Preliminary Approval A. As soon as practicable after this Agreement is fully executed, for settlement purposes only, the Plaintiffs and Co-Lead Counsel shall request the Court to make preliminary findings, enter the Preliminary Approval Order granting conditional certification of the Class, subject to final findings and ratification in the Final Order and Judgment, and appoint the Plaintiffs as class representatives and Co-Lead Counsel as counsel for the Class. Neither Defendant nor Defendant’s Counsel will object to such requests for the purposes of effectuating the Settlement. Such agreement not to object to class certification shall extend only as necessary to effectuate the Settlement. As set forth in the draft Preliminary Approval Order, the Plaintiffs shall request the Court to enter an order:
1. preliminarily approving and finding this Agreement and the Settlement as being fair, reasonable, and adequate;
2. conditionally certifying the Litigation as a settlement class action under Rule 23(b)(3) and (e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
3. appointing Plaintiffs as class representatives and Co-Lead Counsel as counsel for the Class;
4. preliminarily approving the form, manner, and content of the Class Notice, as provided herein, and finding that notice is fair, reasonable, and the best notice practicable under the circumstances in connection with notifying the Class Members of their rights and responsibilities under the Settlement and satisfying due process and Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
5. appointing the Settlement Administrator to send Class Notice and administer the Settlement;
6. providing that Class Members will have until a date certain to object to or file a request for exclusion from the Settlement, as provided herein;
Preliminary Approval Order “Preliminary Approval Order” means the order of the Court preliminarily approving this Settlement Agreement.
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT Promptly upon execution of this Stipulation, Lead Plaintiffs will move for preliminary approval of the Settlement, certification of the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, and the scheduling of a hearing for consideration of final approval of the Settlement, which motion shall be unopposed by Defendants. Concurrently with the motion for preliminary approval, Lead Plaintiffs shall apply to the Court for, and Defendants shall agree to, entry of the Preliminary Approval Order, substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY APPROVAL The Parties agree to jointly prepare and file a motion for preliminary approval (“Motion for Preliminary Approval”) that complies with the Court’s current checklist for Preliminary Approvals.
Necessary Approvals Each Party shall be responsible for obtaining and keeping in effect all approvals from, and rights granted by, governmental authorities, building and property owners, other carriers, and any other persons that may be required in connection with the performance of its obligations under this Agreement. Each Party shall reasonably cooperate with the other Party in obtaining and maintaining any required approvals and rights for which such Party is responsible.
Regulatory Approvals; No Defaults (a) No consents or approvals of, or waivers by, or filings or registrations with, any Governmental Authority or with any third party are required to be made or obtained by NBT or any of its Subsidiaries in connection with the execution, delivery or performance by NBT or NBT Bank of this Agreement or to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby, except for filings of applications, notices or waiver requests, and consents, approvals or waivers described in Section 4.08(b). As of the date hereof, NBT has no Knowledge of any reason why the approvals set forth above and referred to in Section 6.01(a) will not be received in a timely manner.
(b) Subject to the receipt of all consents, approvals, waivers or non-objections of a Governmental Authority required to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including, without limitation, (1) approvals, waivers or non-objections of each of the FRB and the OCC, as required (“Regulatory Approvals”), (2) the required filings under federal and state securities laws, (3) the declaration of effectiveness of the Merger Registration Statement by the SEC, and (4) approval of the listing of NBT Stock to be issued in connection with the Merger on NASDAQ, the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby (including, without limitation, the Merger) by NBT and NBT Bank do not and will not (i) constitute a breach or violation of, or a default under, result in a right of termination, or the acceleration of any right or obligation under, any law, rule or regulation or any judgment, decree, order, permit, license, credit agreement, indenture, loan, note, bond, mortgage, reciprocal easement agreement, lease, instrument, concession, franchise or other agreement of NBT or of any of its Subsidiaries or to which NBT or any of its Subsidiaries, properties or assets is subject or bound, (ii) constitute a breach or violation of, or a default under, the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and Amended and Restated Bylaws of NBT or other organizational documents of NBT or NBT Bank, or (iii) require the consent or approval of any third party or Governmental Authority under any such law, rule, regulation, judgment, decree, order, permit, license, credit agreement, indenture, loan, note, bond, mortgage, reciprocal easement agreement, lease, instrument, concession, franchise or other agreement, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii), for such violations, conflicts, breaches or defaults which, either individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on NBT or NBT Bank.
(c) As of the date of this Agreement, NBT has no Knowledge of any reasons relating to NBT or NBT Bank (including, without limitation, compliance with the CRA or the USA PATRIOT Act) why any of the Regulatory Approvals shall not be received from the applicable Governmental Authorities having jurisdiction over the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Required Regulatory Approvals (a) The obligations of each Party under this Agreement are expressly contingent upon (i) each Party receiving all licenses, permits, permissions, certificates, approvals, authorizations, consents, franchises and releases from any local, state, or federal regulatory agency or other governmental agency or authority (which may include, without limitation and as applicable, the NYISO and the PSC) or any other third party that may be required for such Party in connection with the performance of such Party’s obligations under or in connection with this Agreement (the “Required Approvals”), (ii) each Required Approval being granted without the imposition of any modification or condition of the terms of this Agreement or the subject transactions, unless such modification(s) or condition(s) are agreed to by both Parties in their respective sole discretion, and (iii) all applicable appeal periods with respect to the Required Approvals having expired without any appeal having been made or, if such an appeal has been made, a full, final and non-appealable determination having been made regarding same by a court or other administrative body of competent jurisdiction, which determination disposes of or otherwise resolves such appeal (or appeals) to the satisfaction of both Parties in their respective sole discretion.
(b) If any application or request is made in connection with seeking any Required Approval and is denied, or is granted in a form, or subject to conditions, that either Party rejects, in its sole discretion, as unacceptable, this Agreement shall terminate as of the date that a Party notifies the other Party of such denial or rejection, in which event the obligations of the Parties under this Agreement shall cease as of such date and this Agreement shall terminate, subject to NYSEG’s obligation to pay National Grid in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (including, without limitation, Section 10.3 above) for all Reimbursable Costs. All of National Grid’s actual costs in connection with seeking Required Approvals shall be included within the meaning of the term Reimbursable Costs and shall be paid for by NYSEG.
Regulatory Approvals (a) Each Party shall, and shall cause its ultimate parent entity (as such term is defined in the HSR Act) to, use reasonable best efforts to file or otherwise submit, as soon as practicable after the date of this Agreement, all applications, notices, reports, filings and other documents reasonably required to be filed by such Party or its ultimate parent entity with or otherwise submitted by such Party or its ultimate parent entity to any Governmental Body with respect to the Contemplated Transactions, and shall file no later than ten (10) Business Days thereafter the Notification and Report Forms required by the HSR Act. Each Party shall (i) promptly supply the other with any information which may be required in order to effectuate such filings, (ii) submit promptly any additional information which may be reasonably requested by any such Governmental Body, and (iii) coordinate with the other Party in making any such filings or information submissions pursuant to and in connection with the foregoing that may be necessary, proper, or advisable in order to consummate and make effective the Contemplated Transactions.
(b) Without limiting the generality of anything contained in this Section 5.4, in connection with its efforts to obtain all requisite approvals and authorizations, and the expiration or termination of all applicable waiting periods for the Contemplated Transactions under any Antitrust Law, each Party hereto shall use its reasonable best efforts to (i) cooperate with the other with respect to any investigation or other inquiry; (ii) promptly provide to the other a copy of all communications received by such Party from, or given by such Party to, any Governmental Body, in each case regarding the Contemplated Transactions; and (iii) to the extent not prohibited under applicable Antitrust Law, permit the other to review in advance any communication given by it to any Governmental Body concerning the Contemplated Transactions, consider in good faith the views of the other in connection with any proposed written communications by such Party to any Governmental Body concerning the Contemplated Transactions, and consult with each other in advance of any meeting or telephone or video conference with, any Governmental Body, and give the other or its outside counsel the opportunity to attend and participate in such meetings and conferences unless prohibited by the applicable Governmental Body; provided, that materials required to be provided pursuant to this Section 5.4(b) may be restricted to outside counsel and redacted to (A) remove references concerning the valuation of either Party, (B) comply with contractual arrangements, and (C) preserve attorney-client privilege. Neither Party shall commit to or agree with any Governmental Body to stay, toll or extend any applicable waiting period under applicable Antitrust Law, or pull and refile under the HSR Act, without the prior written consent of the other. Parent and the Company shall each pay one-half of the filing fee under the HSR Act relating to the HSR filing required for the Merger; provided, however, that each Party shall bear its own legal fees.
(c) Except as required by this Agreement, prior to Closing, neither the Company nor Parent shall, and shall cause its Affiliates not to, acquire or agree to acquire by merging or consolidating with, or by purchasing a substantial portion of the assets of or equity in, or by any other manner, any Person or portion thereof, or otherwise acquire or agree to acquire any assets, if the entering into of an agreement relating to or the consummation of such acquisition, merger or consolidation would reasonably be expected to (i) impose any delay in the obtaining of, or significantly increase the risk of not obtaining, any authorizations, consents, orders, declarations or approvals of any Governmental Body necessary to consummate the Contemplated Transactions or the expiration or termination of any applicable waiting period, or (ii) increase the risk of any Governmental Body entering an order prohibiting the consummation of the Contemplated Transactions.
Requisite Regulatory Approvals All Consents required to be obtained from or made with any Governmental Authority in order to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall have been obtained or made.
Project Approvals The Borrower will promptly obtain all Project approvals not heretofore obtained by the Borrower (including those listed and described on Exhibit “N” hereto and any other Project Approvals which may hereafter become required, necessary or desirable) and will furnish the Lender with evidence that the Borrower has obtained such Project Approvals promptly upon its request. The Borrower will give all such notices to, and take all such other actions with respect to, such Governmental Authority as may be required under applicable Requirements to construct the Improvements and to use, occupy and operate the Project following the completion of the construction of the Improvements. The Borrower will also promptly obtain all utility installations and connections required for the operation and servicing of the Project for its intended purposes, and will furnish the Lender with evidence thereof. The Borrower will duly perform and comply with all of the terms and conditions of all Project Approvals obtained at any time, including all Project Approvals listed and described on Exhibit “Q” hereto.
