COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC. 2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN Restricted Share Award Agreement (for Non-Employee Directors) Initial Grant Award No. Date
Exhibit 99.4
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
(for Non-Employee Directors)
Initial Grant
Award No.
Date
In
consideration of, and as a reward for, your past services rendered to
Commerce Energy Group, Inc. (“the Company”) and to
provide you with an incentive for on-going superior performance (which has a value exceeding the
par value of the Restricted Shares awarded pursuant to this Agreement) you are hereby awarded
Restricted Shares subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Restricted Share Award
Agreement (“Award Agreement” or “Award”), and in the Commerce Energy Group, Inc.
2006 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), which is attached hereto as Exhibit A. A
summary of the Plan appears in its Prospectus, which is attached as Exhibit B. You should
carefully review these documents, and consult with your personal financial advisor, in order to
fully understand the implications of this Award, including your tax alternatives and their
consequences.
By executing this Award Agreement, you agree to be bound by all of the Plan’s terms and
conditions as if they had been set out verbatim in this Award Agreement. In addition, you
recognize and agree that all determinations, interpretations, or other actions respecting the Plan
and this Award Agreement will be made by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Company and that such determinations, interpretations or other
actions are (in the absence of manifest bad faith or fraud) final, conclusive and binding upon all
parties, including you, your heirs and representatives. Capitalized terms are defined in the Plan
or in this Award Agreement.
1. Specific Terms. Your Restricted Shares have the following terms:
Name of Participant |
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Number of Shares
Subject to Award |
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Purchase Price per Share (if applicable) |
Not applicable. | |
Award Date |
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Vesting
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100% on the first day of the month in which the one year anniversary of the date of issuance occurs; subject to acceleration as provided in the Plan and to your Continuous Service not ending before the vesting date. |
Lifetime Transfer
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¨ Allowed. ¨ Not allowed. | |
Deferral Elections
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¨ Allowed in accordance with Section 8(g) of the Plan. ¨ Not allowed. |
2. Investment Purposes. You acknowledge that you are acquiring your Restricted Shares for
investment purposes only and without any present intention of selling or distributing them.
3. Issuance of Restricted Shares. Until all vesting restrictions lapse, any certificates
that you receive for Restricted Shares will include a legend stating that they are subject to the
restrictions set forth in the Plan and this Award Agreement. The certificates evidencing such
Restricted Shares that will be issued will bear the following legend that shall remain in place and
effective until all other vesting restrictions lapse and new certificates are issued:
“The sale or other transfer of the Stock represented by this certificate, whether voluntary,
involuntary, or by operation of law, is subject to certain restrictions on transfer set forth in
the Commerce Energy Group, Inc. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, and in any rules and administrative
procedures adopted pursuant to such Plan and in a related Award Agreement. A copy of the Plan,
such rules and procedures and such Award Agreement may be obtained from the Secretary of Commerce
Energy Group, Inc.”
4. Unvested Restricted Shares. The Company will hold such Restricted Shares in escrow
until vesting occurs. You will be reflected as the owner of record on the Company’s books and
records of any Shares issued pursuant to this Award Agreement. The Company will hold the stock
certificates for safekeeping until such Shares have become vested and non-forfeitable. You must
deliver to the Company, as soon as practicable after the date any Shares are issued, a stock power,
endorsed in blank, with respect to any such Shares. If you forfeit any Shares, the stock power will
be used to return the certificates for the forfeited Shares to the transfer agent for cancellation.
As the owner of record of any Restricted Shares you qualify to receive pursuant to this Award
Agreement, you will be entitled to all rights of a stockholder of the Company, including the right
to vote Shares; subject, however, to the provisions of Section 5 hereof with respect to any cash or
stock dividends that are paid between the date of this Award and your receipt of shares pursuant to
a vesting event, subject in each case to the treatment of the Award upon termination of employment
before the particular record date for determining stockholders of record entitled to the payment of
the dividend or distribution. To the extent such a dividend is paid in stock, such stock shall be
subject to the same restrictions contained in Section 1.
5. Dividends. When Shares are delivered to you or your duly-authorized transferee pursuant
to the vesting of the Shares, you or your duly-authorized transferee shall also be entitled to
receive, with respect to each Share issued, an amount equal to any cash dividends (plus simple
interest at a rate of five percent per annum, or such other reasonable rate as the Committee may
determine) and a number of Shares equal to any stock dividends, which were declared and paid to the
holders of Shares between the Grant Date and the date such Share is issued. To the extent that
your Continuous Service ends before vesting of the Shares, you will forfeit all dividends (whether
paid in cash or in stock) attributable to all such Shares.
6. Termination, Rescission and Recapture. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan
or this Award Agreement, terms of Section 25 of the Plan shall not apply to this Award Agreement.
7. Section 83(b) Election Notice. If you make an election under Section 83(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, with respect to the Shares underlying your Restricted
Shares (a “Section 83(b) election”), you agree to provide a copy of such election to the
Company within 10 days after filing that election with the Internal Revenue Service. Exhibit
C contains a suggested form of Section 83(b) election.
8. Designation of Beneficiary. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein
or in the Plan, following the execution of this Award Agreement, you may expressly designate a
beneficiary (the “Beneficiary”) to your interest, if any, in the Restricted Shares awarded
hereby. You shall designate the Beneficiary by completing and executing a designation of
beneficiary agreement substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit D (the
“Designation of Beneficiary”) and delivering an executed copy of the Designation of
Beneficiary to the Company.
9. Restrictions on Transfer. This Award Agreement may not be sold, pledged, or otherwise
transferred without the prior written consent of the Committee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Participant may transfer this Award (i) by instrument to an inter vivos or testamentary trust (or
other entity) in which each beneficiary is a permissible gift recipient, as such is set forth in
subsection (ii) of this Section, or (ii) by gift to charitable institutions or by gift or transfer
for consideration to any of the following relatives of the Participant (or to an inter vivos trust,
testamentary trust or other entity primarily for the benefit of the following relatives of the
Participant): any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former
spouse, domestic partner, xxxxxxx, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, and shall include adoptive relationships. Any
transferee of the Participant’s rights shall succeed and be subject to all of the terms of this
Award Agreement and the Plan.
10. Income Taxes and Deferred Compensation. The Participant is solely responsible and
liable for the satisfaction of all taxes and penalties that may arise in connection with this Award
(including any taxes arising under Section 409A of the Code), and the Company shall not have any
obligation to indemnify or otherwise hold any Participant harmless from any or all of such taxes.
The Committee shall have the discretion to unilaterally modify this Award in a manner that (i)
conforms with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, (ii) that voids any election of the
Participant to the extent it would violate Section 409A of the Code, and (iii) for any distribution
election that would violate Section 409A of the Code, to make distributions pursuant to the Award
at the earliest to occur of a distribution event that is allowable under Section 409A of the Code
or any distribution event that is both allowable under Section 409A of the Code and is elected by
the Participant, subject to any valid second election to defer, provided that the Committee permits
second elections to defer in accordance with Section 409A(a)(4)(C). The Committee shall have the
sole discretion to interpret the requirements of the Code, including Section 409A, for purposes of
the Plan and this Award Agreement.
11. Notices. Any notice or communication required or permitted by any provision of this
Award Agreement to be given to you shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally or sent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to you at the last address that the Company had
for you on its records. Each party may, from time to time, by notice to the other party hereto,
specify a new address for delivery of notices relating to this Award Agreement. Any such notice
shall be deemed to be given as of the date such notice is personally delivered or properly mailed.
12. Binding Effect. Except as otherwise provided in this Award Agreement or in the Plan,
every covenant, term, and provision of this Award Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, legatees, legal representatives,
successors, transferees, and assigns.
13. Modifications. This Award Agreement may be modified or amended at any time, in
accordance with Section 15 of the Plan and provided that you must consent in writing to any
modification that adversely alters or impairs any rights or obligations under this Award Agreement.
14. Headings. Section and other headings contained in this Award Agreement are for
reference purposes only and are not intended to describe, interpret, define or limit the scope or
intent of this Award Agreement or any provision hereof.
15. Severability. Every provision of this Award Agreement and of the Plan is intended to
be severable. If any term hereof is illegal or invalid for any reason, such illegality or
invalidity shall not affect the validity or legality of the remaining terms of this Award
Agreement.
16. Counterparts. This Award Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto in separate
counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be an original, but all such
counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.
17. Plan Governs. By signing this Award Agreement, you acknowledge that you have received
a copy of the Plan and that your Award Agreement is subject to all the provisions contained in the
Plan, the provisions of which are made a part of this Award Agreement and your Award is subject to
all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which from time to time may be promulgated
and adopted pursuant to the Plan. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Award
Agreement and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.
18. Governing Law. The laws of the State of Delaware shall govern the validity of this
Award Agreement, the construction of its terms, and the interpretation of the rights and duties of
the parties hereto.
BY YOUR SIGNATURE BELOW, along with the signature of the Company’s representative, you and the
Company agree that the Restricted Shares are awarded under and governed by the terms and conditions
of this Award Agreement and the Plan.
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC. |
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By: | __________________________ | |||
Name: | ||||
Title: | ||||
PARTICIPANT The undersigned Participant hereby accepts the terms of this Award Agreement and the Plan. |
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By: | __________________________ | |||
Name of Participant: ________________________ |
EXHIBIT A
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
Plan Document
EXHIBIT B
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
Plan Prospectus
EXHIBIT C
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
Section 83(b) Election Form
Attached is an Internal Revenue Code Section 83(b) Election Form. IF YOU WISH TO MAKE A SECTION
83(B) ELECTION, YOU MUST DO SO WITHIN 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE THE RESTRICTED SHARES COVERED BY THE
ELECTION WERE TRANSFERRED TO YOU. In order to make the election, you must completely fill out the
attached form and file one copy with the Internal Revenue Service office where you file your tax
return. In addition, one copy of the statement also must be submitted with your income tax return
for the taxable year in which you make this election. Finally, you also must submit a copy of the
election form to the Company within 10 days after filing that election with the Internal Revenue
Service. A Section 83(b) election normally cannot be revoked.
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
Election to Include Value of Restricted Shares in Gross Income
in Year of Transfer Under Internal Revenue Code Section 83(b)
in Year of Transfer Under Internal Revenue Code Section 83(b)
Pursuant to Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, I hereby elect within 30 days after
receiving the property described herein to be taxed immediately on its value specified in item 5
below.
1. | My General Information: | |||||||
Name: | ||||||||
Address: | ||||||||
S.S.N. | ||||||||
or T.I.N.: | ||||||||
2. | Description of the property with respect to which I am making this election: | |||||||
____________________ shares of ___________ stock of Commerce Energy Group, Inc. (the “Restricted Shares”). | ||||||||
3. | The Restricted Shares were transferred to me on ______________ ___, 20___. This election relates to the 20____ calendar taxable year. | |||||||
4. | The Restricted Shares are subject to the following restrictions: | |||||||
The Restricted Shares are forfeitable until they is are earned in accordance with Section 1 of the Commerce Energy Group, Inc. 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (“Plan”) Restricted Shares Award Agreement (“Award Agreement”) or other Award Agreement or Plan provisions. The Restricted Shares generally are not transferable until my interest becomes vested and nonforfeitable, pursuant to the Award Agreement and the Plan. | ||||||||
5. | Fair market value: | |||||||
The fair market value at the time of transfer (determined without regard to any restrictions other than restrictions which by their terms never will lapse) of the Restricted Shares with respect to which I am making this election is $ ____________ per share. |
6. | Amount paid for Restricted Shares: | |||||||
The amount I paid for the Restricted Shares is $ per share. | ||||||||
7. | Furnishing statement to employer: | |||||||
A copy of this statement has been furnished to my employer, _____________. If the transferor of the Restricted Shares is not my employer, that entity also has been furnished with a copy of this statement. | ||||||||
8. | Award Agreement or Plan not affected: | |||||||
Nothing contained herein shall be held to change any of the terms or conditions of the Award Agreement or the Plan. | ||||||||
Dated: ____________ ___, 20___. | ||||||||
_________________________________ | ||||||||
Taxpayer |
EXHIBIT D
COMMERCE ENERGY GROUP, INC.
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
2006 STOCK INCENTIVE PLAN
Designation of Beneficiary
In connection with Award Agreements between Commerce Energy Group, Inc. (the
“Company”) and ___, an individual residing at ___(the
“Recipient”), the Recipient hereby designates the person specified below as the beneficiary
of the Recipient’s interest in Awards as defined in the Company’s 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (the
“Plan”). This designation shall remain in effect until revoked in writing by the
Recipient.
Name of Beneficiary: | ||||||
Address: | ||||||
Social Security No.: | ||||||
This beneficiary designation relates to any and all of Recipient’s rights under the following
Award or Awards:
¨ | any Award that Recipient has received under the Plan. | |||
¨ | the ___Award that Recipient received pursuant to an award agreement dated ___, ___between Recipient and the Company. |
The Recipient understands that this designation operates to entitle the above-named
beneficiary to the rights conferred by an Award from the date this form is delivered to the Company
until such date as this designation is revoked in writing by the Recipient, including by delivery
to the Company of a written designation of beneficiary executed by the Recipient on a later date.
Date: | ||||||
By: | ||||||
Sworn to before me this
______day of ____________, 200_
______________________________
Notary Public
County of___________________________
State of ___________________________
______day of ____________, 200_
______________________________
Notary Public
County of___________________________
State of ___________________________