Nature of Duties of Administrative Agent The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, (a) the Administrative Agent shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default or an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, (b) the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except those discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated by the Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise in writing by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 10.2), and (c) except as expressly set forth in the Loan Documents, the Administrative Agent shall not have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries that is communicated to or obtained by the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity. The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it, its sub-agents or attorneys-in-fact with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 10.2) or in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct. The Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for the negligence or misconduct of any sub-agents or attorneys-in-fact selected by it with reasonable care. The Administrative Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any Default or Event of Default unless and until written notice thereof (which notice shall include an express reference to such event being a “Default” or “Event of Default” hereunder) is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or any Lender, and the Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with any Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or thereunder or in connection herewith or therewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements, or other terms and conditions set forth in any Loan Document, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of any Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article III or elsewhere in any Loan Document, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (including counsel for the Borrower) concerning all matters pertaining to such duties.
Rights of Administrative Agent Any institution serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not an Administrative Agent, and such bank and its respective Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate of the Borrower as if it were not an Administrative Agent hereunder.
Amendment of Administrative Agent’s Duties, Etc No amendment, waiver or consent unless in writing and signed by the Administrative Agent, in addition to the Lenders required hereinabove to take such action, shall affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents. Any amendment, waiver or consent relating to Section 2.5. or the obligations of the Swingline Lender under this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall, in addition to the Lenders required hereinabove to take such action, require the written consent of the Swingline Lender. Any amendment, waiver or consent relating to Section 2.4. or the obligations of any Issuing Bank under this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall, in addition to the Lenders required hereinabove to take such action, require the written consent of such Issuing Bank. Any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to any Loan Document that (i) diminishes the rights of a Specified Derivatives Provider or a Specified Cash Management Bank in a manner or to an extent dissimilar to that affecting the Lenders or (ii) increases the liabilities or obligations of a Specified Derivatives Provider or a Specified Cash Management Bank shall, in addition to the Lenders required hereinabove to take such action, require the consent of the Lender that is (or having an Affiliate that is) such Specified Derivatives Provider or such Specified Cash Management Bank, as applicable. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no Defaulting Lender shall have any right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent hereunder (and any amendment, waiver or consent which by its terms requires the consent of all Lenders or each affected Lender may be effected with the consent of the applicable Lenders other than Defaulting Lenders), except that (x) the Commitments of any Defaulting Lender may not be increased, reinstated or extended without the written consent of such Defaulting Lender and (y) any waiver, amendment or modification requiring the consent of all Lenders or each affected Lender that by its terms affects any Defaulting Lender more adversely than other affected Lenders shall require the written consent of such Defaulting Lender. No waiver shall extend to or affect any obligation not expressly waived or impair any right consequent thereon and any amendment, waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose set forth therein. No course of dealing or delay or omission on the part of the Administrative Agent or any Lender in exercising any right shall operate as a waiver thereof or otherwise be prejudicial thereto. Any Event of Default occurring hereunder shall continue to exist until such time as such Event of Default is waived in writing in accordance with the terms of this Section, notwithstanding any attempted cure or other action by the Borrower, any other Loan Party or any other Person subsequent to the occurrence of such Event of Default. Except as otherwise explicitly provided for herein or in any other Loan Document, no notice to or demand upon the Borrower shall entitle the Borrower to other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances.
Resignation of Administrative Agent and Successor Administrative Agent The Administrative Agent may resign at any time by giving written notice thereof to the Lenders and the Borrower. Upon any such resignation of the Administrative Agent, the Required Lenders shall have the right to appoint a successor Administrative Agent. If no successor Administrative Agent shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders, and shall have accepted such appointment, within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent’s giving of notice of resignation then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders, appoint a successor Administrative Agent, which may be any Lender hereunder or any commercial bank organized under the laws of the United States of America or of any State thereof and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $200,000,000. Upon the acceptance of its appointment as the Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor Administrative Agent shall thereupon succeed to and become vested with all the rights and duties of the retiring Administrative Agent under the Loan Documents, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations thereunder. After any retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder as Administrative Agent, the provisions of this Section 11 and all protective provisions of the other Loan Documents shall inure to its benefit as to any actions taken or omitted to be taken by it while it was Administrative Agent, but no successor Administrative Agent shall in any event be liable or responsible for any actions of its predecessor. If the Administrative Agent resigns and no successor is appointed, the rights and obligations of such Administrative Agent shall be automatically assumed by the Required Lenders and (i) the Borrower shall be directed to make all payments due each Lender hereunder directly to such Lender and (ii) the Administrative Agent’s rights in the Collateral Documents shall be assigned without representation, recourse or warranty to the Lenders as their interests may appear.
Duties of Administrative Agent; Exculpatory Provisions (a) The Administrative Agent’s duties hereunder are solely ministerial and administrative in nature and the Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent:
(i) shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing;
(ii) shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby that the Administrative Agent is required to exercise as directed in writing by the Majority Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be expressly provided for herein); provided that the Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to this Agreement or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any debtor relief law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any debtor relief law; and
(iii) shall not, except as expressly set forth herein, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Company or any of its Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity.
(b) The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Majority Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary, or as the Administrative Agent shall believe in good faith shall be necessary, under the circumstances as provided in Section 9.01 or Section 6.01) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct, as finally determined in a nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default or the event or events that give or may give rise to any Default unless and until the Company or any Lender shall have given notice to the Administrative Agent describing such Default and such event or events.
(c) The Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty, representation or other information made or supplied in or in connection with this Agreement, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or in connection herewith or the adequacy, accuracy and/or completeness of the information contained therein, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement or any other agreement, instrument or document or the perfection or priority of any Lien or security interest created or purported to be created hereby or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article III or elsewhere herein, other than (but subject to the foregoing clause (ii)) to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.
(d) Nothing in this Agreement shall require the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties to carry out any “know your customer” or other checks in relation to any Person on behalf of any Lender and each Lender confirms to the Administrative Agent that it is solely responsible for any such checks it is required to carry out and that it may not rely on any statement in relation to such checks made by the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties.
(e) The Administrative Agent shall not be responsible or have any liability for, or have any duty to ascertain, inquire into, monitor or enforce, compliance with the provisions hereof relating to Disqualified Institutions. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent shall not (i) be obligated to ascertain, monitor or inquire as to whether any Lender or Participant or prospective Lender or Participant is a Disqualified Institution or (ii) have any liability with respect to or arising out of any assignment or participation of Advances, or disclosure of confidential information, to any Disqualified Institution.
Appointment of Administrative Agent (a) Each Lender irrevocably appoints SunTrust Bank as the Administrative Agent and authorizes it to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, together with all such actions and powers that are reasonably incidental thereto. The Administrative Agent may perform any of its duties hereunder or under the other Loan Documents by or through any one or more sub-agents or attorneys-in-fact appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent or attorney-in-fact may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions set forth in this Article shall apply to any such sub-agent or attorney-in-fact and the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent, any such sub-agent and any such attorney-in-fact and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.
(b) The Issuing Bank shall act on behalf of the Lenders with respect to any Letters of Credit issued by it and the documents associated therewith until such time and except for so long as the Administrative Agent may agree at the request of the Required Lenders to act for the Issuing Bank with respect thereto; provided, that the Issuing Bank shall have all the benefits and immunities (i) provided to the Administrative Agent in this Article with respect to any acts taken or omissions suffered by the Issuing Bank in connection with Letters of Credit issued by it or proposed to be issued by it and the application and agreements for letters of credit pertaining to the Letters of Credit as fully as if the term “Administrative Agent” as used in this Article included the Issuing Bank with respect to such acts or omissions and (ii) as additionally provided in this Agreement with respect to the Issuing Bank.
Indemnification of Administrative Agent Each Lender agrees to indemnify the Administrative Agent (to the extent not reimbursed by the Borrower and without limiting the obligation of the Borrower to do so) pro rata in accordance with such Lender’s respective Commitment Percentage, from and against any and all liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, actions, judgments, suits, reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses of any kind or nature whatsoever which may at any time be imposed on, incurred by, or asserted against the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent but not as a Lender) in any way relating to or arising out of the Loan Documents, any transaction contemplated hereby or thereby or any action taken or omitted by the Administrative Agent under the Loan Documents (collectively, “Indemnifiable Amounts”); provided, however, that no Lender shall be liable for any portion of such Indemnifiable Amounts to the extent resulting from the Administrative Agent’s gross negligence or willful misconduct as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final, non-appealable judgment; provided, however, that no action taken in accordance with the directions of the Requisite Lenders (or all of the Lenders, if expressly required hereunder) shall be deemed to constitute gross negligence or willful misconduct for purposes of this Section. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, each Lender agrees to reimburse the Administrative Agent (to the extent not reimbursed by the Borrower and without limiting the obligation of the Borrower to do so) promptly upon demand for its ratable share of any out-of-pocket expenses (including the reasonable fees and expenses of the counsel to the Administrative Agent) incurred by the Administrative Agent in connection with the preparation, negotiation, execution, administration, or enforcement (whether through negotiations, legal proceedings, or otherwise) of, or legal advice with respect to the rights or responsibilities of the parties under, the Loan Documents, any suit or action brought by the Administrative Agent to enforce the terms of the Loan Documents and/or collect any Obligations, any “lender liability” suit or claim brought against the Administrative Agent and/or the Lenders, and any claim or suit brought against the Administrative Agent and/or the Lenders arising under any Environmental Laws. Such out-of-pocket expenses (including counsel fees) shall be advanced by the Lenders on the request of the Administrative Agent notwithstanding any claim or assertion that the Administrative Agent is not entitled to indemnification hereunder upon receipt of an undertaking by the Administrative Agent that the Administrative Agent will reimburse the Lenders if it is actually and finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that the Administrative Agent is not so entitled to indemnification. The agreements in this Section shall survive the payment of the Loans and all other amounts payable hereunder or under the other Loan Documents and the termination of this Agreement. If the Borrower shall reimburse the Administrative Agent for any Indemnifiable Amount following payment by any Lender to the Administrative Agent in respect of such Indemnifiable Amount pursuant to this Section, the Administrative Agent shall share such reimbursement on a ratable basis with each Lender making any such payment.
Duty of Administrative Agent The Administrative Agent’s sole duty with respect to the custody, safekeeping and physical preservation of the Collateral in its possession, under Section 9-207 of the New York UCC or otherwise, shall be to deal with it in the same manner as the Administrative Agent deals with similar property for its own account. Neither the Administrative Agent, any Lender nor any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents shall be liable for failure to demand, collect or realize upon any of the Collateral or for any delay in doing so or shall be under any obligation to sell or otherwise dispose of any Collateral upon the request of any Grantor or any other Person or to take any other action whatsoever with regard to the Collateral or any part thereof. The powers conferred on the Administrative Agent and the Lenders hereunder are solely to protect the Administrative Agent’s and the Lenders’ interests in the Collateral and shall not impose any duty upon the Administrative Agent or any Lender to exercise any such powers. The Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall be accountable only for amounts that they actually receive as a result of the exercise of such powers, and neither they nor any of their officers, directors, employees or agents shall be responsible to any Grantor for any act or failure to act hereunder, except for their own gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Resignation of Administrative Agent The Administrative Agent may at any time give notice of its resignation to the Lenders, the L/C Issuer and the Borrower. Upon receipt of any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with the Borrower, to appoint a successor, which shall be a bank with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such bank with an office in the United States. If no such successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation, then the retiring Administrative Agent may on behalf of the Lenders and the L/C Issuer, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above; provided that if the Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders that no qualifying Person has accepted such appointment, then such resignation shall nonetheless become effective in accordance with such notice and (a) the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder and under the other Loan Documents (except that in the case of any collateral security held by the Administrative Agent on behalf of the Lenders or the L/C Issuer under any of the Loan Documents, the retiring Administrative Agent shall continue to hold such collateral security until such time as a successor Administrative Agent is appointed) and (b) all payments, communications and determinations provided to be made by, to or through the Administrative Agent shall instead be made by or to each Lender and the L/C Issuer directly, until such time as the Required Lenders appoint a successor Administrative Agent as provided for above in this Section. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from all of its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents (if not already discharged therefrom as provided above in this Section). The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor. After the retiring Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, the provisions of this Article and Section 11.04 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while the retiring Administrative Agent was acting as Administrative Agent. Any resignation by Bank of America as Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section shall also constitute its resignation as L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender. Upon the acceptance of a successor’s appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder, (i) such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all of the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender, (ii) the retiring L/C Issuer and Swing Line Lender shall be discharged from all of their respective duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents, and (iii) the successor L/C Issuer shall issue letters of credit in substitution for the Letters of Credit, if any, outstanding at the time of such succession or make other arrangements satisfactory to the retiring L/C Issuer to effectively assume the obligations of the retiring L/C Issuer with respect to such Letters of Credit.
Duties of Collateral Agent Subject to the Collateral Agent having been directed to take such action in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, each Creditor hereby irrevocably authorizes the Collateral Agent to take such action on its behalf under the provisions of the Collateral Documents and any other instruments, documents and agreements referred to in the Collateral Documents and to exercise such powers under the Collateral Documents as are specifically delegated to the Collateral Agent by the terms of the Collateral Documents and such other powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. Subject to the provisions of Section 11 of this Agreement, the Collateral Agent is hereby irrevocably authorized to take all actions on behalf of the Creditors to enforce the rights and remedies of the Collateral Agent and the Creditors provided for in the Collateral Documents or by applicable law with respect to the liens upon and security interests in the Collateral granted to secure the Obligations or the other rights and remedies granted to the Collateral Agent pursuant thereto, provided, however, that, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any Collateral Documents, (i) the Collateral Agent shall act solely at and in accordance with the written direction of the Required Creditors, (ii) the Collateral Agent shall not, without the written consent of all of the Qualified Creditors, release or terminate by affirmative action or consent any lien upon or security interest in any Collateral granted under any Collateral Documents (except (x) upon (1) dispositions of Collateral by a Grantor and (2) removal of the Material Subsidiary (as defined in the Bank Credit Agreement) designation of a Subsidiary (as defined in the Bank Credit Agreement), in each case as permitted in accordance with the terms of all of the Senior Indebtedness Documents and prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default, (y) upon disposition of such Collateral after an Event of Default pursuant to direction given under clause (i) of this Section 2(b) and (z) to the extent authorized under the provisions of the last sentence of Section 12.1 of the Bank Credit Agreement, paragraph 11V of the Prudential Note Purchase Agreement and paragraph 11V of the NY Life Note Purchase Agreement), and (iii) the Collateral Agent shall not accept any Obligations in whole or partial consideration for the disposition of any Collateral without the written consent of all of the Qualified Creditors. The Collateral Agent agrees to make such demands and give such notices under the Collateral Documents as may be requested by, and to take such action to enforce the Collateral Documents and to foreclose upon, collect and dispose of the Collateral or of the Collateral Documents as may be directed by, the Required Creditors; provided, however, that the Collateral Agent shall not be required to take any action that is contrary to law or the terms of the Collateral Documents or this Agreement. Once a direction to take any action has been given by the Required Creditors to the Collateral Agent, and subject to any other directions which may be given from time to time by the Required Creditors, decisions regarding the manner in which any such action is to be implemented and conducted (with the exception of any decision to settle, compromise or dismiss any legal proceeding, with or without prejudice) shall be made by the Collateral Agent, with the assistance and upon the advice of its counsel. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, any decision to settle, compromise or dismiss any legal proceeding, with or without prejudice, which implements, approves or results in or has the effect of causing any release, change or occurrence, where such release, change or occurrence otherwise would require unanimous approval of all of the Qualified Creditors pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, also shall require the unanimous approval of all of the Qualified Creditors.
