Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law empowers a Delaware corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful. Similar indemnity is authorized for such persons against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of any such threatened, pending or completed action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and provided further that (unless a court of competent jurisdiction otherwise provides) such person shall not have been adjudged liable to the corporation. Any such indemnification may be made only as authorized in each specific case upon a determination by the stockholders or disinterested directors or by independent legal counsel in a written opinion that indemnification is proper because the indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct.
Section 145 further authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify such person under Section 145. We expect to maintain policies insuring our and our subsidiaries’ officers and directors against certain liabilities for actions taken in such capacities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Article Twelfth of our Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the personal liability of each of our directors to us and our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director; provided, however, that such provision does not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of such director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Title 8, Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (pertaining to certain prohibited acts including unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock purchases or redemptions), as the same exists or as such provision may hereafter be amended, supplemented or replaced, or (iv) for any transactions from which such director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, Article Twelfth provides that each of our directors will not be personally liable to the fullest extent permitted by any amendment to the Delaware General Corporation Law that further limits the liability of a director and is enacted after the adoption of our Certificate of Incorporation.
Article Thirteenth of our Certificate of Incorporation provides that we will indemnify any person who was, is, or is threatened to be made a party to a proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she (i) is or was a director or officer of us or (ii) while a director or officer of us, is or was serving at the request of us as a director, officer, partner, venturer, proprietor, trustee, employee, agent, or similar functionary of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, trust, employee benefit plan, or other enterprise, to the fullest extent permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law. For purposes of Article Thirteenth, a “proceeding” means any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, arbitrative, or investigative, any appeal in such an action, suit, or proceeding, or any inquiry or investigation that could lead to such an action, suit, or proceeding. Such right includes the right to be paid by us for expenses (including without limitation attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such individual in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition to the maximum extent permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
The foregoing discussion of Delaware General Corporation Law and our Certificate of Incorporation is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by reference to such statute and such Certificate of Incorporation filed with the SEC.
We have obtained a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy insuring our directors and officers against certain losses resulting from wrongful acts committed by them as our directors and officers, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.