MEMBER SERVICES AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.2
This
Member Services Agreement (this “Agreement”)
is
entered into and effective as of ________, 20__ (the “Effective
Date”)
by and
between WEBDIGS, LLC a Minnesota limited liability company (the “Company”),
and
_______________ (“Contractor”).
Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in the Company’s Member Control Agreement, dated May 1,
2007 (the “Member
Control Agreement”).
RECITAL
The
Company desires to engage Contractor to serve as its ________________________,
and Agent, and Contractor desires to provide such services to the Company,
pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
AGREEMENT
In
consideration of the above recitals and the mutual covenants and conditions
set
forth in this Agreement, the Company and Contractor hereby agree as
follows:
1.
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Engagement.
The Company hereby engages Contractor in those capacities set forth
in the
Recitals above, pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement,
to
perform all of the duties and functions of said position and such
other
duties and functions as the Company may from time to time reasonably
request (the “Services”).
Contractor hereby accepts such engagement and agrees to perform and
be
available to perform such Services on a substantially full-time basis.
Contractor understands that he or she is a Member of the Company,
and is
not an employee of the Company.
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2.
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Term
of Service.
Contractor’s engagement with the Company shall commence on the Effective
Date and shall continue until terminated, pursuant to terms and conditions
herein below. Contractor understands that this Agreement and his
or her
Services hereunder may be terminated at any time by the Company with
or
without cause. Contractor agrees to give no less than 30 days written
notice to the Company prior to his or her resignation from any of
the
capacities set forth in the Recitals
above.
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3.
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Duties.
Contractor agrees to serve the Company faithfully and to the best
of his
or her ability, and shall devote substantially all of his or her
full
working time, attention and effort to the business of the Company
during
his engagement with the Company. Contractor also agrees that he or
she
shall not, during the course of performance of Services for the Company,
without prior written approval of the Board of Governors, become
an
employee, member, director, officer, agent, partner of or consultant
to,
or a stockholder of (except a stockholder of a public company in
which
Contractor owns less than five percent (5%) of the issued and outstanding
capital stock of such company) any company or other business entity
which
is a competitor, supplier or customer of the Company.
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4.
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Compensation,
Benefits and Expenses.
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4.1
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Compensation.
Beginning on the Effective Date, the Company shall pay Contractor
compensation equal to $________, payable in accordance with the Company’s
regular payroll cycle. This Agreement may be amended from time to
time by
agreement in writing between the Company and Contractor to adjust
the
compensation provided for herein, based on Contractor’s performance or the
performance and financial situation of the
Company.
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4.2
|
Benefits.
While providing Services to the Company, Contractor shall be entitled
to
participate in any of the Company’s employee benefits programs available
to Members to the extent permitted by applicable federal or state
tax law
(i.e., to the extent that the Code permits a tax partner to participate
in
an employee benefits program). Contractor agrees to pay all applicable
tax
liabilities associated with such payments or
benefits.
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4.3
|
Guaranteed
Payments.
The
Company and Contractor acknowledge and agree that the payments made
to
Contractor under Sections 4.1 and 4.2 constitute “guaranteed payments”
within the meaning of Section 707(c) of the Code, and shall be treated
as
such for income tax purposes by the Company and Contractor. Contractor
agrees that the Company shall not make any deductions, withholding
or
other contributions on account of Social Security, unemployment
compensation, income tax or otherwise, under any federal, state or
local
law with respect to payments made to him under this Agreement. Contractor
agrees and understands that he shall be solely responsible for the
payment
of all income, self-employment, and other applicable taxes that are
due
with respect to such payments.
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4.4
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Expense
Reimbursement.
The Company shall reimburse Contractor for business expenses reasonably
incurred by Contractor in connection with the performance of Contractor’s
duties hereunder, upon the presentation by Contractor of receipts
and
itemized accounts of such expenditures in accordance with the rules
and
regulations of the Internal Revenue Code and the Company’s expense
reimbursement policies.
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5.
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Termination.
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5.1
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Termination.
Notwithstanding
anything contained herein to the contrary, this Agreement and Contractor’s
engagement by the Company may be terminated by the Company or by
Contractor, for any reason or for no reason, upon written notice
to the
other party.
In
the event of any such termination or a termination under Section
5.2
below, Contractor will retain his or her vested units and a prorated
number of unvested units of those which would have vested at the
end of
the year of termination. All other unvested units shall be forfeited.
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2
5.2
|
Termination
Due to Death.
This Agreement shall terminate immediately upon the event of Contractor’s
death. In such event, Contractor’s estate or legal representative shall be
paid any earned and unpaid compensation, if any, on a pro rata basis
for
the period through Contractor’s date of death.
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6.
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Grant
of Units.
In
consideration of the Services, the Company is granting to Contractor,
effective as of the Effective Date, a membership interest in the
Company
(which shall be a profits interest for federal income tax purposes,
since
no capital is being contributed by the Contractor in exchange for
such
membership interest and no credit will be ascribed to the Contractor’s
capital account in consideration of the Services) consisting of ________
unvested Common Units of the Company. Of the ______ unvested units,
______
units shall vest on the one-year anniversary of this Agreement and
_______
units shall vest on the two-year anniversary of this Agreement. Until
any
unvested units shall vest, they shall be treated as issued and outstanding
for all purposes under the Member Control Agreement and applicable
law,
but shall be subject to immediate forfeiture pursuant to Section
5 hereof
and in the event that Contractor materially breaches the provisions
of
this Agreement. In the event any units are forfeited, the Company
shall be
automatically entitled to cancel such units on its books and records
without any payment or consideration with respect
thereto.
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7.
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Confidential
Information.
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7.1
|
Definition.
For purposes of this Agreement, “Confidential
Information”
means any information in any way related to the Company that Contractor
has learned or developed since the Company’s inception and any information
that Contractor learns or develops during the course of his Services
to
the Company that derives independent economic value from being not
generally known or readily ascertainable by other persons who could
obtain
economic value from its disclosure or use. Confidential Information
includes, but is not limited to, information contained in or relating
to
technology and development plans or proposals, source code, marketing
plans or proposals, strategies, financial statements, budgets, pricing
formulas, customer and supplier information, employee information
and
other proprietary information of the Company, whether written, oral
or
communicated in another medium, whether disclosed directly or indirectly,
whether disclosed prior to or after the date of this Agreement, whether
originals or copies and whether or not legal protection has been
obtained
or sought under applicable law. Contractor shall treat all such
information as Confidential Information regardless of its source
and
whether or not marked as
confidential.
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3
7.2
|
Restriction.
Except as permitted by the Board of Governors, during the term of
Contractor’s engagement with the Company (except as may be reasonable in
conjunction with Contractor’s duties hereunder) and at all times
thereafter, Contractor shall not directly or indirectly use or disclose
any Confidential Information to any person, firm, corporation, association
or other entity for any reason or purpose without the prior written
consent or authorization of the Board of Governors. Such restriction
shall
continue to be binding upon Contractor after termination and is an
independent covenant. Contractor recognizes that the Confidential
Information constitutes a valuable asset of the Company and hereby
agrees
to act in such a manner as to prevent its disclosure and use by any
person
unless such use is for the benefit of the Company. Contractor’s
obligations under this Section 7 are unconditional and will not be
excused
by any conduct on the part of the Company, except prior voluntary
approval
of disclosure by the Company of the Confidential
Information.
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7.3
|
Return
of Confidential Information.
Upon the termination of Contractor’s engagement with the Company, for
whatever reason, Contractor shall promptly deliver to the Company
all
originals and copies in his possession or control of all documents,
records, software, media and other materials containing any Confidential
Information.
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8.
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Inventions.
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8.1
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Obligation
to Disclose.
Contractor hereby agrees to disclose promptly to the Company (or
any
persons designated by it) all developments, designs, creations,
improvements, original works of authorship, formulas, processes,
know-how,
techniques and/or inventions, (hereinafter referred to collectively
as
“Inventions”)
(i) which are made or conceived or reduced to practice by Contractor,
either alone or jointly with others, during the term of this Agreement,
or
which are reduced to practice during the period of twelve (12) months
following the termination of this Agreement, that relate to in the
present
or future business of the Company; or (ii) which result from tasks
assigned Contractor by the Company, or from Contractor’s use of the
premises or other resources owned, leased or contracted by the Company.
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8.2
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Obligation
to Assign.
Contractor agrees that all such Inventions which the Company determines
to
be related to its business or its research or development, or which
result
from work performed by Contractor for the Company, shall be the sole
and
exclusive property of the Company and its assigns, and the Company
and its
assigns shall have the right to use and/or to apply for patents,
copyrights or other statutory or common law protections for such
Inventions in any and all countries. Contractor further agrees to
assist
the Company in every proper way (but at the Company’s expense) to obtain
and from time to time enforce patents, copyrights and other statutory
or
common law protections for such Inventions in any and all countries.
To
that end, Contractor will execute all documents for use in applying
for
and obtaining such patents, copyrights and other statutory or common
law
protections therefor and enforcing the same, as the Company may desire,
together with any assignments thereof to the Company or to persons
or
entities designated by the Company.
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4
8.3
|
Scope.
Contractor’s obligations under this Section 8 shall continue beyond the
termination of this Agreement, but the Company shall compensate Contractor
at a reasonable rate after such termination for time actually spent
by
Contractor at the Company’s request in providing such assistance. Any
provision in this Agreement requiring Contractor to assign Contractor’s
rights in any Invention to the Company shall not apply to any Invention
for which no equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret information
of
the Company was used and which was developed entirely on Contractor’s own
time, and (1) which does not relate (a) directly to the business
of the
Company or (b) to the Company’s actual or demonstrably anticipated
research or development, or (2) which does not result from any work
performed by Contractor for the Company.
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9.
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Non-Compete
and Non-Solicitation.
The Company and Contractor agree that the Company would be substantially
harmed if Contractor competes with the Company during the one year
period
after termination of this Agreement or termination of Contractor’s
Services hereunder. Therefore, the Company and Contractor agree as
follows:
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9.1
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No
Competing Business.
During the term of this Agreement, and for a period of one year after
the
termination of this Agreement, regardless of the reason for such
termination, Contractor agrees to not, directly or indirectly, engage
in
any business that is in competition with the Company, engaged in
a similar
business model, within the geographic area being served by the Company.
Contractor also agrees not to plan or otherwise take any preliminary
steps, either alone or in concert with others, to set up or engage
in any
business enterprise that would be in competition with the Company.
For
purposes of this Agreement, the Company is in the business of providing
products and services to facilitate and enhance sales of real estate,
including real estate brokerage services, title and property insurance
services, and mortgage brokerage services and may engage in other
or
additional businesses over time.
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9.2
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No
Solicitation of Customers.
During the term of this Agreement, and for a period of one year after
the
termination of this Agreement, regardless of the reason for such
termination, Contractor agrees to not, directly or indirectly, solicit
or
work for any former or current customers of the Company, nor divert
any
business from the Company. Contractor agrees that for the same one
year
period after Contractor ceases working for the Company, Contractor
shall
not in any way contact, attempt to contact, interfere or attempt
to
interfere with the Company’s relationships with any of its customers.
During the one year period after the termination of this Agreement,
if any
of the Company’s customers, without solicitation by Contractor, contact
Contractor about performing work for said customer in any way related
to
the business of the Company, Contractor shall obtain written permission
from the Company’s Board of Governors before performing such
work.
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9.3
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No
Solicitation of Employees.
During the term of this Agreement, and for a period of one year after
the
termination of this Agreement, regardless of the reason for such
termination, Contractor agrees to not, directly or indirectly, solicit
for
employment, employ, or otherwise contract with for services, any
of the
Company’s employees, consultants or subcontractors on behalf of himself or
any other person or entity.
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5
9.4
|
No
Employment with Customers.
During the term of this Agreement, and for a period of one year after
the
termination of this Agreement, regardless of the reason for Contractor’s
termination, Contractor shall not, directly or indirectly, become
employed
with or provide any services to any customer of the
Company.
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10.
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Remedies
for Breach of Agreement.
Contractor recognizes that if he or she violates any portion of this
Agreement, irreparable damage will result to the Company that could
not be
remedied by monetary damages. As a result, Contractor hereby agrees
that
in the event of any breach by him of any portion of this Agreement,
or in
the event of apparent danger of such breach, the Company shall be
entitled, in addition to any other legal or equitable remedies available
to it, to an injunction to restrain such breach, without the necessity
of
posting a bond or complying with any similar requirement.
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11.
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Tax
Matters.
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11.1
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Section
83.
Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”)
provides that Contractor is not subject to federal income tax with
respect
to the grant of units described in Section 6 above until the forfeiture
restrictions with respect to such units lapse. If Contractor chooses,
he
or she may make an election under Code Section 83(b), which would
cause
Contractor to recognize income in the amount of the excess (if any)
of the
fair market value of the granted units (determined as of the date
of
grant) over the purchase price (which, in this case, is zero). A
Code
Section 83(b) election must be filed with the Internal Revenue Service
within 30 days after the date of grant, even if no tax is due because
the
fair market value of the granted units on the date of their grant
equals
$0.00. Contractor hereby acknowledges that it is his or her sole
responsibility to timely file Code Section 83(b) election(s) and
that
failure to file a Code Section 83(b) election within the applicable
30-day
period may result in the recognition of ordinary income when the
forfeiture restrictions lapse (i.e., the one- and two-year anniversaries
of the grant date), if ever. In this regard, the Company agrees to
reasonably cooperate with Contractor to provide its valuation of
the
granted units (which may appear on a Form 1099 or Form W-2), if any,
when
Contractor determines to make a Code Section 83(b)
election.
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11.2
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Withholding
Requirements.
As a condition to the award of granted units hereunder, the Company
may
withhold any tax (or other governmental obligation) arising from
such
award, the filing of a Code Section 83(b) election, or the lapse
of
forfeiture restrictions; and Contractor shall make arrangements
satisfactory to the Company to enable it to satisfy all such withholding
requirements, if applicable.
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6
12.
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Miscellaneous.
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12.1
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Integration.
This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding by
and
between the Company and Contractor relative to the subject matter
hereof
and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to
the
same.
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12.2.
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Applicable
Law.
This Agreement and the rights of the Company and Contractor hereunder
shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with
the
laws of the State of Minnesota. The venue for any action hereunder
shall
be in the State of Minnesota, whether or not such venue is or subsequently
becomes inconvenient, and the Company and Contractor hereby consent
to the
jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Minnesota, County of Hennepin,
and the U.S. District Court, District of
Minnesota.
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12.3
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Modification.
This Agreement shall not be modified or amended except by a written
instrument signed by the Company and
Contractor.
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12.4
|
Waiver.
No waiver of any term, condition or covenant of this Agreement by
the
Company or by Contractor shall be deemed a waiver of any subsequent
breaches of the same or other terms, conditions or covenants hereof
by
such party.
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12.5
|
Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts and as so
executed
shall constitute one agreement binding on the parties hereto.
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12.6
|
Severability.
The invalidity or partial invalidity of any portion of this Agreement
shall not invalidate the remainder thereof, and said remainder shall
remain in full force and effect. Moreover, if one or more of the
provisions contained in this Agreement shall, for any reason, be
held to
be excessively broad as to scope, activity, subject or otherwise,
so as to
be unenforceable at law, such provision or provisions shall be construed
by the appropriate judicial body by limiting or reducing it or them,
so as
to be enforceable to the maximum extent compatible with then applicable
law.
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12.7
|
Survival.
The Company and Contractor acknowledge and agree that the provisions
of
this Agreement which by their terms extend beyond the termination
of this
Agreement and the termination of Contractor’s engagement hereunder shall
continue in full force and effect notwithstanding termination of
this
Agreement or termination of Contractor’s
engagement.
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12.8
|
Binding
Effect.
Except as herein or otherwise provided to the contrary, this Agreement
shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties and
their
respective heirs, successors, assigns and personal representatives;
provided, however, that neither party may assign its rights or obligations
hereunder without the prior written consent of the other
party.
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7
12.9
|
Notices.
All notices, requests and other communications hereunder shall be
given in
writing and deemed to have been duly given or served if personally
delivered, or sent by first class, certified mail, return receipt
requested, postage prepaid, to the party at the address as provided
below,
or to such other address as such party may hereafter designate by
written
notice to the other party: (a) if to the Company, to the address
of its
then principal office, and (b) if to Contractor, to the address last
shown
in the records of the Company.
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12.10
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Captions.
The various headings or captions in this Agreement are for convenience
only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this
Agreement.
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[Remainder
of this Page Blank. Signature Page Follows.]
8
The
parties have executed this Member Services Agreement to be made effective as
of
the Effective Date.
COMPANY:
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WEBDIGS,
LLC:
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Xxxxxx
X. Xxxxx, Xx., Chief
Manager
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MEMBER:
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[Signature
Page to WebDigs, LLC / Member Services Agreement]
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