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EXHIBIT 10.10
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT ("Agreement") is entered into by and between
PARAVAX, INC., a California corporation with its principal office at 0000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx ("Company") and XXXXXX X.
XXXXXX ("Employee"), effective as of January 1, 1994.
W I T N E S S E T H:
Whereas Company desires to employ Employee to act as its Vice Chairman
of the Board of Directors and Vice President, Research and Development in an
at-will capacity; and
Whereas Employee wishes to act as Company's Vice Chairman of the Board
of Directors and Vice President, Research and Development as an employee in an
at-will capacity;
Now, Therefore, in consideration of the mutual covenants and
warranties contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. Employment. Company hereby employs Employee as its Vice Chairman
of the Board of Directors and Vice President, Research and Development, and
Employee hereby accepts such employment.
2. Duties and Responsibilities. Employee shall serve as Vice
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Vice President, Research and Development
of Company, with such duties and responsibilities as may be assigned to him
from time to time by the Board of Directors of Company, and with such on-going
daily duties and responsibilities as are typically entailed in the position of
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Vice President, Research and
Development. Employee shall devote his full time and energies to such duties.
3. Compensation. Company shall pay Employee, as compensation for
services rendered under this Agreement, compensation at the rate of $120,000
per year, payable in accordance with the usual and customary payroll practices
of Company. If for any reason during any given year, Employee does not work an
entire year, other than normal vacations as provided hereunder, the
compensation will be prorated to compensate only for the actual time worked.
4. Expenses. Company shall reimburse Employee for his reasonable
out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the business of Company,
upon presentation of appropriate written receipts and reports and subject to
the customary practices of Company.
5. Employee Benefits. During the term of his employment hereunder,
Employee shall be entitled to receive the same benefits that the Board of
Directors establishes generally for the officers and other employees of
Company. These may include from time to time, medical insurance, life
insurance, paid vacation time and medical disability insurance.
6. Termination.
(a) At-Will. This is an at-will employment agreement and does not
bind either of the parties to any specific term or duration.
(i) Employee is free to terminate employment with Company at
any time, for any reason, or for no reason.
(ii) Company is free to terminate the employment of Employee
at any time, for any reason or for no reason, for cause or without cause, and
without any prior notice.
(b) Severance Pay.
(i) Upon involuntary termination of his employment, Employee
will be entitled to severance pay as provided below unless he is terminated for
"cause," as defined below. If Company terminates Employee for "cause,"
Employee will not be entitled to any severance pay and shall only receive pay
and benefits which Employee earned as of the date of termination.
(ii) Definition of "Cause". The parties agree that for the
purposes of this
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Employment Agreement, a termination for "cause" will be deemed to have occurred
when Company terminates Employee's employment because of the occurrence of any
of the following events:
(A) Employee shall die, be adjudicated to be mentally
incompetent or become mentally or physically disabled to such an
extent that Employee is unable to perform his duties under this
Employment Agreement for a period of ninety (90) consecutive days;
(B) Company shall discontinue its business (for the purpose
of this provision, a merger, acquisition or sale of Company in which
Company's business is carried on by the surviving entity shall not be
deemed to be a discontinuance of the business of Company);
(C) Employee shall commit any material breach of his
obligations under this Agreement;
(D) Employee shall commit any material breach of any material
fiduciary duty to Company;
(E) Employee shall be convicted of, or enter a plea of nolo
contendere to, any crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty,
whether a felony or misdemeanor, or any crime which reflects so
negatively on Company to be detrimental to Company's image or
interests;
(F) Employee shall commit repeated insubordination or refusal
to comply with any reasonable request of the Board of Directors of
Company relating to the scope or performance of Employee's duties;
(G) Employee shall possess any illegal drug on Company
premises or Employee shall be under the influence of illegal drugs or
abusing prescription drugs or alcohol while on Company business or on
Company premises; or
(H) Employee shall conduct himself in a manner, which in the
good faith and reasonable determination of the Board of Directors
demonstrated Employee's gross unfitness to serve.
(iii) In the event that severance pay is due to Employee as a
result of the involuntary termination of his employment without "cause" within
three years of the date of this Agreement, Employee will be paid one (1) years'
salary in twelve equal monthly installments, with the first such installment
due 15 days after the date of such termination and with the following eleven
installments due monthly thereafter.
(iv) In the event that severance pay is due to Employee as
a result of the involuntary termination of his employment without "cause" three
or more years after the date of this Agreement, Employee will be paid six (6)
months' salary in six equal monthly installments, with the first such
installment due 15 days after the date of such termination and with the
following five installments due monthly thereafter.
7. Proprietary Information. Employee agrees that he will promptly
execute Company's standard employee proprietary information and assignment of
inventions agreement. For three (3) years following his termination as an
employee, Employee agrees not to undertake any employment or activity wherein
the loyal and complete fulfillment of the duties of such employment or activity
would necessarily call upon Employee to reveal, to make judgments on or
otherwise to use, any proprietary business information or trade secrets of
Company's business to which Employee had access by reason of Company's
business.
8. Attorneys' Fees. If any legal action arises under this Agreement
or by reason of any asserted breach of it, the prevailing party shall be
entitled to recover all costs and
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expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred in enforcing or
attempting to enforce any of the terms, covenants or conditions, including
costs incurred prior to commencement of legal action, and all costs and
expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred in any appeal from an
action brought to enforce any of the terms, covenants or conditions. For
purposes of this section, "prevailing party" includes without limitation a
party who agrees to dismiss a suit or proceeding upon the other's payment or
performance of substantially the relief sought.
9. Notices. Any notice to be given to Company under the terms of
this Agreement shall be addressed to Company at the address of its principal
place of business, and any notice to be given to Employee shall be addressed to
him at his home address last shown on the records of Company, or to such other
address as a party shall have given notice of hereunder.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement
the day and year hereinabove written.
PARAVAX, INC.
By /s/ X. XXXX XXXXX
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Its Chairman
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/s/ XXXXXX X. XXXXXX
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Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
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HESKA CORPORATION
AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
WITH
XXXXXX X XXXXXX
THIS AMENDMENT AGREEMENT is entered into effective as of March 4, 1997 by
and between Heska Corporation, formerly Paravax, Inc. (the "Company"), and
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx ("Employee"). The Company and Employee are collectively
referred to herein as the "Parties."
WHEREAS, effective as of January 1, 1994, the Company and Employee entered
into an Employment Agreement (the "Employment Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, the Parties desire to amend the Employment Agreement for the
purpose of (a) extending the period during which terminations may give rise to
one-year's severance pay, and (b) amending the scope of severance pay to
include vesting under equity stock arrangements;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, the Parties agree as
follows:
1. Amendment to Section 6(b)(iii). Section 6(b)(iii) is hereby amended by
deleting said paragraph in its entirety and substituting the following
therefor:
(iii) In the event that severance pay is due to Employee as a result
of the involuntary termination of his employment without "cause" on
or before December 31, 1999, Employee will receive (i) one year's
salary in twelve equal monthly installments, with the first such
installment due 15 days after the date of such termination and with
the following eleven installments due monthly thereafter, and (ii) an
additional twelve months of vesting (calculated from the effective
termination date, and not from the end of the severance pay period)
under all stock option agreements, stock purchase agreements or other
stock rights granted to Employee.
2. Amendment to Section 6(b)(iv). Section 6(b)(iv) is hereby amended by
deleting said paragraph in its entirety and substituting the following
therefor:
(iv) In the event that the severance pay is due to Employee as a
result of the involuntary termination of his employment without
"cause" after December 31, 1999, Employee will receive (i) six
months' salary in six equal monthly installments, with the first such
installment due 15 days after the date of such termination and with
the following six installments due monthly thereafter, and (ii) an
additional six months of vesting (calculated from the effective
termination date, and not from the end of the severance pay period)
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under all stock option agreements, stock purchase agreements or other
stock rights granted to Employee.
3. Addition of Section 10. Section 10 is hereby added to read as follows:
10. Miscellaneous. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of
the State of Colorado as applied to contracts between residents of
that state to be performed wholly within that state. This Agreement is
the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject
matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings and agreements.
This Agreement may be modified only by a writing signed by both
parties.
4. No Other Changes. Except for the changes expressly made by this
Amendment Agreement, the Employment Agreement remains in full force
and effect without change.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties, for good and valuable consideration the
sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, have executed this Amendment
Agreement as of the date first written above.
the "Corporation" "Employee"
Heska Corporation Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
By: /s/ XXXX X. XXXXXXXXX /s/ XXXXXX X. XXXXXX
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