Number of Trustees (a) The number of Trustees shall initially be four, provided that the Depositor by written instrument may increase or decrease the number of Administrative Trustees.
(b) If a Trustee ceases to hold office for any reason and the number of Administrative Trustees is not reduced pursuant to Section 8.17(a), or if the number of Trustees is increased pursuant to Section 8.17(a), a vacancy shall occur. The vacancy shall be filled with a Trustee appointed in accordance with Section 8.10.
(c) The death, resignation, retirement, removal, bankruptcy, incompetence or incapacity to perform the duties of a Trustee shall not operate to annul the Trust. Whenever a vacancy in the number of Administrative Trustees shall occur, until such vacancy is filled by the appointment of an Administrative Trustee in accordance with Section 8.10, the Administrative Trustees in office, regardless of their number (and notwithstanding any other provision of this Trust Agreement), shall have all powers granted to the Administrative Trustees and shall discharge the duties imposed upon the Administrative Trustees by this Trust Agreement.
Vacancies; Appointment of Trustees Whenever a vacancy shall exist in the Board of Trustees, regardless of the reason for such vacancy, the remaining Trustees shall appoint any person as they determine in their sole discretion to fill that vacancy, consistent with the limitations under the 1940 Act. Such appointment shall be made by a written instrument signed by a majority of the Trustees or by a resolution of the Trustees, duly adopted and recorded in the records of the Trust, specifying the effective date of the appointment. The Trustees may appoint a new Trustee as provided above in anticipation of a vacancy expected to occur because of the retirement, resignation or removal of a Trustee, or an increase in number of Trustees, provided that such appointment shall become effective only at or after the expected vacancy occurs. As soon as any such Trustee has accepted his appointment in writing, the trust estate shall vest in the new Trustee, together with the continuing Trustees, without any further act or conveyance, and he shall be deemed a Trustee hereunder. The Trustees' power of appointment is subject to Section 16(a) of the 1940 Act. Whenever a vacancy in the number of Trustees shall occur, until such vacancy is filled as provided in this Article II, the Trustees in office, regardless of their number, shall have all the powers granted to the Trustees and shall discharge all the duties imposed upon the Trustees by the Declaration. The death, declination to serve, resignation, retirement, removal or incapacity of one or more Trustees, or all of them, shall not operate to annul the Trust or to revoke any existing agency created pursuant to the terms of this Declaration of Trust.
Replacement of Trustee (a) A resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee will become effective only upon the successor Trustee’s acceptance of appointment as provided in this Section 7.08.
(b) The Trustee may resign in writing at any time and be discharged from the trust hereby created by so notifying the Company. The Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may remove the Trustee by so notifying the Trustee and the Company in writing. The Company may remove the Trustee if:
(1) the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10 hereof;
(2) the Trustee is adjudged a bankrupt or an insolvent or an order for relief is entered with respect to the Trustee under any Bankruptcy Law;
(3) a custodian or public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or
(4) the Trustee becomes incapable of acting.
(c) If the Trustee resigns or is removed or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason, the Company will promptly appoint a successor Trustee. Within one year after the successor Trustee takes office, the Holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may appoint a successor Trustee to replace the successor Trustee appointed by the Company.
(d) If a successor Trustee does not take office within 60 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee, the Company, or the Holders of at least 10% in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding Notes may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.
(e) If the Trustee, after written request by any Holder who has been a Holder for at least six months, fails to comply with Section 7.10 hereof, such Holder may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the removal of the Trustee and the appointment of a successor Trustee.
(f) A successor Trustee will deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Company. Thereupon, the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee will become effective, and the successor Trustee will have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee under this Indenture. The successor Trustee will mail a notice of its succession to Holders. The retiring Trustee will promptly transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee; provided all sums owing to the Trustee hereunder have been paid and subject to the Lien provided for in Section 7.07 hereof. Notwithstanding replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.08, the Company’s obligations under Section 7.07 hereof will continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee.
Amendments Without Consent of Noteholders (a) Without the consent of the Noteholders and with prior written notice to the Rating Agencies, as evidenced in writing to the Administrator, the Indenture Trustee and the Issuer, when authorized by an Issuer Order, at any time and from time to time, the parties hereto may enter into one or more amendments hereto, in form satisfactory to the Administrator, the Indenture Trustee, the Owner Trustee, for any of the following purposes:
(i) to correct or amplify the description of any property at any time subject to the lien of the Indenture as supplemented by this Series Supplement, or better to assure, convey and confirm unto the Indenture Trustee, if any, any property subject or required to be subjected to the lien of the Indenture as supplemented by this Series Supplement, or subject to the lien of the Indenture as supplemented by this Series Supplement additional property;
(ii) to evidence the succession, in compliance with the applicable provisions hereof, of another person to the Issuer, and the assumption by any such successor of the covenants of the Issuer herein and in the Notes contained;
(iii) to add to the covenants of the Issuer, for the benefit of the Noteholders, or to surrender any right or power herein conferred upon the Issuer;
(iv) to convey, transfer, assign, mortgage or pledge any property to or with the Indenture Trustee, if any;
(v) to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision herein which may be inconsistent with any other provision herein or to make any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Indenture, the Trust Agreement or in this Series Supplement; provided that such action shall not adversely affect the interests of the Noteholders;
(vi) to evidence and provide for the acceptance of the appointment hereunder and under the Indenture by a successor indenture trustee with respect to the Notes and to add to or change any of the provisions of the Indenture or of this Series Supplement as shall be necessary to facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one indenture trustee, pursuant to the requirements of Article V of the Indenture; or
(vii) to modify, eliminate or add to the provisions of the Indenture or of this Series Supplement to such extent as shall be necessary to effect the qualification of the Indenture under the TIA or under any similar federal statute hereafter enacted and to add to the Indenture such other provisions as may be expressly required by the TIA. Each of the Administrator, the Indenture Trustee and the Owner Trustee is hereby authorized to join in the execution of any amendment and to make any further appropriate agreements and stipulations that may be therein contained.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, the Issuer, the Indenture Trustee and the Administrator, when authorized by an Issuer Order, may, also without the consent of any of the Noteholders and with prior written notice to the Rating Agencies by the Issuer, as evidenced in writing to the Indenture Trustee and the Administrator, enter into an amendment hereto for the purpose of adding any provisions to, or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of, the Indenture or of this Series Supplement of modifying in any manner the rights of the Noteholders under the Indenture or under this Series Supplement; provided, however, that such action shall not, as evidenced by an Opinion of Counsel, adversely affect in any material respect the interests of any Noteholder; provided, further, that with respect to tax matters, such action shall not be deemed to adversely affect in any material respect the interests of any Noteholder if, for federal income tax purposes, the action does not cause the issuing entity to be treated as an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation, or the Notes that were characterized as debt at the time of issuance to fail to qualify as debt.
Amendments With Consent of Certificateholders and Noteholders This Agreement may be amended from time to time by the Depositor and the Owner Trustee with the consent of Noteholders whose Notes evidence not less than a majority of the Outstanding Amount of the Controlling Class as of the close of the preceding Distribution Date and, if any Person other than the Depositor or an Affiliate of the Depositor holds any Certificates, the consent of the Majority Certificateholders as of the close of the preceding Distribution Date (which consent, whether given pursuant to this Section 8.2 or pursuant to any other provision of this Agreement, shall be conclusive and binding on such Person and on all future holders of such Notes or Certificates and of any Notes or Certificates issued upon the transfer thereof or in exchange thereof or in lieu thereof whether or not notation of such consent is made upon any Notes or Certificates) for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of this Agreement, or of modifying in any manner the rights of the Noteholders or the Certificateholders; provided, however, that no such amendment shall (a) without the consent of the holder of the affected Note or Certificate, as applicable, increase or reduce the interest rate or principal amount of any Note or change any Distribution Date or the Final Scheduled Distribution Date of any Note or distributions on the Certificates (without the consent of the holders hereof), (b) increase or reduce the amount of the required Specified Reserve Account Balance without the consent of all of the Noteholders or Certificateholders then outstanding, (c) adversely affect the rating of any Securities by any of the Rating Agencies without the consent of the holders of two-thirds of the Outstanding Amount of an affected class of Notes or two-thirds of the Voting Interests of affected Certificates, as appropriate, each as of the close of the preceding Distribution Date or (d) reduce the aforesaid percentage required to consent to any such amendment, without the consent of the holders of all Notes and Certificates then outstanding. The Depositor shall furnish notice to each of the Rating Agencies prior to obtaining consent to any proposed amendment under this Section 8.2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, an Opinion of Counsel shall be delivered to the effect that such amendment would not cause the Trust to fail to qualify as a grantor trust for United States federal income tax purposes.
Duties of Trustees (a) The Trustee, prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default and after the curing of all Events of Default which may have occurred, undertakes to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Agreement. In case an Event of Default has occurred (which has not been cured or waived) the Trustee shall exercise such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Agreement, and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs.
(b) The Trustee, upon receipt of all resolutions, certificates, statements, opinions, reports, documents, orders or other instruments furnished to it which are specifically required to be furnished to it pursuant to any provision of this Agreement, shall examine them to determine whether they are in the form required by this Agreement; provided, however, that the Trustee shall not be responsible for the accuracy or content of any such certificate, statement, opinion, report, or other order or instrument furnished by the Company or Servicer to the Trustee pursuant to this Agreement.
(c) No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to relieve the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act or its own willful misconduct; provided, however, that:
(i) Prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default and after the curing of all such Events of Default which may have occurred, the duties and obligations of the Trustee shall be determined solely by the express provisions of this Agreement,
(ii) Neither the Trustee nor the Delaware Trustee shall be liable except for the performance of such duties and obligations as are specifically set forth in this Agreement, no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee, and, in the absence of bad faith on the part of the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee, such trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon any certificates or opinions furnished to such trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Agreement; and
(iii) Neither the Trustee nor the Delaware Trustee shall be personally liable with respect to any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with the direction of the Certificateholders holding Certificates which evidence Percentage Interests aggregating not less than 25% relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to such trustee, or relating to the exercise of any trust or power conferred upon such trustee under this Agreement.
(d) Within ten Business Days after the occurrence of any Event of Default known to the Trustee, the Trustee shall transmit by mail to the Rating Agencies notice of each Event of Default. Within 90 days after the occurrence of any Event of Default known to the Trustee, the Trustee shall transmit by mail to all Certificateholders (with a copy to the Rating Agencies) notice of each Event of Default, unless such Event of Default shall have been cured or waived; provided, however, the Trustee shall be protected in withholding such notice if and so long as a Responsible Officer of the Trustee in good faith determines that the withholding of such notice is in the best interests of the Certificateholders; and provided, further, that in the case of any Event of Default of the character specified in Section 7.01(a)(i) or Section 7.01(a)(ii), no such notice to Certificateholders or to the Rating Agencies shall be given until at least 30 days after the occurrence thereof.
Consent of Partners Each Partner hereby expressly consents and agrees that, whenever in this Agreement it is specified that an action may be taken upon the affirmative vote or consent of less than all of the Partners, such action may be so taken upon the concurrence of less than all of the Partners and each Partner shall be bound by the results of such action.
Supplemental Indentures Without Consent of Noteholders (a) Without the consent of the Holders of any Notes but with prior notice to the Rating Agencies, the Issuing Entity and the Indenture Trustee, when authorized by an Issuing Entity Order, at any time and from time to time, may enter into one or more indentures supplemental hereto (which shall conform to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act as in force at the date of the execution thereof), in form satisfactory to the Indenture Trustee, for any of the following purposes:
(i) to correct or amplify the description of any property at any time subject to the lien of this Indenture, or better to assure, convey and confirm unto the Indenture Trustee any property subject or required to be subjected to the lien of this Indenture, or to subject to the lien of this Indenture additional property;
(ii) to evidence the succession, in compliance with the applicable provisions hereof, of another person to the Issuing Entity, and the assumption by any such successor of the covenants of the Issuing Entity herein and in the Notes contained;
(iii) to add to the covenants of the Issuing Entity, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes, or to surrender any right or power herein conferred upon the Issuing Entity;
(iv) to convey, transfer, assign, mortgage or pledge any property to or with the Indenture Trustee;
(v) to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision herein or in any supplemental indenture that may be inconsistent with any other provision herein or in any supplemental indenture or to make any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under this Indenture or in any supplemental indenture; provided, that such action, as evidenced by an Officer’s Certificate of the Servicer, shall not adversely affect the interests of the Holders of the Notes;
(vi) to evidence and provide for the acceptance of the appointment hereunder by a successor trustee with respect to the Notes and to add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be necessary to facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one trustee, pursuant to the requirements of Article VI;
(vii) to modify, eliminate or add to the provisions of this Indenture to such extent as shall be necessary to effect the qualification of this Indenture under the TIA or under any similar federal statute hereafter enacted and to add to this Indenture such other provisions as may be expressly required by the TIA;
(viii) to correct any manifest error with the terms of this Indenture as compared to the terms set forth in the Final Prospectus; or
(ix) to further prevent or help avoid the application to the Notes of the Treasury Regulations (or other interpretive guidance) issued under Section 385 of the Code. The Indenture Trustee is hereby authorized to join in the execution of any such supplemental indenture and to make any further appropriate agreements and stipulations that may be therein contained.
(b) The Issuing Entity and the Indenture Trustee, when authorized by an Issuing Entity Order, may, also without the consent of any of the Holders of the Notes, enter into an indenture or indentures supplemental hereto for the purpose of adding any provisions to, or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of, this Indenture or of modifying in any manner the rights of the Holders of the Notes under this Indenture; provided that such amendments require: (i) satisfaction of the Rating Agency Condition or (ii) an Officer’s Certificate of the Servicer stating that the amendment will not materially and adversely affect the interest of any Noteholder.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in this Indenture to the contrary, no supplemental indenture shall be effective without the prior written consent of the Asset Representations Reviewer if the supplemental indenture would adversely modify the amount or timing of distributions to be made to the Asset Representations Reviewer under this Indenture. The Indenture Trustee shall have no responsibility for determining whether any supplemental indenture would adversely modify the amount or timing of distributions to be made to the Asset Representations Reviewer under this Indenture.
Terms of Office of Trustees The Trustees shall hold office during the lifetime of this Trust, and until its termination as herein provided; except that (A) any Trustee may resign his trusteeship or may retire by written instrument signed by him and delivered to the other Trustees, which shall take effect upon such delivery or upon such later date as is specified therein; (B) any Trustee may be removed at any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal, specifying the date when such removal shall become effective; (C) any Trustee who has died, become physically or mentally incapacitated by reason of disease or otherwise, or is otherwise unable to serve, may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees, specifying the date of his retirement; (D) a Trustee may be removed at any meeting of the Shareholders by a vote of the Shareholders owning at least two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the Outstanding Shares; and (E) a Trustee shall be retired in accordance with the terms of any retirement policy adopted by the Trustees and in effect from time to time.
Amendments with Consent of Holders (a) Amendments of the Indenture, the Intercreditor Agreement or any Security Document may be made by the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the Trustee and the Shared Security Agent with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Notes, and the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may waive future compliance by the Company, the Subsidiary Guarantors and the JV Subsidiary Guarantors with any provision of the Indenture or the Notes or any Security Document or the Intercreditor Agreement; provided, however, that no such modification, amendment or waiver may, without the consent of each Holder affected thereby:
(i) change the Stated Maturity of the principal of, or any installment of interest on, any Note;
(ii) reduce the principal amount of, or premium, if any, or interest on, any Note;
(iii) change the place, currency or time of payment of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on, any Note;
(iv) impair the right to institute suit for the enforcement of any payment on or after the Stated Maturity (or, in the case of a redemption, on or after the redemption date) of any Note;
(v) reduce the above-stated percentage of outstanding Notes the consent of whose Holders is necessary to modify or amend this Indenture;
(vi) waive a default in the payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the Notes;
(vii) release any Subsidiary Guarantor or JV Subsidiary Guarantor from its Subsidiary Guarantee or JV Subsidiary Guarantee, as the case may be, except as provided in this Indenture;
(viii) release any Collateral, except as provided in the Intercreditor Agreement, the Indenture and the Security Documents;
(ix) reduce the percentage or aggregate principal amount of outstanding Notes the consent of whose Holders is necessary for waiver of compliance with certain provisions of this Indenture or for waiver of certain defaults;
(x) amend, change or modify any Subsidiary Guarantee or JV Subsidiary Guarantee in a manner that adversely affects the Holders;
(xi) amend, change or modify any provision of any Security Document, or any provision of this Indenture or the Intercreditor Agreement relating to the Collateral, in a manner that adversely affects the Holders, except in accordance with the other provisions of this Indenture;
(xii) reduce the amount payable upon a Change of Control Offer or an Offer to Purchase with the Excess Proceeds from any Asset Sale or change the time or manner by which a Change of Control Offer or an Offer to Purchase with the Excess Proceeds or other proceeds from any Asset Sale may be made or by which the Notes must be repurchased pursuant to a Change of Control Offer or an Offer to Purchase with the Excess Proceeds or other proceeds from any Asset Sale;
(xiii) change the redemption date or the redemption price of the Notes from that stated in Section 3.01 or Section 3.02;
(xiv) amend, change or modify the obligation of the Company, any Subsidiary Guarantor or any JV Subsidiary Guarantor to pay Additional Amounts; or
(xv) amend, change or modify any provision of this Indenture or the related definition affecting the ranking of the Notes or any Subsidiary Guarantee or JV Subsidiary Guarantee in a manner which adversely affects the Holders.
