In general, the Registrant’s Amended and Restated By-Laws (the “By-laws”) provide that the Registrant shall indemnify each corporate officer and director (as well as any person serving another entity, trust or employee benefit plan in any capacity at the Registrant’s request) against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the defense or as a result of any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (including civil, criminal, administrative or investigative and actions by or in the right of the Registrant or other entity, trust or employee benefit plan) to which the person seeking indemnification is made or threatened to be made a party by virtue of serving in any of those capacities, except in instances where the NYBCL prohibits indemnification.
In addition, the Registrant’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that directors shall not be liable to the Registrant or its shareholders for damages for any breach of duty as a director, except for liability a director may have for any act or omission prior to the effectiveness of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation or if a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the director establishes that: (i) the director’s acts or omissions were in bad faith or involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; (ii) the director personally gained in fact a financial profit or other advantage to which the director was not legally entitled; or (iii) the director’s acts violated NYBCL Section 719 (which imposes liability on transactions when contrary to NYBCL provisions). This provision also provides that if the Registrant may by law be permitted to further eliminate or limit the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director shall, at such time, automatically be further eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.
As permitted by the Registrant’s By-Laws, the Registrant has entered or will enter into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers. These agreements generally require the Registrant to indemnify its directors and executive officers against all expenses (including attorney’s fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such directors and executive officers in connection with the defense or settlement of any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (whether civil, criminal, administrative, arbitrative, investigative or other), whether instituted by or in the right of the Registrant or any other person, or any inquiry or investigation, whether instituted by the Registrant or any other person in which such person is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party or in good faith believes might lead to the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant (or any subsidiary of the Registrant), or is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, officer, employee, member, manager, trustee, agent or fiduciary (or in any other capacity) of another enterprise (a “Claim”); provided, however, that no indemnification is permitted if a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to such directors or executive officers establishes that (i) his or her acts were committed in bad faith or were the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and, in either case, were material to the cause of action so adjudicated, or (ii) he or she personally gained in fact a financial profit or other advantage to which he or she was not legally entitled unless and only to the extent that the court in which such Claim was brought, or, if no action was brought, any court of competent jurisdiction determines upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, he or she is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity and the amount of the indemnifiable losses which the court shall deem proper.
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