Except as otherwise provided, this Agreement has been and is made solely for the benefit of and shall be binding upon the Company, the Underwriters, any Indemnified Person referred to herein and their respective successors and assigns, all as and to the extent provided in this Agreement, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. The terms “successors and assigns” shall not include a purchaser of any of the Securities from any of the Underwriters merely because of such purchase.
12. Notices. Notices given pursuant to any provision of this Agreement shall be addressed as follows: (a) if to the Company, at 4747 Bethesda Ave, Suite 1300, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Attention: Julie Aslaksen, with a copy to Latham & Watkins LLP, 555 Eleventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004, Attention: Shagufa R. Hossain, and (b) if to any Underwriter, to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10179, Attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk – 3rd Floor, Facsimile: (212) 834-6081; BofA Securities, Inc., 50 Rockefeller Plaza, NY1-050-12-02, New York, New York 10020, Facsimile: (646) 855-5958, Attention: High Grade Transaction Management/Legal; Wells Fargo Securities LLC, 550 South Tryon Street, 5th Floor, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202, Attention: Transaction Management, Fax: (704) 410-0326, with a copy to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Four Times Square, New York, New York 10036, Attention: Michael J. Zeidel, or in any case to such other address as the person to be notified may have requested in writing.
13. No Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (ii) in connection therewith and with the process leading to such transaction, each Underwriter is acting solely as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, (iii) no Underwriter has assumed an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) or any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement and (iv) the Company has consulted its own legal and financial advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate. The Company agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters, or any of them, has rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owes a fiduciary or similar duty to the Company, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.
14. No Prior Agreements. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.
15. Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE RELATING TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, SECTION 5-1401 OF THE NEW YORK GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW.
16. Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
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