Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to 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 is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or enterprise, 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 he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she 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 his or her conduct was unlawful.
Section 145(b) of the DGCL provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to 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 acted in any of the capacities set forth above, 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 he or she acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification may 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 court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to be indemnified for such expenses which the court shall deem proper.
Section 145 of the DGCL further provides that: (i) to the extent that a former or present director or officer of a corporation has been successful in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) or in the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith; (ii) indemnification provided for by Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the indemnified party may be entitled; (iii) the corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any present or former director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or any person who at the request of the corporation was serving in such capacity for another entity against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by him or her in any such capacity or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liabilities under Section 145; and (iv) the indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, Section 145 shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
Section 102 of the DGCL allows a Delaware corporation to eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director to the corporation or to any of its stockholders for monetary damage for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except in the case where the director (i) breaches such director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) fails to act in good faith, engages in intentional misconduct or knowingly violates a law, (iii) authorizes the payment of a dividend or approves a stock purchase or redemption in violation of Section 174 of the DGCL or (iv) obtains an improper personal benefit. In accordance with the DGCL, Article VII of the Registrant’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”) provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it may be amended, no director shall be personally liable to the Registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.
Article VII of the Charter provides that no director of the Registrant shall be personally liable to us or the Registrant’s stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability
(i) for
any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or the Registrant’s stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) in respect of unlawful dividend payments or stock
redemptions or repurchases, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, the Charter provides that if the DGCL is amended to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of dire
ctors, then the liability of a director of the Registrant shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended.
Article VII of the Charter further provides that any repeal or modification of such article by the Registrant’s stockholders or an amendment to the DGCL will not adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to any acts or omissions occurring before such repeal or modification of a director serving at the time of such repeal or modification.
Article V of the Registrant’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”), provides that the Registrant will indemnify each of the Registrant’s directors and officers and, in the discretion of the Registrant’s board of directors, certain employees, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as the same may be amended (except that in the case of an amendment, only to the extent that the amendment permits us to provide broader indemnification rights than the DGCL permitted us to provide prior to such amendment) against any and all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts reasonably paid in settlement that are incurred by the director, officer or such employee or on the director’s, officer’s or employee’s behalf in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, to which he or she is or is threatened to be made a party to or participant in because he or she is or was serving as a director, officer or employee of the Registrant, if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. Article V of the Bylaws further provides for the advancement of expenses to each of the Registrant’s directors and, in the discretion of the board of directors, to certain officers and employees.
In addition, Article V of the Bylaws provides that the right of each of the Registrant’s directors and officers to indemnification and advancement of expenses shall be a contract right and shall not be exclusive of any other right now possessed or hereafter acquired under any statute, provision of the Charter or Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or otherwise. Furthermore, Article V of the Bylaws authorizes the Registrant to provide insurance for the Registrant’s directors, officers and employees, against any liability, whether or not the Registrant would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the DGCL or the provisions of Article V of the Bylaws.
In addition, the Registrant entered into indemnification agreements with each of the Registrant’s directors and executive officers. These agreements provide that the Registrant will indemnify each of the Registrant’s directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by law and the Charter and Bylaws.
The Registrant also maintain insurance covering its directors and officers against certain liabilities arising out of claims based on their capacities as such including, among other things, certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 9. Undertakings.
1.
Item 512(a) of Regulation S-K
. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
provided, however
, that paragraphs (1)(i) and (1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
2.
Item 512(b) of Regulation S-K
. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of Registrants’ annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
3.
Item 512(h) of Regulation S-K
. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.