Section 98 of the Companies Act further provides that a Bermuda company may indemnify its directors, officers and auditors against any liability incurred by them in defending any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, in which judgment is awarded in their favor or in which they are acquitted or granted relief by the Supreme Court of Bermuda pursuant to section 281 of the Companies Act, and may advance moneys to its directors, officers or auditors for the costs, charges and expenses incurred by the director, officer or auditor in defending any civil or criminal proceedings against them, on the condition that the director, officer or auditor repays the advance if any allegation of fraud or dishonesty is proved against them.
The Company’s bye-laws (the “Bye-Laws”) provide that our directors, alternate directors, resident representative, chairperson, chief executive officer, secretary and other officers, and the liquidator or trustees (if any) acting in relation to any of our affairs, and their heirs, executors and administrators, will be indemnified and secured harmless out of our assets from and against any and all judgments, fines, penalties, excise taxes, amounts paid in settlement, and all direct and indirect costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and disbursements, experts’ fees, court costs, retainers, appeal bond premiums, arbitration costs, arbitrators’ fees, transcript fees and duplicating, printing and binding costs, as well as telecommunications, postage and courier charges) (“losses”) actually and reasonably incurred by or on behalf of such indemnified party in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, to which such indemnified party is or is threatened to be made a party, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the fact that the indemnified party is or was our director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary, or is or was a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary serving at our request as a director, officer, employee, manager, member, partner, tax matters partner or partnership representative, trustee, agent or fiduciary, or similar capacity, of any of our subsidiaries or another corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust or other entity or enterprise, or by reason of any act or omission by the indemnified party in any such capacity; provided that this indemnity will not extend to any indemnified party for any losses to the extent such losses (a) arise directly out of the fraud or dishonesty of such indemnified party or (b) are incurred in connection with any action, suit or proceeding initiated by such indemnified party, except to the extent that the indemnified party’s initiation of such action, suit or proceeding has been authorized by our board of directors or is brought to enforce such indemnified party’s rights to indemnification or advancement of expenses hereunder.
Subject to Section 14 of the Securities Act and Section 29(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which renders void any waiver of the provisions of the Securities Act, the Bye-Laws provide that our shareholders waive all claims or rights of action that they might have, individually or in our right, against any of our directors or officers for any act or failure to act in the performance of such director’s or officer’s duties, except in respect of any fraud or dishonesty of such director or officer. Section 98A of the Companies Act permits us to purchase and maintain insurance for the benefit of any officer or director in respect of any loss or liability attaching to him in respect of any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust, whether or not we may otherwise indemnify such officer or director.
The Company maintains standard policies of insurance under which coverage is provided to (1) the Company’s directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) the Company with respect to payments which may be made by the Company to such officers and directors pursuant to the above indemnification provision or otherwise as a matter of law. The Company has also entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of its directors and officers, which are in addition to the Company’s indemnification obligations under its Bye-Laws.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Company has been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
ITEM 7. | EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED. |
Not applicable.
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