EXHIBIT 10.44
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into this _____ day of _____, 19__
between Vista Medical Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"Corporation"), and ____________ ("Officer").
RECITALS:
A. Officer, an officer (but not currently a member of the Board of
Directors) of the Corporation, performs a valuable service in such capacity for
the Corporation; and
B. The stockholders of the Corporation have adopted Bylaws (the "Bylaws")
providing, for the indemnification of the officers, directors, agents and
employees of Corporation to the maximum extent authorized by Section 145 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the "Law"); and
C. The Bylaws and the Law, by their non-exclusive nature, permit
contracts between the Corporation and its officers with respect to
indemnification of officers; and
D. In accordance with the authorization as provided by the Law, the
Corporation may from time to time purchase and maintain a policy or policies of
Directors and Officers Liability Insurance ("D & O Insurance"), covering certain
liabilities which may be incurred by its directors and officers in the
performance of services as directors and officers of the Corporation; and
E. As a result of developments affecting the terms, scope and
availability of D & O Insurance there exists general uncertainty as to the
extent and overall desirability of protection afforded officers by such D & O
Insurance, if any, and by statutory and bylaw indemnification provisions; and
F. In order to induce Officer to continue to serve as an officer of the
Corporation, the Corporation has determined and agreed to enter into this
contract with Officer;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of Officer's continued service as an
officer after the date hereof, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. INDEMNITY OF OFFICER. The Corporation hereby agrees to hold harmless
and indemnify Officer to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by the
provisions of the Law, as it may be amended from time to time.
2. ADDITIONAL INDEMNITY. Subject only to the exclusions set forth in
Section 3 hereof, the Corporation hereby further agrees to hold harmless and
indemnify Officer:
(a) against any and all legal expenses (including attorneys' fees),
witness fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred by Officer in connection with any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative (including an action by or in the right of the Corporation) to
which Officer is, was or at any time becomes a party, or is threatened to be
made a party, by reason of the fact that Officer is, was or at any time becomes
a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving
or at any time serves at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer,
employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust,
employee benefit plan or other enterprise; and
(b) otherwise to the fullest extent as may be provided to Officer by
the Corporation under the non-exclusivity provisions of the Bylaws of the
Corporation and the Law.
3. LIMITATIONS ON ADDITIONAL INDEMNITY. No indemnity pursuant to Section
2 hereof shall be paid by the Corporation:
(a) except to the extent the aggregate of losses to be indemnified
thereunder exceeds the sum of such losses for which Officer is indemnified
pursuant to Section 1 hereof or pursuant to any D & O Insurance purchased and
maintained by the Corporation;
(b) in respect of remuneration paid to Officer if it shall be
determined by a final judgment or other final adjudication that such
remuneration was in violation of law;
(c) on account of any action, suit or proceeding in which judgment is
rendered against Officer for an accounting of profits made from the purchase or
sale by Officer of securities of the Corporation pursuant to the provisions of
Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and amendments thereto or
similar provisions of any federal, state or local statutory law;
(d) on account of Officer's conduct which is finally adjudged to have
been knowingly fraudulent or deliberately dishonest, or to constitute willful
misconduct;
(e) on account of Officer's conduct which is the subject of an
action, suit or proceeding described in Section 7(c)(ii) hereof;
(f) on account of or arising in response to any action, suit or
proceeding (other than an action, suit or proceeding referred to in Section 8(b)
hereof) initiated by Officer or any of Officer's affiliates against the
Corporation or any officer, director or
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stockholder of the Corporation unless such action, suit or proceeding was
authorized in the specific case by action of the Board of Directors of the
Corporation;
(g) on account of any action, suit or proceeding to the extent that
Officer is a plaintiff, a counter-complainant or a cross-complainant therein
(other than an action, suit or proceeding permitted by Section 3(f) hereof); or
(h) if a final decision by a Court having jurisdiction in the matter
shall determine that such indemnification is not lawful (and, in this respect,
both the Corporation and Officer have been advised that the Securities and
Exchange Commission believes that indemnification for liabilities arising under
the federal securities laws is against public policy and is, therefore,
unenforceable and that claims for indemnification should be submitted to
appropriate courts for adjudication).
4. CONTRIBUTION. If the indemnification provided in Sections 1 and 2 is
unavailable and may not be paid to Officer for any reason other than those set
forth in paragraphs (b) through (g) of Section 3, then in respect of any
threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding in which the
Corporation is or is alleged to be jointly liable with Officer (or would be if
joined in such action, suit or proceeding), the Corporation shall contribute to
the amount of expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts
paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred and paid or payable by
Officer in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect (i) the relative
benefits received by the Corporation on the one hand and Officer on the other
hand from the transaction from which such action, suit or proceeding arose, and
(ii) the relative fault of the Corporation on the one hand and of Officer on the
other hand in connection with the events which resulted in such expenses,
judgments, fines or settlement amounts, as well as any other relevant equitable
considerations. The relative fault of the Corporation on the one hand and of
Officer on the other hand shall be determined by reference to, among other
things, the parties' relative intent, knowledge, access to information and
opportunity to correct or prevent the circumstances resulting in such expenses,
judgments, fines or settlement amounts. The Corporation agrees that it would
not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 4 were
determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation which does
not take account of the foregoing equitable considerations.
5. CONTINUATION OF OBLIGATIONS.
(a) All agreements and obligations of the Corporation contained
herein shall continue during the period Officer is 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, employee benefit plan or other enterprise)
and shall continue thereafter so long as Officer shall be subject to any
possible claim or threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding,
whether civil, criminal or investigative, by reason of the fact that Officer was
serving the Corporation or such other entity in any capacity referred to herein.
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(b) For six years after the effective time of (i) the acquisition of
the Corporation by another entity by means of any transaction or series of
related transactions (including, without limitation, any reorganization, merger
or consolidation) or (ii) the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of
the Corporation by means of any transaction or series of related transactions,
the Corporation (to the extent the Corporation is not the continuing or
surviving person of such reorganization, merger, consolidation or sale) shall
cause the acquiring, continuing or surviving corporation to (x) indemnify and
hold harmless Officer in accordance with Section 1 and 2 hereof and (y) use its
best efforts to provide officers' liability insurance on terms substantially
similar to the terms of the Corporation's then current officers' liability
insurance policy in effect on the date thereof, or any other arrangement
reasonably satisfactory to Officer, in respect of acts or omissions occurring on
or prior to the effective time of the reorganization, merger, consolidation or
sale.
6. NOTIFICATION AND DEFENSE OF CLAIM. Not later than thirty (30) days
after receipt by Officer of notice of the commencement of any action, suit or
proceeding, Officer will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against
the Corporation under this Agreement, notify the Corporation of the commencement
thereof; but the omission so to notify the Corporation will not relieve it from
any liability which it may have to Officer otherwise than under this Agreement.
With respect to any such action, suit or proceeding as to which Officer notifies
the Corporation of the commencement thereof:
(a) the Corporation will be entitled to participate therein at its
own expense;
(b) except as otherwise provided below, to the extent that it may
wish, the Corporation jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly
notified will be entitled to assume the defense thereof, with counsel reasonably
satisfactory to Officer. After notice from the Corporation to Officer of its
election so as to assume the defense thereof, the Corporation will not be liable
to Officer under this Agreement for any legal or other expenses subsequently
incurred by Officer in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable
costs of investigation or as otherwise provided below. Officer shall have the
right to employ his or her own counsel in such action, suit or proceeding but
the fees and expenses of such counsel incurred after notice from the Corporation
of its assumption of the defense thereof shall be at the expense of Officer
unless (i) the employment of counsel by Officer has been authorized by the
Corporation, (ii) Officer shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a
conflict of interest between the Corporation and Officer in the conduct of the
defense of such action or (iii) the Corporation shall not in fact have employed
counsel to assume the defense of such action, in each of which cases the fees
and expenses of Officer's separate counsel shall be at the expense of the
Corporation. The Corporation shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any
action, suit or proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Corporation or as to
which Officer shall have made the conclusion provided for in (ii) above; and
(c) the Corporation shall not be liable to indemnify Officer under
this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of any action or claim
effected without its
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written consent. The Corporation shall be permitted to settle any action except
that it shall not settle any action or claim in any manner which would impose
any penalty, out-of-pocket liability, or limitation on Officer without Officer's
written consent. Neither the Corporation nor Officer will unreasonably withhold
its or his or her consent to any proposed settlement.
7. ADVANCEMENT AND REPAYMENT OF EXPENSES.
(a) In the event that Officer employs his or her own counsel pursuant
to Section 6(b)(i) through (iii) above, the Corporation shall advance to
Officer, prior to any final disposition of any threatened or pending action,
suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative,
any and all reasonable expenses (including legal fees and expenses) incurred in
investigating or defending any such action, suit or proceeding within ten (10)
days after receiving copies of invoices presented to Officer for such expenses.
(b) Officer agrees that Officer will reimburse the Corporation for
all reasonable expenses paid by the Corporation in defending any civil or
criminal action, suit or proceeding against Officer in the event and only to the
extent it shall be ultimately determined by a final judicial decision (from
which there is no right of appeal) that Officer is not entitled, under the
provisions of the Law, the Bylaws, this Agreement or otherwise, to be
indemnified by the Corporation for such expenses.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall not be
required to advance such expenses to Officer if Officer (i) commences any
action, suit or proceeding as a plaintiff unless such advance is specifically
approved by a majority of the Board of Directors or (ii) is a party to an
action, suit or proceeding brought by the Corporation and approved by a majority
of the Board which alleges willful misappropriation of corporate assets by
Officer, disclosure of confidential information in violation of Officer's
fiduciary or contractual obligations to the Corporation, or any other willful
and deliberate breach in bad faith of Officer's duty to the Corporation or its
stockholders.
8. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) the Corporation expressly confirms and agrees that it has entered
into this Agreement and assumed the obligations imposed on the Corporation
hereby in order to induce Officer to continue as an officer of the Corporation,
and acknowledges that Officer is relying upon this Agreement in continuing in
such capacity.
(b) In the event Officer is required to bring any action to enforce
rights or to collect moneys due under this Agreement and is successful in such
action, the Corporation shall reimburse Officer for all of Officer's reasonable
fees and expenses in bringing and pursuing such action.
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9. SUBROGATION. In the event of payment under this agreement, the
Corporation shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the
rights of recovery of Officer, who shall execute all documents required and
shall do all acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the
Corporation effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.
10. NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS. The rights conferred on Officer by this
Agreement shall not be exclusive of any other right which Officer may have or
hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Corporation's Certificate
of Incorporation or Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or directors, or
otherwise, both as to action in his or her official capacity and as to action in
another capacity while holding office.
11. SURVIVAL OF RIGHTS. The rights conferred on Officer by this Agreement
shall continue after Officer has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or
other agent of the Corporation or such other entity and shall inure to the
benefit of Officer's heirs, executors and administrators.
12. SEPARABILITY. Each of the provisions of this Agreement is a separate
and distinct agreement and independent of the others, so that if any or all of
the provisions hereof shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent
for any reason, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the
validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof or the obligation of
the Corporation to indemnify Officer to the full extent provided by the Bylaws
or the Law, and the affected provision shall be construed and enforced so as to
effectuate the parties' intent to the maximum extent possible.
13. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be interpreted and enforced in
accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware.
14. BINDING EFFECT. This Agreement shall be binding upon Officer and upon
the Corporation, its successors and assigns, and shall inure to the benefit of
Officer, his or her heirs, personal representatives and assigns and to the
benefit of the Corporation, its successors and assigns.
15. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION. No amendment, modification, termination or
cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective unless set forth in a writing
signed by both parties hereto.
16. NO EMPLOYMENT OR SERVICE CONTRACT. Nothing in this Agreement shall
confer upon Officer any right to continue in the service of the Corporation for
any period of specific duration or interfere with or otherwise restrict in any
way the rights of the Corporation or Officer which rights are hereby expressly
reserved by each, to terminate Officer's service at any time for any reason
whatsoever, with or without cause.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on and
as of the day and year first above written.
Corporation: VISTA MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
a Delaware corporation
By:
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(Signature)
Xxxx X. Xxxx, President
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Print Name and Title
OFFICER:
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(Signature)
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Print Name
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