SEVERANCE AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 10.1
This
SEVERANCE AGREEMENT (the "Agreement"), dated as of February 18, 2009 by and
between PMA Capital Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation, and its
subsidiaries (the "Company"), and Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx (the
"Executive").
(a) Annual Base Salary
means the Executive's annual salary in effect on (i) the date of this Agreement,
as adjusted from time to time by the Board, (ii) the date in which a Change in
Control occurs, or (iii) the date preceding an occurrence which results in the
Executive's Good Reason termination of employment, whichever is
highest.
(b) Annual Bonus means
the amount awarded to the Executive under the Company's Officer Annual Incentive
Compensation Plan (the "Annual Plan") in effect on (i) the date of this
Agreement, as adjusted from time to time by the Board, (ii) the date in which a
Change in Control occurs, or (iii) the date preceding an occurrence which
results in the Executive's Good Reason termination of employment, whichever is
highest.
(c) Long Term Incentive
means the amount awarded to the Executive under the Company's Officer Long Term
Incentive Compensation Plan in effect on (i) the date of this Agreement, as
adjusted from time to time by the Board, (ii) the date on which a Change in
Control occurs, or (iii) the date preceding an occurrence which results in the
Executive's Good Reason termination of employment, whichever is
highest.
(i) to
the extent not duplicative of the specific benefits provided herein, the
Executive shall be eligible to participate in all incentive compensation,
retirement, supplemental retirement, and deferred compensation plans, policies
and arrangements that are provided generally to other executive officers of the
Company;
(ii) the
Executive and, as applicable, the Executive's covered dependent(s) shall be
eligible to participate in all of the Company's health and welfare benefit plans
(within the meaning of Section 3(1) of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended); and
(iii) the
Executive shall be entitled to receive fringe benefits provided for executive
officers of the Company as determined from time to time by the
Company.
(i) the
right to such reimbursement or in-kind benefit shall not be subject to
liquidation or exchange for another benefit;
(ii) the
amount of expenses or in kind benefits available or paid in one year shall not
affect the amount available or paid in any subsequent year; and
(iii) such
payments shall be made on or before the last day of the Executive’s taxable year
which follows the year in which the expense occurred.
2
3
|
(i)
|
a
material reduction in his duties, authority or
responsibilities;
|
|
(ii)
|
requiring
the Executive to be based more than 50 miles away from the Company's
headquarters in Blue Xxxx,
Pennsylvania;
|
|
(iii)
|
the
material breach, and failure to cure, by the Company of any of its other
obligations under this Agreement;
|
|
(iv)
|
the
failure of the Company to obtain the assumption of this Agreement as
contemplated in subsection 12(b) hereof;
or
|
|
(v)
|
any
reduction in the Executive's Annual Base Salary or Annual Bonus target
that does not affect all similarly situated Executives; provided that any
reduction in the Executive's Annual Base Salary or Annual Bonus target
shall constitute Good Reason in connection with a Change of
Control.
|
The
Executive's continued employment shall not constitute consent to, or a waiver of
rights with respect to, any act or failure to act constituting Good Reason
hereunder; provided, however, that no such event described above shall
constitute Good Reason unless the Executive has given a Notice of Termination to
the Company specifying the condition or event relied upon for such termination
within 90 days of the occurrence of such event, the Company has failed to cure
the condition or event constituting Good Reason within the 30 day period
following receipt of the Executive's Notice of Termination, and the Executive’s
Termination Date is within six months of the event that constitutes Good
Reason.
(i) The
Company shall pay to the Executive, within thirty business days of the Date of
Termination, any earned but unpaid Annual Base Salary;
(ii) The
Company shall pay to the Executive, within thirty business days of the Date of
Termination, a prorated Annual Bonus which is the product of (A) the target
Annual Bonus opportunity in the year in which the Date of Termination occurs or
the prior year if no target Annual Bonus opportunity has yet been determined,
(B) the average payout factor of the Annual Plan for the prior three years, and
(C) the fraction of the year the Executive was employed.
(iii) Upon
the execution and non-rescission of the release noted in Section 6, the Company
shall commence to pay as of the next regular Company payroll to the Executive,
in accordance with the Company's regular payroll practice for its executive
officers, payments equal to the sum of 100% of (A) the Executive's Annual Base
Salary, less any applicable deductions for taxes and/or benefits, and
(B) the product of (I) the Executive's target Annual Bonus opportunity for
the year in which the Date of Termination occurs or the prior year if no target
Annual Bonus opportunity has yet been determined and (II) the average payout
factor of the Annual Plan for the prior three years;
4
(iv) For
a one (1) year period after the Date of Termination, the Company will arrange to
provide the Executive (and any covered dependents), with life, accident and
health insurance benefits substantially similar to those the Executive and any
covered dependents were receiving immediately prior to the Notice of
Termination, except for any such benefits that were waived by the Executive in
writing. Nothing in this subsection 4(a)(iv) will affect the
Executive's right to elect COBRA continuation coverage in accordance with
applicable law or extend the COBRA continuation coverage period;
and
(v) The
Executive shall have at least three (3) months (or until the last day of the
stock option term or the tenth anniversary of the date of the grant; whichever
occurs first) to exercise any then vested outstanding stock
options. Executive's outstanding Long Term Incentive awards shall be
deemed earned as set forth in the original award, except that the amount earned
shall be prorated based on a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of
full months Executive was employed during the performance period of such award
and the denominator of which is the number of months in such performance
period. Such awards will be payable under the terms set forth in the
award. All of the Executive's other unvested equity-based awards
shall be forfeited.
(vi) The
Company agrees to engage the services, on Executive's behalf and at the
Company's expense, the services of an outplacement company, who will assist
Executive with job search support. Services will be available for one
year following the Date of Termination.
If, in
anticipation of or within the 18 month period following a Change in Control (as
defined below), the Executive's employment is terminated by the Company for any
reason other than Cause or Disability or by the Executive for Good Reason, the
Executive shall receive the payments and benefits described in subsection 4(a),
except that
(i) the
payment described in section 4(a)(iii) shall be equal to 150% of the amounts
described in (A) and (B) thereof,
(ii) all
of the Executive's Long Term Incentive awards shall be paid as if 100% of the
performance target(s) had been attained and shall be payable within two and one
half (2.5) months from the Date of Termination;
(iii) all
of the Executive's other outstanding equity-based awards shall become fully
vested on the Date of Termination; and
(iv) the
continuation period described in section 4(a)(iv) shall be for one and one half
(1.5) years.
For
purposes of this Agreement, a "Section 409A Change in Control" is a "Change in
Control" as set forth in paragraph 9(b) of the PMA Capital Corporation 2007
Omnibus Incentive Compensation Plan that is also a change in the ownership or
effective control of the Company, or in the ownership of a substantial portion
of the assets of the Company, as described in Section 409A(2)(A)(v) of the Code
and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder; or the approval by the
shareholders of a plan or proposal for the liquidation or dissolution of the
Company.
5
(i) the
expiration of the six month period (the “Deferral Period”) measured from the
date of the Executive’s ‘separation from service’ under 409A; or
(ii) the
date of the Executive’s death.
Upon the
expiration of the Deferral Period, all payments that would have been made during
the Deferral Period (whether in a single lump sum or in installments) shall be
paid as a single lump sum to the Executive or, if applicable, his
beneficiary. This section shall not apply to any payment which
constitutes “separation pay” as described in Internal Revenue Regulations
Section 409A-1(b)(9) (in general, payments (i) that are made on an involuntary
separation from service which (ii) do not exceed the lesser of two times (x) the
Executive’s annualized compensation for the taxable year preceding the year in
which the separation from service occurs or (y) the Code Section 401(a)(17)
limit on compensation for the year in which separation from service occurs and
(iii) are paid in total by the end of the second calendar year following the
calendar year in which the separation from service occurs).
6
(a) if
the excise tax would be avoided by reducing the payments and/or benefits by 10%
or less, the payments and/or benefits will be reduced to the extent necessary so
that the excise tax is not applicable;
(b) if
the tax provisions would not be avoided by reducing the payments and/or benefits
by 10% or less, an excise tax gross-up payment will be made to the Executive in
an amount so that after payment of income, employment and any other taxes
imposed on the gross-up payment (including the 20% excise tax under Section
4999), the Executive would retain an amount equal to the 20% excise tax imposed
on the change in control related payments and benefits. The gross-up
payment is intended to put the Executive in the same after tax position he or
she would have been in had the excise tax not been imposed. The
excise tax gross up payment shall be paid in the taxable year in which the
Executive pays the 20% excise tax pursuant to Section 4999 of the
Code.
7
(i) The
parties acknowledge that money damages will not afford an adequate remedy for a
breach or threat to breach any provision of subsections 9(a) through
(d). Therefore, if a party violates or threatens to violate the
provisions of subsections 9(a) through (d), in whole or in part, the other party
shall be entitled to specific performance and injunctive relief, without
prejudice to other remedies that it may have at law or in equity.
(ii) If
any term or provision of this section 9, or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances shall, to any extent, be invalid or unenforceable, the
remainder of this section 9, or the application of such term or provision to
persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid or
unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby, and each term and provision of
this section 9 shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by
law. Moreover, if a court of competent jurisdiction deems any
provision of subsections 9(a) through (d) to be too broad in time, scope, or
area, it is expressly agreed that such provision shall be reformed to the
maximum degree that would not render it unenforceable.
8
13. Arbitration. Except
for matters covered under section 9, in the event of any dispute or difference
between the Company and the Executive with respect to the subject matter of this
Agreement and the enforcement of rights hereunder, either the Executive or the
Company may, by written notice to the other, require such dispute or difference
to be submitted to arbitration. The arbitrator or arbitrators shall
be selected by agreement of the parties or, if they cannot agree on an
arbitrator or arbitrators within 30 days after the date arbitration is required
by either party, then the arbitrator or arbitrators shall be selected by the
American Arbitration Association upon the application of the Executive or the
Company. The determination reached in such arbitration shall be final
and binding on both parties without any right of appeal or further
dispute. Execution of the determination by such arbitrator may be
sought in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrators shall
not be bound by judicial formalities and may abstain from following the strict
rules of evidence and shall interpret this Agreement as an honorable engagement
and not merely as a legal obligation. Unless otherwise agreed by the
parties, any such arbitration shall take place in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
9
(a) Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without reference
to principles of conflict of laws.
If to the
Executive:
If to the
Company:
PMA
Capital Corporation
000
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxx
Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: General
Counsel
Facsimile: 000-000-0000
or to
such other address as either party furnishes to the other in writing in
accordance with this subsection 14(b). Notices and communications
shall be effective when actually received by the addressee.
10
11
PMA
CAPITAL CORPORATION; PENNSYLVANIA MANUFACTURERS
|
||||
ASSOCIATION
INSURANCE COMPANY;
|
||||
MANUFACTURERS
ALLIANCE INSURANCE
|
||||
COMPANY;
PENNSYLVANIA
|
||||
MANUFACTURERS
INDEMNITY COMPANY;
|
||||
AND
PMA MANAGEMENT CORP.
|
||||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
|
|||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxxx
|
|||
Title:
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
|||
Date:
|
February
18, 2009
|
|||
EXECUTIVE
|
||||
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
|
||||
Name:
|
Xxxxxxx
X. Xxxxxxx
|
|||
Date:
|
February
18, 2009
|
12