Exhibit 3.1
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation
of
Credex Corporation
These Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (these “Articles of Incorporation”) of Credex Corporation (the “Corporation”) were adopted effective as of March 25, 2022, by the Board of Directors of the Corporation and by the shareholders of the Corporation, pursuant to Section 607.1007 and Section 607.1003 of the Florida Business Corporation Act. Each amendment set forth in these Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation was approved by the shareholders by a vote sufficient for approval of the amendment. These Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation supersede, amend and restate the original Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended and restated to date, to provide as follows:
Section 1. Name. The name of the corporation is Credex Corporation (the “Corporation”).
Section 2. Registered Office and Agent
| (a) | Registered Agent. The name and address of the registered agent of the Corporation in the State of Florida is Corporate Creations Network Inc., 801 US Highway 1, North Palm Beach, FL 33408, or such other agent and address as the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) shall from time to time select. |
| (b) | Principal Office. The principal office address of the Corporation is 1881 General George Patton Drive, Suite 107, Franklin, TN 37067, or such other address as the Board shall from time to time select. |
Section 3. Purpose and Business. The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may now or hereafter be organized under the Florida Business Corporation Act (the “FBCA”), including, but not limited to the following:
| (a) | The Corporation may at any time exercise such rights, privileges, and powers, when not inconsistent with the purposes and object for which this corporation is organized. |
| (b) | The Corporation shall have power to have succession by its corporate name in perpetuity, or until dissolved and its affairs wound up according to law. |
| (c) | The Corporation shall have power to sue and be sued in any court of law or equity. |
| (d) | The Corporation shall have power to make contracts. |
| (e) | The Corporation shall have power to hold, purchase and convey real and personal estate and to mortgage or lease any such real and personal estate with its franchises. The power to hold real and personal estate shall include the power to take the same by devise or bequest in the State of Florida, or in any other state, territory or country. |
| (f) | The Corporation shall have power to appoint such officers and agents as the affairs of the Corporation shall requite and allow them suitable compensation. |
| (g) | The Corporation shall have power to make bylaws not inconsistent with the constitution or laws of the United States, or of the State of Florida, for the management, regulation and government of its affairs and property, the transfer of its stock, the transaction of its business and the calling and holding of meetings of shareholders. |
| (h) | The Corporation shall have the power to wind up and dissolve itself, or be wound up or dissolved. |
| (i) | The Corporation shall have the power to adopt and use a common seal or stamp, or to not use such seal or stamp and if one is used, to alter the same. The use of a seal or stamp by the Corporation on any corporate documents is not necessary. The Corporation may use a seal or stamp, if it desires, but such use or non-use shall not in any way affect the legality of the document. |
| (j) | The Corporation shall have the power to borrow money and contract debts when necessary for the transaction of its business, or for the exercise of its corporate rights, privileges or franchises, or for any other lawful purpose of its incorporation; to issue bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange, debentures and other obligations and evidence of indebtedness, payable at a specified time or times, or payable upon the happening of a specified event or events, whether secured by mortgage, pledge or otherwise, or unsecured, for money borrowed, or in payment for property purchased, or acquired, or for another lawful object. |
| (k) | The Corporation shall have the power to guarantee, purchase, hold, sell, assign, transfer, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of the shares of the capital stock of, or any bonds, securities or evidence in indebtedness created by any other corporation or corporations in the State of Florida, or any other state or government and, while the owner of such stock, bonds, securities or evidence of indebtedness, to exercise all the rights, powers and privileges of ownership, including the right to vote, if any. |
| (l) | The Corporation shall have the power to purchase, hold, sell and transfer shares of its own capital stock and use therefore its capital, capital surplus, surplus or other property or fund. |
| (m) | The Corporation shall have to conduct business, have one or more offices and hold, purchase, mortgage and convey real and personal property in the State of Florida and in any of the several states, territories, possessions and dependencies of the United States, the District of Columbia and in any foreign country. |
| (n) | The Corporation shall have the power to do all and everything necessary and proper for the accomplishment of the objects enumerated in its Certificate of incorporation, or any amendments thereof, or necessary or incidental to the protection and benefit of the Corporation and, in general, to carry on any lawful business necessary or incidental to the attainment of the purposes of the Corporation, whether or not such business is similar in nature to the purposes set forth in the Certificate of incorporation of the Corporation, or any amendment thereof. |
| (o) | The Corporation shall have the power to make donations for the public welfare or for charitable, scientific or educational purposes. |
| (p) | The Corporation shall have the power to enter partnerships, general or limited, or joint ventures, in connection with any lawful activities. |
Section 4. Capital Stock.
| (a) | Classes and Number of Shares. The total number of shares of all classes of stock, which the Corporation shall have authority to issue shall be two hundred and fifty million (250,000,000) shares of common stock, par value of $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and twenty five million (25,000,000) shares of preferred stock, par value of $0.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”). |
| (b) | Powers and Rights of Common Stock. |
| (i) | Preemptive Right. No shareholders of the Corporation holding Common Stock shall have any preemptive or other right to subscribe for any additional unissued or treasury shares of stock or for other securities of any class, or for rights, warrants or options to purchase stock, or for scrip, or for securities of any kind convertible into stock or carrying stock purchase warrants or privileges unless so authorized by the Corporation. |
| (ii) | Voting Rights and Powers. With respect to all matters upon which shareholders are entitled to vote or to which shareholders are entitled to give consent, the holders of the outstanding shares of the Common Stock shall be entitled to cast thereon one (1) vote in person or by proxy for each share of the Common Stock standing in his/her name. The Common Stock shall, together as a class, be entitled to receive the net assets of the Corporation upon dissolution. |
| (iii) | Dividends and Distributions. |
| (A) | Cash Dividends. Subject to the rights of holders of Preferred Stock, holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive such cash dividends as may be declared thereon by the Board from time to time out of assets of funds of the Corporation legally available therefore; and |
| (B) | Other Dividends and Distributions. The Board may issue shares of the Common Stock in the form of a distribution or distributions pursuant to a stock dividend or split-up of the shares of the Common Stock. |
| (C) | Other Classes. Shares of one class or series may be issued as a share dividend in respect of shares of another class or series. |
| (iv) | Other Rights. Except as otherwise required by the FBCA and as may otherwise be provided in these Articles of Incorporation, each share of the Common Stock shall have identical powers, preferences and rights, including rights in liquidation. |
| (c) | Classes of Preferred Stock. The powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions pertaining to the Preferred Stock, or any series thereof, shall be such as may be fixed, from time to time, by the Board in its sole discretion, authority to do so being hereby expressly vested in the Board. The authority of the Board with respect to each such series of Preferred Stock will include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the determination of any or all of the following: |
| (i) | The number of shares of any series and the designation to distinguish the shares of such series from the shares of all other series; |
| (ii) | the voting powers, if any, of the shares of such series and whether such voting powers are full or limited; |
| (iii) | the redemption provisions, if any, applicable to such series, including the redemption price or prices to be paid; |
| (iv) | whether dividends, if any, will be cumulative or noncumulative, the dividend rate or rates of such series and the dates and preferences of dividends on such series; |
| (v) | the rights of such series upon the voluntary or involuntary dissolution of, or upon any distribution of the assets of, the Corporation; |
| (vi) | the provisions, if any, pursuant to which the shares of such series are convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or classes or of any other series of the same or any other class or classes of stock, or any other security, of the Corporation or any other corporation or other entity, and the rates or other determinants of conversion or exchange applicable thereto; |
| (vii) | the right, if any, to subscribe for or to purchase any securities of the Corporation or any other corporation or other entity; |
| (viii) | the provisions, if any, of a sinking fund applicable to such series; and |
| (ix) | any other relative, participating, optional or other powers, preferences or rights, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of such series. |
| (d) | Issuance of the Common Stock and the Preferred Stock. The Board may from time to time authorize by resolution the issuance of any or all shares of the Common Stock and the Preferred Stock herein authorized in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in these Articles of Incorporation for such purposes, in such amounts, to such persons, corporations, or entities, for such consideration and in the case of the Preferred Stock, in one or more series, all as the Board in its discretion may determine and without any vote or other action by the shareholders, except as otherwise required by law. The Board, from time to time, also may authorize, by resolution, options, warrants and other rights convertible into Common or Preferred stock (collectively “securities”). The securities must be issued for such consideration, including cash, property, or services, as the Board may deem appropriate, subject to the requirement that the value of such consideration be no less than the par value of the shares issued. Any shares issued for which the consideration so fixed has been paid or delivered shall be fully paid stock and the holder of such shares shall not be liable for any further call or assessment or any other payment thereon, provided that the actual value of such consideration is not less that the par value of the shares so issued. The Board may issue shares of the Common Stock in the form of a distribution or distributions pursuant to a stock dividend or split-up of the shares of the Common Stock only to the then holders of the outstanding shares of the Common Stock. |
| (e) | Cumulative Voting. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, there shall be no cumulative voting on any matter brought to a vote of shareholders of the Corporation. |
| (f) | One Class. Except as otherwise required by the FBCA, these Articles of Incorporation, or any designation for a class of Preferred Stock (which may provide that an alternate vote is required), (i) all shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall vote together as one class on all mattes submitted to a vote of the shareholders of the Corporation; and (ii) the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of voting stock entitled to vote in connection with the applicable matter shall be required for approval of such matter. |
| (g) | Limitation on Voting. Except as otherwise required by law or provided in these Articles of Incorporation, holders of Common Stock or any other class or series of Preferred Stock shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to these Articles of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation filed with respect to any series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding other class or series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such other affected class or series of Preferred Stock are entitled, either separately or together as a class with the holders of one or more other such class or series of Preferred Stock, to vote thereon by law or pursuant to these Articles of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation filed with respect to any series of Preferred Stock). |
Section 5. Adoption of Bylaws. In the furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute and subject to Section 6, the Board is expressly authorized to adopt, repeal, rescind, alter or amend in any respect the bylaws of the Corporation (the “Bylaws”).
Section 6. Shareholder Amendment of Bylaws. Notwithstanding Section 5, the Bylaws may also be adopted, repealed, rescinded, altered or amended in any respect by the shareholders of the Corporation, but only by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than fifty-one percent (51%) of the voting power of all outstanding shares of voting stock, regardless of class and voting together as a single voting class.
Section 7. Board of Directors. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by and under the direction of the Board. Except as may otherwise be provided in connection with rights to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, which may be granted to the holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock, the number of directors of the Corporation may be amended from time to time as set forth in the Bylaws.
Section 8. Powers of Board; Notice of Meetings.
| (a) | In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by the laws of the FBCA, the Board is expressly authorized and empowered: |
| (i) | To make, alter, amend, and repeal the Bylaws; |
| (ii) | Subject to the applicable provisions of the Bylaws then in effect, to determine, from time to time, whether and to what extent, and at what times and places, and under what conditions and regulations, the accounts and books of the Corporation, or any of them, shall be open to shareholder inspection, provided that no shareholder shall have any right to inspect any of the accounts, books or documents of the Corporation, except as permitted by law, unless and until authorized to do so by resolution of the Board or of the shareholders of the Corporation; |
| (iii) | To authorize and issue, without shareholder consent, obligations of the Corporation, secured and unsecured, under such terms and conditions as the Board, in its sole discretion, may determine, and to pledge or mortgage, as security therefore, any real or personal property of the Corporation, including after-acquired property; |
| (iv) | To determine whether any and, if so, what part of the earned surplus of the Corporation shall be paid in dividends to the shareholders, and to direct and determine other use and disposition of any such earned surplus; |
| (v) | To fix, from time to time, the amount of the profits of the Corporation to be reserved as working capital or for any other lawful purpose; |
| (vi) | To establish bonus, profit-sharing, stock option, or other types of incentive compensation plans for the employees, including officers and directors, of the Corporation, and to fix the amount of profits to be shared or distributed, and to determine the persons to participate in any such plans and the amount of their respective participations; |
| (vii) | to designate, by resolution or resolutions passed by a majority of the whole Board, one or more committees, each consisting of two or more directors, which, to the extent permitted by law and authorized by the resolution or the Bylaws, shall have and may exercise the powers of the Board; and |
| (viii) | To provide for the reasonable compensation of its own members by Bylaw, and to fix the terms and conditions upon which such compensation will be paid. |
| (b) | In addition to the powers and authority hereinbefore, or by statute, expressly conferred upon it, the Board may exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation, subject, nevertheless, to the provisions of the laws of the State of Florida, of these Articles of Incorporation, and of the Bylaws of the Corporation. |
| (c) | Special meetings of the Board must be preceded by at least 2 day’s notice of the date, time, and place of the meeting. The notice need not describe the purpose of the special meeting. |
Section 9. Term of Board of Directors. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by and under the direction of the Board. Except as may otherwise be provided in connection with rights to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, which may be granted to the holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock, the number of directors of the Corporation may be amended from time to time as set forth in the Bylaws. The exact number of directors shall be fixed from time to time by the Board pursuant to resolution adopted by a majority of the full Board. Directors need not be shareholders. Each director shall serve until their successor is elected and qualified or until his death, resignation or removal. No decrease in the authorized number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.
Section 10. Vacancies on Board of Directors. Except as may otherwise be provided in connection with rights to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, which may be granted to the holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock, newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors, or any vacancies on the Board resulting from death, resignation, removal, or other causes, shall be filled solely by the quorum of the Board and the shareholders may not fill such vacancy. Any director elected in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of directors in which the new directorship was created or the vacancy occurred and until such director’s successor shall have been elected and qualified or until such director’s death, resignation or removal, whichever first occurs.
Section 11. Removal of Directors. Except as may otherwise be provided in connection with rights to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, which may be granted to the holders of any class or series of Preferred Stock, any director may be removed from office only by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the voting power of the issued and outstanding stock entitled to vote. Failure of an incumbent director to be nominated to serve an additional term of office shall not be deemed a removal from office requiring any shareholder vote.
Section 12. Shareholder Action. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the shareholders of the Corporation must be effective at a duly called Annual Meeting or at a special meeting of shareholders of the Corporation, unless such action requiring or permitting shareholder approval is approved by a majority of the directors, in which case such action may be authorized or taken by the written consent of the holders of outstanding shares of voting stock having not less than the minimum voting power that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting of shareholders at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, provided all other requirements of applicable law and these Articles of Incorporation have been satisfied.
Section 13. Interested Directors. No contract or transaction between this Corporation and any of its directors, or between this Corporation and any other corporation, firm, association, or other legal entity shall be invalidated by reason of the fact that the director of the Corporation has a direct or indirect interest, pecuniary or otherwise, in such corporation, firm, association, or legal entity, or because the interested director was present at the meeting of the Board which acted upon or in reference to such contract or transaction, or because he participated in such action, provided that: (1) the interest of each such director shall have been disclosed to or known by the Board and a disinterested majority of the Board shall have, nonetheless, ratified and approved such contract or transaction (such interested director or directors may be counted in determining whether a quorum is present for the meeting at which such ratification or approval is given); or (2) the conditions of Section 607.0832 of the FBCA are met.
Section 14. Special Shareholder Meeting. Special meetings of the shareholders of the Corporation for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by a majority of the Board. Each special meeting shall be held at such date and time as is requested by Board or the shareholders meeting the requirements above, within the limits fixed by law.
Section 15. Location of Shareholder Meetings. Meetings of shareholders of the Corporation may be held within or without the State of Florida, as the Bylaws may provide. The books of the Corporation may be kept (subject to any provision of the FBCA) outside the State of Florida at such place or places as may be designated from time to time by the Board or in the Bylaws.
Section 16. Private Property of Shareholders. The private property of the shareholders shall not be subject to the payment of corporate debts to any extent whatever and the shareholders shall not be personally liable for the payment of the Corporation’s debts.
Section 17. Amendments. The Corporation reserves the right to adopt, repeal, rescind, alter or amend in any respect any provision contained in these Articles of Incorporation in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by applicable law and all rights conferred on shareholders herein granted subject to this reservation. The shareholders of the Corporation may not amend these Articles of Incorporation without an act of the Directors.
Section 18. Term of Existence. The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.
Section 19. Liability of Directors. No director of this Corporation shall have personal liability to the Corporation or any of its shareholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officers involving any act or omission of any such director or officer. The foregoing provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its shareholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or, which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under applicable Sections of the FBCA, (iv) the payment of dividends in violation of the FBCA or, (v) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Any repeal or modification of this Section 19 by the shareholders of the Corporation shall be prospective only and shall not adversely affect any limitation on the personal liability of a director or officer of the Corporation for acts or omissions prior to such repeal or modification.
Section 20. Indemnification.
| (a) | Indemnification in Actions, Suits or Proceedings other than Those by or in the Right of the Corporation. Subject to Section 20(c) and Section 20(j), the Corporation shall, to the fullest extent permitted by the FBCA and applicable Florida law as in effect at any time, indemnify, hold harmless and defend any person who: (i) was or is a director or officer of the Corporation or was or is a director or officer of a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, and (ii) was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to, or was or is otherwise directly involved in (including as a witness), any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the fact that such person was or is a director or officer of the Corporation or any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, or was or is serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee, partner, member or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity or in any other capacity, 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. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea or nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which 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 reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful. |
| (b) | Indemnification in Actions, Suits or Proceedings by or in the Right of the Corporation. Subject to Section 20(c) and Section 20(j), the Corporation shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend any person who: (i) was or is a director or officer of the Corporation or was or is a director or officer of a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, and (ii) was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to, or was or is otherwise directly involved in (including as a witness), any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person was or is a director or officer of the Corporation or any direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, or was or is serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee, partner, member or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, and whether the basis of such action, suit or proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity or in any other capacity, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit 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; except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Courts in the State of Florida or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court in the State of Florida or such other court shall deem proper. |
| (c) | Authorization of Indemnification. Any indemnification or defense under this Section 20 (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b), as the case may be. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination,: (i) by directors constituting the Board Voting Majority and who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by the Board Voting Majority, even though less than a quorum, or (iii) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iv) by the shareholders. Such determination shall be made, with respect to former directors and officers, by any person or persons having the authority to act on the matter on behalf of the Corporation. To the extent, however, that a present or former director or officer of the Corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding set forth in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b) or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith, without the necessity of authorization in the specific case. |
| (d) | Good Faith Defined. For purposes of any determination under Section 20(c), a person shall be deemed to have 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, or, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, to have had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful, if such person’s action is based on good faith reliance on the records or books of account of the Corporation or another enterprise, or on information supplied to such person by the officers of the Corporation or another enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for the Corporation or another enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to the Corporation or another enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Corporation or another enterprise. The term “another enterprise” as used in this Section 20(d) shall mean any other corporation or any partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise of which such person was or is serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee, partner, member or agent. The provisions of this Section 20(d) shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the circumstances in which a person may be deemed to have met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b), as the case may be. |
| (e) | Expenses Payable in Advance. Expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by a current or former director or officer in defending any action, suit or proceeding described in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b) shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this Section 20. |
| (f) | Non-exclusivity of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses. The indemnification, defense and advancement of expenses provided by or granted pursuant to this Section 20 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the Certificate, any agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, it being the policy of the Corporation that indemnification of the persons specified in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b) shall be made to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. The provisions of this Section 20 shall not be deemed to preclude the indemnification of, or advancement of expenses to, any person who is not specified in Section 20(a) or Section 20(b) but whom the Corporation has the power or obligation to indemnify under the provisions of the FBCA or otherwise. |
| (g) | Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who was or is a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, or was or is serving at the request of the Corporation, as a director, officer, employee, partner, member or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other 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 have the power or the obligation to indemnify, hold harmless or defend such person against such liability under the provisions of this Section 20. |
| (h) | Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Section 20 references to the “Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, employees or agents so that any person who was or is a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or was or is serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee, partner, member or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Section 20 with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued. For purposes of this Section 20, references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect of any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the Corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation” as referred to in this Section 20. |
| (i) | Survival of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses. The indemnification, defense and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Section 20 shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person. |
| (j) | Limitation on Indemnification. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section 20 to the contrary, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification and defense under this Section 20 (which shall be governed by Section 20(k)(ii)), the Corporation shall not be obligated under this Section 20 to indemnify, hold harmless or defend any director, officer, employee or agent in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board. |
| (i) | The obligations of the Corporation under this Section 20 to indemnify, hold harmless and defend a person who was or is a director or officer of the Corporation or was or is a director or officer of a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, including the duty to advance expenses, shall be considered a contract between the Corporation and such person, and no modification or repeal of any provision of this Section 20 shall affect, to the detriment of such person, such obligations of the Corporation in connection with a claim based on any act or failure to act occurring before such modification or repeal. |
| (ii) | If a claim under Section 20(a), Section 20(b) or Section 20(e) is not paid in full by the Corporation within 90 days after a written claim has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an advancement of expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be 45 days, the person making such claim may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, if successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, such person shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit. In (i) any suit brought by such person to enforce a right to indemnification hereunder (but not in a suit brought by such person to enforce a right to an advancement of expenses) it shall be a defense, and (ii) in any suit brought by the Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the Corporation shall be entitled to recover such expenses upon a final adjudication that such person has not met any applicable standard for indemnification set forth in the FBCA. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel or its Shareholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such suit that indemnification of such person is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the FBCA, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its directors who are not parties to such action, a committee of such directors, independent legal counsel or its Shareholders) that such person has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that such person has not met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by such person, be a defense to such suit. |
| (l) | Indemnification Agreements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Corporation shall have the express authority to enter into such agreements as the Board deems appropriate for the indemnification of present or future directors and officers of the Corporation in connection with their service to, or status with, the Corporation or any other corporation, entity or enterprise with whom such person is serving at the express written request of the Corporation. |
Section 21. Forum Selection. Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s shareholders, (iii) an action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the FBCA, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be a state or federal court located within the state of Florida, in all cases subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction.
Section 22. Notice. To the extent permitted by, and subject to the provisions of, Section 607.0141 of the FBCA, when required pursuant to the FBCA, oral notice is hereby expressly authorized. The delivery of notices of meetings of the directors by electronic transmission is hereby authorized.
Section 23. Headings. The headings contained herein are for convenience only, do not constitute a part of these Articles of Incorporation and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed these Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation as of [________], 2022.
| | By: | |
| | Name: | Robin McVey |
| | Chief Executive Officer |
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF APPOINTMENT OF REGISTERED AGENT
Having been named as registered agent to accept service of process for the above stated corporation at the place designated in this certificate, I am familiar with and accept the appointment as registered agent and agree to act in this capacity.
Registered Agent: Corporate Creations Network Inc.
| Name: | Corporate Creations Network Inc. | |
| By: | | |
| Name: | | |
| Title: | | |
| Date: | [____________-___], 2022 | |
