EXHIBIT 10.1
GENITOPE CORPORATION
INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into this ____ day of __________,
2003 by and between GENITOPE CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), and __________ ("Agent").
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Agent performs a valuable service to the Company as __________
of the Company;
WHEREAS, the stockholders of the Company have adopted bylaws (the
"Bylaws") providing for the indemnification of the directors, officers,
employees and other agents of the Company, including persons serving at the
request of the Company in such capacities with other corporations or
enterprises, as authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended
(the "Code");
WHEREAS, the Bylaws and the Code, by their non-exclusive nature, permit
contracts between the Company and its agents, officers, employees and other
agents with respect to indemnification of such persons; and
WHEREAS, in order to induce Agent to continue to serve as __________ of
the Company, the Company has determined and agreed to enter into this Agreement
with Agent.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of Agent's continued service as
__________ after the date hereof, the parties hereto agree as follows:
AGREEMENT
1. SERVICES TO THE COMPANY. Agent will serve, at the will of the
Company or under separate contract, if any such contract exists, as __________
of the Company or as a director, officer or other fiduciary of an affiliate of
the Company (including any employee benefit plan of the Company) faithfully and
to the best of his ability so long as he is duly elected and qualified in
accordance with the provisions of the Bylaws or other applicable charter
documents of the Company or such affiliate; provided, however, that Agent may at
any time and for any reason resign from such position (subject to any
contractual obligation that Agent may have assumed apart from this Agreement)
and that the Company or any affiliate shall have no obligation under this
Agreement to continue Agent in any such position.
2. INDEMNITY OF AGENT. The Company hereby agrees to hold harmless
and indemnify Agent to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by the
provisions of the Bylaws and the Code, as the same may be amended from time to
time (but, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Company to provide
broader indemnification rights than the Bylaws or the Code permitted prior to
adoption of such amendment).
3. ADDITIONAL INDEMNITY. In addition to and not in limitation of
the indemnification otherwise provided for herein, and subject only to the
exclusions set forth in Section 4 hereof, the Company hereby further agrees to
hold harmless and indemnify Agent:
(a) against any and all expenses (including attorneys'
fees), witness fees, damages, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement
and any other amounts that Agent becomes legally obligated to pay because of any
claim or claims made against or by him in connection with any threatened,
pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal,
arbitrational, administrative or investigative (including an action by or in the
right of the Company) to which Agent is, was or at any time becomes a party, or
is threatened to be made a party, by reason of the fact that Agent is, was or at
any time becomes a director, officer, employee or other agent of Company, or is
or was serving or at any time serves at the request of the Company as a
director, officer, employee or other agent of another company, partnership,
joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise; and
(b) otherwise to the fullest extent as may be provided to
Agent by the Company under the non-exclusivity provisions of the Code and
Section 43 of the Bylaws.
4. LIMITATIONS ON ADDITIONAL INDEMNITY. No indemnity pursuant to
Section 3 hereof shall be paid by the Company:
(a) on account of any claim against Agent solely for an
accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale by Agent of securities of
the Company 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;
(b) on account of Agent's conduct that is established by
a final judgment as knowingly fraudulent or deliberately dishonest or that
constituted willful misconduct;
(c) on account of Agent's conduct that is established by
a final judgment as constituting a breach of Agent's duty of loyalty to the
Company or resulting in any personal profit or advantage to which Agent was not
legally entitled;
(d) for which payment is actually made to Agent under a
valid and collectible insurance policy or under a valid and enforceable
indemnity clause, bylaw or agreement, except in respect of any excess beyond
payment under such insurance, clause, bylaw or agreement;
(e) if indemnification is not lawful (and, in this
respect, both the Company and Agent 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); or
(f) in connection with any proceeding (or part thereof)
initiated by Agent, or any proceeding by Agent against the Company or its
directors, officers, employees or other agents, unless (i) such indemnification
is expressly required to be made by law, (ii) the proceeding was authorized by
the Board of Directors of the Company, (iii) such indemnification
is provided by the Company, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers
vested in the Company under the Code, or (iv) the proceeding is initiated
pursuant to Section 9 hereof.
5. CONTINUATION OF INDEMNITY. All agreements and obligations of
the Company contained herein shall continue during the period Agent is a
director, officer, employee or other agent of the Company (or is or was serving
at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or other agent of
another company, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee
benefit plan or other enterprise) and shall continue thereafter so long as Agent
shall be subject to any possible claim or threatened, pending or completed
action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, arbitrational,
administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that Agent was serving in
the capacity referred to herein.
6. PARTIAL INDEMNIFICATION. Agent shall be entitled under this
Agreement to indemnification by the Company for a portion of the expenses
(including attorneys' fees), witness fees, damages, judgments, fines and amounts
paid in settlement and any other amounts that Agent becomes legally obligated to
pay in connection with any action, suit or proceeding referred to in Section 3
hereof even if not entitled hereunder to indemnification for the total amount
thereof, and the Company shall indemnify Agent for the portion thereof to which
Agent is entitled.
7. NOTIFICATION AND DEFENSE OF CLAIM. Not later than thirty (30)
days after receipt by Agent of notice of the commencement of any action, suit or
proceeding, Agent will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the
Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the commencement thereof;
but the omission so to notify the Company will not relieve it from any liability
which it may have to Agent otherwise than under this Agreement. With respect to
any such action, suit or proceeding as to which Agent notifies the Company of
the commencement thereof:
(a) the Company will be entitled to participate therein
at its own expense;
(b) except as otherwise provided below, the Company may,
at its option and jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified
and electing to assume such defense, assume the defense thereof, with counsel
reasonably satisfactory to Agent. After notice from the Company to Agent of its
election to assume the defense thereof, the Company will not be liable to Agent
under this Agreement for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by
Agent in connection with the defense thereof except for reasonable costs of
investigation or otherwise as provided below. Agent shall have the right to
employ separate counsel in such action, suit or proceeding but the fees and
expenses of such counsel incurred after notice from the Company of its
assumption of the defense thereof shall be at the expense of Agent unless (i)
the employment of counsel by Agent has been authorized by the Company, (ii)
Agent shall have reasonably concluded, and so notified the Company, that there
is an actual conflict of interest between the Company and Agent in the conduct
of the defense of such action or (iii) the Company shall not in fact have
employed counsel to assume the defense of such action, in each of which cases
the fees and expenses of Agent's separate counsel shall be at the expense of the
Company. The Company shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any action,
suit or proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Company or as to which Agent
shall have made the conclusion provided for in clause (ii) above; and
(c) the Company shall not be liable to indemnify Agent
under this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of any action or claim
effected without its written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
The Company 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 or
limitation on Agent without Agent's written consent, which may be given or
withheld in Agent's sole discretion.
8. EXPENSES. The corporation shall advance to an Agent who was or
is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or executive
officer, of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the
corporation as a director or executive officer of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, prior to the final
disposition of the proceeding, promptly following request therefor, all expenses
incurred by Agent in connection with such proceeding provided, however, that if
the Code requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by a director or
executive officer in his or her capacity as a director or executive officer (and
not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such Agent,
including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be
made only upon delivery to the corporation of an undertaking (hereinafter an
"undertaking"), by or on behalf of such Agent, to repay all amounts so advanced
if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there
is no further right to appeal (hereinafter a "final adjudication") that such
Agent is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under Section 43 of
the Bylaws or otherwise.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless otherwise determined pursuant to
paragraph (e) of Section 43 of the Bylaws, no advance shall be made by the
corporation to an Agent (except by reason of the fact that such Agent is or was
a director of the corporation in which event this paragraph shall not apply) in
any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, if a determination is reasonably and promptly made (i) by a
majority vote of directors who were not parties to the proceeding, even if not a
quorum, or (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by a majority vote
of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (iii) if there are no such
directors, or such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a
written opinion, that the facts known to the decision-making party at the time
such determination is made demonstrate clearly and convincingly that such person
acted in bad faith or in a manner that such person did not believe to be in or
not opposed to the best interests of the corporation.
9. ENFORCEMENT. Any right to indemnification or advances granted
by this Agreement to Agent shall be enforceable by or on behalf of Agent in any
court of competent jurisdiction if (i) the claim for indemnification or advances
is denied, in whole or in part, or (ii) no disposition of such claim is made
within ninety (90) days of request therefor. Agent, in such enforcement action,
if successful in whole or in part, shall be entitled to be paid also the expense
of prosecuting his claim. It shall be a defense to any action for which a claim
for indemnification is made under Section 3 hereof (other than an action brought
to enforce a claim for expenses pursuant to Section 8 hereof, provided that the
required undertaking has been tendered to the Company) that Agent is not
entitled to indemnification because of the limitations set forth in Section 4
hereof. Neither the failure of the Company (including its Board of Directors or
its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such
enforcement action that indemnification of Agent is proper in the circumstances,
nor an actual determination by the Company (including its Board of Directors or
its stockholders) that such indemnification is improper shall be a defense to
the action or create a presumption that Agent is not entitled to indemnification
under this Agreement or otherwise.
10. SUBROGATION. In the event of payment under this Agreement, the
Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights
of recovery of Agent, who shall execute all documents required and shall do all
acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the Company
effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.
11. NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS. The rights conferred on Agent by
this Agreement shall not be exclusive of any other right which Agent may have or
hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Company's Certificate of
Incorporation or Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or directors, or
otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in
another capacity while holding office.
12. SURVIVAL OF RIGHTS.
(a) The rights conferred on Agent by this Agreement shall
continue after Agent has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or other
agent of the Company or to serve at the request of the Company as a director,
officer, employee or other agent of another company, corporation, partnership,
joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise and shall inure
to the benefit of Agent's heirs, executors and administrators.
(b) The Company shall require any successor (whether
direct or indirect, by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or
substantially all of the business or assets of the Company, expressly to assume
and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent
that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken
place.
13. SEPARABILITY. Each of the provisions of this Agreement is a
separate and distinct agreement and independent of the others, so that if any
provision hereof shall be held to be invalid for any reason, such invalidity or
unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other
provisions hereof. Furthermore, if this Agreement shall be invalidated in its
entirety on any ground, then the Company shall nevertheless indemnify Agent to
the fullest extent provided by the Bylaws, the Code or any other applicable law.
14. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be interpreted and
enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.
15. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION. No amendment, modification,
termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective unless in
writing signed by both parties hereto.
16. IDENTICAL COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in one
or more counterparts, each of which shall for all purposes be deemed to be an
original but all of which together shall constitute but one and the same
Agreement. Only one such counterpart need be produced to evidence the existence
of this Agreement.
17. HEADINGS. The headings of the sections of this Agreement are
inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute part of this
Agreement or to affect the construction hereof.
18. NOTICES. All notices, requests, demands and other
communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been
duly given (i) upon delivery if delivered by hand to the party to whom such
communication was directed or (ii) upon the third business day after the date on
which such communication was mailed if mailed by certified or registered mail
with postage prepaid:
(a) If to Agent, at the address indicated on the
signature page hereof.
(b) If to the Company, to:
Genitope Corporation
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attn: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx, Esq.
or to such other address as may have been furnished to Agent by the Company.
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on and as of
the day and year first above written.
GENITOPE CORPORATION:
Name (Print):_______________________________
Signature:__________________________________
Title:______________________________________
AGENT:
Name (Print):_______________________________
Signature:__________________________________
Title:______________________________________
