INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.21
This Indemnification Agreement (the “Agreement”) is made as of June 16, 2004, by and
between Trident Resources Corp., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
(the “Indemnitee”).
The Company desires to attract and retain the services of highly qualified individuals, such
as Indemnitee, to serve as directors, officers and employees, and under certain circumstances, to
serve the Company in other capacities. At the same time, the Company recognizes the substantial
increase in corporate litigation in general, potentially subjecting such highly qualified
individuals to the risk of expensive litigation. The Company further recognizes the increasing
difficulty and cost of obtaining liability insurance for directors, officers and others. As a
result, in order to obtain the services of the Indemnitee (or to retain his or her services), the
Company desires to extend to Indemnitee the protections against such risks afforded by this
Agreement.
In consideration of the mutual promises made in this Agreement, and for other good and
valuable consideration, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the Company and Indemnitee hereby
agree as follows:
(a) Third Party Proceedings. The Company shall indemnify Indemnitee if Indemnitee is
or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any “Legal Action” (which shall mean any
threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal,
administrative or investigative), other than a Legal Action by or in the right of the Company or
any subsidiary of the Company or another corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint
venture, trust or other enterprise for which Indemnitee is or was serving as a director, officer,
employee or agent at the request of the Company (any such enterprise for which Indemnitee was so
serving being herein referred to as a “Related Entity”), by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is
or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or any subsidiary of the Company, by
reason of any action or inaction on the part of Indemnitee while a director, officer, employee or
agent of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is
or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of a Related
Entity (or any action or inaction while serving in such capacity), against all expenses (including
attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement (if such settlement is approved
in advance by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld) actually and
reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Legal Action, provided that Indemnitee
(i) acted in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best
interests of the Company, (ii) acted in good faith, and (iii) with respect to any criminal Legal
Action, had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of
any Legal Action by judgment, order,
settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of
itself, create a presumption that any of the foregoing clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) were not
satisfied.
(b) Proceedings By or in the Right of the Company. The Company shall indemnify
Indemnitee if Indemnitee was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any Legal Action
by or in the right of the Company, any subsidiary of the Company or any Related Entity by reason of
the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or any
subsidiary of the Company, by reason of any action or inaction on the part of Indemnitee while
serving as a director, officer, agent or employee of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company,
or by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a
director, officer, employee or agent of a Related Entity (or any action or inaction of the
Indemnitee while serving in such capacity), against, to the fullest extent permitted by law,
expenses (including attorneys’ fees) and amounts paid in settlement (if such settlement is approved
in advance by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld), in each case to the
extent actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with the defense or settlement
of such Legal Action if Indemnitee (i) acted in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in,
or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, and (ii) acted in good
faith.
(c) Mandatory Payment of Expenses. To the extent that Indemnitee has been successful
on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in Section 1(a)
or Section 1(b) or the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, Indemnitee shall be
indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by
Indemnitee in connection therewith.
(a) Advancement of Expenses. The Company shall advance all expenses incurred by
Indemnitee in connection with the investigation, defense, settlement or appeal of any Legal Action
referred to in Section l(a) or Section 1(b) hereof (including amounts actually paid in settlement
of any such Legal Action). Indemnitee hereby undertakes to repay such amounts advanced only if,
and to the extent that, it shall ultimately be determined that Indemnitee is not entitled to be
indemnified by the Company.
(b) Notice/Cooperation by Indemnitee. Indemnitee shall give the Company notice in
writing as soon as practicable of any claim made against Indemnitee for which indemnification will
or could be sought under this Agreement. Notice to the Company shall be
directed to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and shall be given in accordance with
the provisions of Section 12(d) below. In addition, Indemnitee shall, at no expense to Indemnitee,
give the Company such information and cooperation as it may reasonably require and as shall be
within Indemnitee’s power.
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(c) Procedure. Any and all indemnification and advances provided for in Section 1 and
this Section 3 shall be made no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the written request of
Indemnitee. If a claim under this Agreement (or under the Company’s certificate of incorporation
or bylaws or any applicable statute or other rule of law) is not paid in full by the Company within
thirty (30) days after a written request for payment thereof has first been received by the
Company, Indemnitee may, but need not, at any time thereafter bring an action against the Company
to recover the unpaid amount of the claim and, subject to Section 11 of this Agreement, Indemnitee
shall also be entitled to be paid for the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) of bringing such
action.
(d) Notice to Insurers. If, at the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim
pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof, the Company has director and officer liability insurance in
effect, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such proceeding to the insurers
in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall
thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of the
Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such proceeding in accordance with the terms of such
policies. Nonetheless, the Company shall be responsible for and required to pay all amounts not
covered or not paid to Indemnitee pursuant to any director and officer liability insurance in
effect, if any, provided Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification as set forth in this Agreement.
(e) Selection of Counsel. In the event the Company shall be obligated under Section
3(a) hereof to pay the expenses of any Legal Action to which Indemnitee is a party, the Indemnitee,
shall (and shall be entitled to) assume the defense of such Legal Action, with counsel approved by
the Company, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, upon the delivery to Company of written
notice of Indemnitee’s election so to do. After delivery of such
notice, approval of such counsel by
the Company and the retention of such counsel by the Indemnitee, the Company will not be liable to
Indemnitee under this Agreement for any fees of non-approved counsel subsequently incurred by
Indemnitee with respect to the same Legal Action, provided that (i) Indemnitee shall have the right
to employ non-approved counsel in any such Legal Action at Indemnitee’s expense; and (ii) if (A)
the employment of non-approved counsel by Indemnitee has been previously authorized by the Company,
(B) Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest in the
representation of Indemnitee and the representation by original counsel approved by the Company or
another party to such Legal Action or (C) the Company shall not, in fact, have approved counsel to
assume the defense of such proceeding, then the fees and expenses of Indemnitee’s counsel shall be
at the expense of the Company.
(a) Scope. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company hereby
agrees to indemnify the Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, notwithstanding that
such indemnification is not specifically authorized by the other provisions of this Agreement, the
Company’s certificate of incorporation, bylaws or applicable statute or other rule of law. In the
event of any change, after the date of this Agreement, in any applicable statute or other rule of
law which expands the right of the Company to indemnify Indemnitee, such changes shall, without any
action on the part of the Company or the Indemnitee, be deemed
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to be within the purview of
Indemnitee’s rights and the Company’s obligations under this Agreement. In the event of any change
in any applicable statute or other rule of law which narrows the right of a Delaware corporation to
indemnify Indemnitee, such changes, to the extent not otherwise required by such statute or other
rule of law to be applied to this Agreement shall have no effect on this Agreement or the parties’
rights and obligations hereunder. The indemnification provided under this Agreement shall continue
as to Indemnitee for any action taken or not taken while serving in an indemnified capacity even
though he or she may have ceased to serve in any such capacity at the time of any Legal Action.
(b) Nonexclusivity. The indemnification provided by this Agreement shall not be
deemed exclusive of any other rights to which Indemnitee may be entitled, howsoever arising,
whether under the Company’s certificate of incorporation, its bylaws, any agreement, any vote of
stockholders or disinterested members of the Company’s Board of Directors, the General Corporation
Law of the State of Delaware, or any other applicable statute or rule of law.
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maintain such insurance if the Company determines in
good faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, if the premium costs for such insurance
are disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided, if the coverage provided by such insurance
is limited by exclusions so as to provide an insufficient benefit (considering the cost), or if
Indemnitee is already covered by similar insurance relating to Indemnitee’s service on behalf of
the Company.
(a) Claims Initiated by Indemnitee. To indemnify or advance expenses to Indemnitee
with respect to proceedings or claims initiated or brought voluntarily by Indemnitee and not by way
of defense, except with respect to proceedings brought to establish or enforce a right to
indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law or otherwise as required under
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, but such indemnification
or advancement of expenses may be provided by the Company in specific cases if the Board of
Directors finds it to be appropriate;
(b) Lack of Good Faith. To indemnify Indemnitee for any expenses incurred by
Indemnitee with respect to any proceeding instituted by Indemnitee to enforce or interpret this
Agreement, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that each of the material assertions
made by Indemnitee in such proceeding was not made in good faith or was frivolous;
(c) Insured Claims. To indemnify Indemnitee for expenses or liabilities of any type
whatsoever (including, but not limited to, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, and
amounts paid in settlement) to the extent such expenses or liabilities have been paid directly to
Indemnitee by an insurance carrier under a policy of officers’ and directors’ liability insurance
maintained by the Company; or
(d) Claims under Section 16(b). To indemnify Indemnitee for expenses or the payment
of profits arising from the purchase and sale by Indemnitee of securities in violation of Section
16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any similar successor statute.
(a) For purposes of this Agreement, references to the “Company” shall include, in
addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a
constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate
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existence had continued,
would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents,
so that if Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent
corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director,
officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise, Indemnitee shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Agreement with
respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as Indemnitee would have with respect to such
constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(b) For purposes of this Agreement, references to “other enterprises” shall include
employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on
Indemnitee with respect to an employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request
of the Company” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the
Company which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent
with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants, or beneficiaries; and if Indemnitee
acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in the interest of the
participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan, Indemnitee shall be deemed to have
acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the Company” as referred to in this
Agreement.
(a) Governing Law. This Agreement and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and
the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be governed, construed and interpreted in
accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to principles of conflict
of law.
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[Signature Page Follows]
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The parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year set forth on the first
page of this Agreement.
| TRIDENT RESOURCES CORP. | ||||||
| By: | ||||||
| Title: | ||||||
| Address: | 000 – 0xx Xxxxxx X.X., Xxxxx 0000 | |||||
| Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx X0X 0X0 | ||||||
| Attention: President | ||||||
| Facsimile: (000) 000-0000 | ||||||
AGREED TO AND ACCEPTED: |
||
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx |
||
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