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the Company as a result of any such breach. In addition to the exercise of the foregoing remedies, the Company shall have the right upon the occurrence of any such breach to cancel any unpaid benefits or severance otherwise due to Employee. In particular, Employee acknowledges that the payments and benefits provided hereunder are conditioned upon Employee fulfilling any confidentiality, return of property, non-disparagement, cooperation or non-solicitation covenants contained in this Agreement. In the event Employee shall at any time materially breach any confidentiality, return of property, non-disparagement, cooperation, non-competition or non-solicitation obligations contained in this Agreement, the Company may suspend or eliminate all payments and benefits under Section 4 during the period of such breach. Employee acknowledges that any such suspension or elimination of payments and benefits would be an exercise of the Company’s right to suspend or terminate its performance hereunder upon Employee’s breach of this Agreement; such suspension or elimination of payments would not constitute, and should not be characterized as, the imposition of liquidated damages.
6. Waiver and Release by Employee. In consideration of the Company’s agreement to enter into and to provide the terms of this Agreement, Employee hereby and forever, irrevocably and unconditionally, waives and releases any and all rights, claims and causes of action against the Company of whatever kind or nature, known or unknown, asserted or unasserted, that may have arisen prior to or that may exist as of the date of Employee’s execution and acceptance of this Agreement. It is expressly understood and agreed that the claims covered by Employee’s release include, but are not limited to, any and all claims or rights arising or that could be asserted under any statutory or common law theory including, but not limited to, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, including the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990; the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as amended; the Civil Rights Act of 1991; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988; the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended; the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended; the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Texas Labor Code; claims in connection with workers’ compensation or “whistle blower” statutes; claims in contract, tort, defamation, slander, wrongful termination; or claims under any other federal, state, or local statute, law, rule or regulation. In addition, it is understood and agreed that, by this Agreement, Employee waives any claims he may have against the Company based on any other theory of liability, statutory or non-statutory, in contract or in tort, including, but not limited to, claims for wrongful or constructive discharge, breach of any express or implied employment contract or agreement, breach of any covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, defamation, or any personal or emotional injury. It is further understood and agreed that the parties covered by Employee’s release include the Company’s present and former shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, insurers, assigns, predecessors, and successors, and that any reference to the Company in this Agreement is understood to include all of the foregoing persons or entities.
Employee represents he has not filed, and will not in the future file, participate in, or cause to be filed on his behalf, any action, lawsuit, claim or charge against the Company with any state or federal court, or local, state, or federal agency, arising out of or related to his Employment Agreement or his employment with the Company, or the cessation of such employment.
If any state or federal agency assumes jurisdiction of any complaint, charge or grievance arising out of the Employment Agreement, employment or cessation, Employee will direct the agency to withdraw from the matter and Employee will not cooperate or participate in any investigation or prosecution of any matter or action, except to the extent specifically required by subpoena or law. Employee further specifically waives any right he may have to collect damages or other compensation as a result of any such complaint, charge or grievance.
7. Review and Consultation; Information Provided to Employee. It is understood and agreed that Employee has entered into and executed this Agreement voluntarily and that such execution by Employee is not based upon any representations or promises of any kind made by the Company or any of its representatives, except as expressly written in this Agreement. Employee further acknowledges that he has read and fully understands each paragraph of this Agreement, that he was advised in writing by the Company to consult with an attorney prior to executing this Agreement, and that he has availed himself of legal or other counsel to the full extent he desires before deciding whether to enter into this binding agreement.
Employee also acknowledges that has considered this Agreement to the full extent that he desires. Employee agrees that this Agreement is valid, fair, adequate and reasonable, is with his full knowledge and consent, was not procured through fraud, duress or mistake and has not had the effect of misleading, misinforming or failing to inform him.
Employee acknowledges that payments and benefits under this Agreement are not an admission by the Company that it engaged in any wrongful or unlawful act, that it violated any federal or state law or regulation or that it otherwise owes Employee any of the payments or other consideration offered herein. Employee acknowledges that the Company and Employee contemplate an unequivocal, complete and final dissolution of the employment relationship. Employee acknowledges that this Agreement does not create any right on his part to be rehired by the Company and Employee hereby waives any right to future employment by the Company.
Finally, Employee agrees and acknowledges that the consideration provided under this Agreement is in addition to any other payments, benefits or other things of value to which he is entitled and that he would not be entitled to any of the consideration provided under this Agreement, in the absence of his acceptance of these terms and execution of this Agreement.
8. Binding Effect.
A. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the Company and any of its successors or assigns.
B. This Agreement is personal to the Employee and shall not be assignable by the Employee without the express, written consent of the Company (there being no obligation to give such consent) other than such rights or benefits as are transferred by will or the laws of descent and distribution. Any and all payments required under this agreement shall cease upon Employee’s death and do not inure to the benefit of his estate, trust or any heirs, except as specifically required by law.
C. The Company shall require any successor to or assignee of (whether direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) all or substantially all of the assets or businesses of the Company (i) to assume unconditionally and expressly this Agreement, and (ii) to agree to perform all of the obligations under this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent as would have been required of the Company had no assignment or succession occurred, such assumption to be set forth in a writing reasonably satisfactory to the Employee. In the event of any such assignment or succession, the term “Company” as used in this Agreement shall refer also to such successor or assignee.
9. Notices. All notices provided for or required hereunder must be in writing and shall be deemed to have given upon receipt of delivery by: (a) hand (against a signed receipt therefor), (b) certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, (c) a nationally recognized overnight courier service (against a signed receipt therefor) or (d) fax transmission with confirmation of proper receipt. All such notices must be addressed as follows:
If to the Company, to:
Jeff Adams, Corporate Counsel
Eagle Broadband, Inc.
101 Courageous Drive
League City, Texas 77573
If to the Employee, to:
Eric Blachno
1700 Main St., #7B
Houston, Texas 77002
or such other address as to which any party hereto may have notified the other in writing.
10. Governing Law and Mandatory Venue. This Agreement shall be construed and enforced in accordance with and governed by the internal laws of the State of Texas without regard to principles of conflict of laws. The Company and Employee expressly agree that the sole and exclusive venue for any action to construe or enforce this Agreement shall be within Harris County, Texas and that no action may be brought or maintained in any other venue.
11. Severability. If any term or provision of this Agreement or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, shall at any time or to any extent be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect as written, Employee and the Company intend that any court construing this Agreement shall modify or limit such provision temporally, spatially or otherwise so as to render it valid and enforceable to the fullest extent allowed by law. Any such provision that is not susceptible of such reformation shall be ignored so as to not affect any other term or provision hereof, and the remainder of this Agreement, or the application of such term or provision to persons or circumstances, other than those as to which it is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby and each term and provision of this Agreement shall be valid and enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law.
12. Waiver of Breach. The waiver by either party of a breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach thereof.
13. Remedies Not Exclusive. No remedy specified herein shall be deemed to be such Company and Employee’s exclusive remedy, and accordingly, in addition to all of the rights and remedies provided for in this Agreement, the Company and Employee shall have all other rights and remedies provided to them by applicable law, rule or regulation.
14. Survival. The rights and obligations of the Company and Employee contained in this Agreement shall survive the termination of the Agreement. Following the Resignation Date, each party shall have the right to enforce all rights, and shall be bound by all obligations, of such party that are continuing rights and obligations under this Agreement.
/s/ Eric Blachno
ERIC BLACHNO
EAGLE BROADBAND, INC.
By:/s/ David Micek
Name: David Micek
Title: President and CEO