effect prior to the date of termination (or prior to any reduction which would entitle to Mr. Lynch to terminate his employment under certain circumstances under the agreement), over (ii) the retirement benefits he actually receives under the retirement plans;
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for a period of one year from the date of termination of employment, life, disability, and medical insurance benefits will be provided at levels equivalent to the highest levels in effect for Mr. Lynch during any one of the three calendar years preceding the year in which notice of termination is delivered, or, to the extent such benefits cannot be provided under a plan because Mr. Lynch is no longer an employee, a lump sum cash payment equal to the after tax cost (estimated in good faith by us) of obtaining such benefits, or substantially similar benefits, within 30 days following termination; and
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all unvested stock options will become immediately vested, and such options will be exercisable at any time prior to the earlier of the expiration date of such options or the date which is 90 days after termination of employment.
If Mr. Lynch becomes entitled to receive the severance benefits under the agreement, he will be subject to a covenant not to compete and an agreement not to solicit our customers or employees for 12 months following termination of employment.
The agreement generally defines the term “change in control” as the occurrence of any of the following during the term of the agreement:
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any “person” or “group” (as those terms are defined or used in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act), as enacted and in force on the date of the agreement) is or becomes the “beneficial owner” (as that term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, as enacted and in force on the date of the agreement) of our securities representing 24.99% or more of the combined voting power of our securities then outstanding; or
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there occurs a merger, consolidation, share exchange, division or other reorganization involving us and another entity which is not our affiliate in which our shareholders do not continue to hold a majority of the capital stock of the resulting entity, or a sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of substantially all of our assets to another entity or other person; or
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there occurs a contested proxy solicitation or solicitations of our shareholders which results in the contesting party or parties obtaining the ability to elect a majority of the members of our Board standing for election at one or more meetings of our shareholders.
The agreement generally defines the term “cause” as:
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a material breach of any provision of the agreement that Mr. Lynch fails to cure within 30 days following his receipt of written notice from us specifying the nature of his breach; or
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willful misconduct of Mr. Lynch that is materially adverse to the best interests, monetary or otherwise, of AmeriServ; or
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conviction, or the entering of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of a felony or of any crime involving moral turpitude, fraud or deceit.
The additional specified triggering circumstances following a change in control include:
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any material reduction in his title, responsibilities, including reporting responsibilities, or authority, including such title, responsibilities, or authority as such may have been increased from time to time during the term of the agreement;
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the assignment of Mr. Lynch to duties inconsistent with his office as existed on the day immediately prior to the date of a change in control, which has a material negative impact to Mr. Lynch on the employment relationship;
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any material reduction in Mr. Lynch’s annual base salary in effect on the day immediately prior to the date of the change in control;
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any failure to continue Mr. Lynch’s participation, on substantially similar terms, in any of our incentive compensation or bonus plans in which Mr. Lynch participated immediately prior to the change in