NW Holdings’ Amended and Restated Bylaws provide that NW Holdings shall indemnify directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under the Act, thus making mandatory the discretionary indemnification authorized by the Act.
NW Holdings’ Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation provide that NW Natural shall indemnify its officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law, which may be broader than the indemnification authorized by the Act.
NW Holdings has entered into indemnity agreements with its directors and officers which provide for indemnity to the fullest extent permitted by law and also alter or clarify the statutory indemnity in the following respects:
(1) advancement of litigation expenses is provided as soon as practicable if the director or officer makes the required affirmation and undertaking;
(2) the director or officer is permitted to enforce the indemnity obligation in court and, if the director or officer makes the required affirmation and undertaking, the burden is on NW Holdings to prove that the director or officer is not entitled to indemnification;
(3) indemnity is explicitly provided for judgments and settlements in derivative actions;
(4) prompt indemnification is provided unless a determination is made that the director or officer is not entitled to indemnification; provided, however, indemnification against all losses actually and reasonably incurred shall be provided if the director or officer is successful on the merits; and
(5) partial indemnification is permitted if the director or officer is not entitled to full indemnification.
NW Holdings maintains in effect a policy of insurance providing for reimbursement to NW Holdings of payments made to directors and officers as indemnity for damages, judgments, settlements, costs and expenses incurred by them which NW Holdings may be required or permitted to make according to applicable law, common or statutory, or under provisions of its Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Bylaws or agreements effective under such laws.
Northwest Natural Gas Company
The Act provides, in general, that a director or officer of a corporation who has been or is threatened to be made a defendant in a legal proceeding because that person is or was a director or officer of the corporation:
(1) shall be indemnified by the corporation for all reasonable expenses of such litigation when the director or officer is wholly successful on the merits or otherwise;
(2) may be indemnified by the corporation for the reasonable expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement of such litigation (other than a derivative lawsuit) if they acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in, or at least not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation (and, in the case of a criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful); and
(3) may be indemnified by the corporation for reasonable expenses of a derivative lawsuit (a suit by a shareholder alleging a breach by a director or officer of a duty owed to the corporation) if they acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in, or at least not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, provided the director or officer is not adjudged liable to the corporation.
The Act also authorizes the advancement of reasonable litigation expenses to a director or officer upon receipt of a written affirmation of the director’s or officer’s good faith belief that the standard of conduct in
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