1
Exhibit 10.21
OFFICER INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
---------------------------------
This Officer Indemnification Agreement, dated as of ______________,
1999 (this "Agreement"), is made by and between Omnova Solutions Inc., an Ohio
corporation (the "Company"), and ___________________ (the "Indemnitee"), an
officer of the Company.
RECITALS
--------
A. The Indemnitee is presently serving as an officer of the Company,
and the Company desires that the Indemnitee continue serving in such capacity.
The Indemnitee is willing, subject to certain conditions including the execution
and performance of this Agreement by the Company, to continue serving in such
capacity.
B. In addition to the indemnification to which the Indemnitee is
entitled under the code of regulations of the Company (the "Regulations"), the
Company has obtained, at its sole expense, insurance protecting the Company and
its officers and directors, including the Indemnitee, against certain losses
arising out of any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, or proceeding
to which such persons may be made or are threatened to be made parties.
NOW, THEREFORE, in order to induce the Indemnitee to continue to serve
in his present capacity, and for other good and valuable consideration the
receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and the
Indemnitee agree as follows:
1. CONTINUED SERVICE
-----------------
The Indemnitee shall continue to serve, at the will of the Company or
in accordance with a separate contract, to the extent that such a contract is in
effect at the time in question, as an officer of the Company so long as he is
duly elected and qualified in accordance with the Regulations or until he
resigns in writing in accordance with applicable law.
2. INITIAL INDEMNITY
-----------------
(a) The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if or when he 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 (other than an action by or in the right of the Company), by
reason of the fact that he is or was an officer of the Company or is or was
serving at the request of the Company as a director, trustee, officer, employee,
member, manager or agent of another corporation, domestic or foreign, nonprofit
or for profit, a limited
2
liability company, or a partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise,
or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken or omitted in any such
capacity, against any and all costs, charges, expenses (including fees and
expenses of attorneys or others; all such costs, charges and expenses being
herein jointly referred to as "Expenses"), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in
settlement, actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection
therewith, including any appeal of or from any judgment or decision, if the
Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and, with respect to
any criminal action or proceeding, he had no reasonable cause to believe his
conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by
judgment, order, settlement, or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or
its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the Indemnitee
did not satisfy the foregoing standard of conduct to the extent applicable
thereto.
(b) The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee if or when he is a
party, or is threatened to be made a party, to any threatened, pending, or
completed action, suit, or proceeding by or in the right of the Company to
procure a judgment in its favor, by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or
was an officer of the Company or is or was serving at the request of the Company
as a director, trustee, officer, employee, member, manager or agent of another
corporation, domestic or foreign, nonprofit or for profit, a limited liability
company, or a partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, against
any and all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in
connection with the defense or settlement thereof or any appeal of or from any
judgment or decision, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner he
reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the
Company, except that no indemnification pursuant to this Section 2(b) shall be
made in respect of any claim, issue, or matter as to which the Indemnitee is
adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his
duty to the Company unless, and only to the extent that, the court of common
pleas or other court in which such action, suit, or proceeding was brought
determines, notwithstanding any adjudication of liability, that in view of all
the circumstances of the case the Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled
to indemnity for such expenses as such court of common pleas or other court
shall deem proper.
(c) Any indemnification under Section 2(a) or 2(b) (unless ordered by a
court) shall be made by the Company only as authorized in the specific case upon
a determination that indemnification of the Indemnitee is proper in the
circumstances because he has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in
Section 2(a) or 2(b). Such authorization shall be made (i) by the Board of
Directors of the Company (the "Board") by a majority vote of a quorum consisting
of directors who were not and are not parties to or threatened with such action,
suit, or proceeding, or (ii) if such a quorum of disinterested directors is not
available or if a majority of such quorum so directs, in a written opinion by
independent legal counsel (designated for such purpose by the Board) which shall
not be an attorney, or a firm having associated with it an attorney, who has
been retained by or who has performed services for the Company, or any person to
be indemnified, within the five years preceding such determination, or (iii) by
the shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholders"), or (iv) by the court of
common pleas or other court in which such action, suit, or proceeding was
brought.
-2-
3
(d) To the extent that the Indemnitee has been successful on the merits
or otherwise, including the dismissal of an action without prejudice, in defense
of any action, suit, or proceeding referred to in Section 2(a) or 2(b), or in
defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against
Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection therewith.
(e) Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in
defending any such action, suit, or proceeding referred to in Section 2(a) or
2(b), or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, shall be paid by the
Company as they are incurred in advance of the final disposition of such action,
suit, or proceeding under the procedure set forth in Section 4(b) hereof.
(f) For purposes of this Agreement, references to "other enterprises
shall include employee benefit plans; references to "fines" shall include any
excise taxes assessed on the Indemnitee with respect to any employee benefit
plan; 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, the Indemnitee with respect to an employee
benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; references to the masculine
shall include the feminine; references to the singular shall include the plural
and vice versa; the word including is used by way of illustration only and not
by way of limitation; and with respect to conduct by Indemnitee in his capacity
as a trustee, administrator or other fiduciary of any employee benefit plan of
the Company, if the Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably
believed to be in the interest of the participants or beneficiaries of such
employee benefit plan, he shall be deemed to have acted in a manner "not opposed
to the best interests of the Company" as referred to herein.
(g) No amendment to the articles of incorporation of the Company (the
"Articles") or the Regulations shall deny, diminish, or encumber the
Indemnitee's rights to indemnity pursuant to the Regulations, the Ohio Revised
Code (the "ORC"), or any other applicable law as applied to any act or failure
to act occurring in whole or in part prior to the date (the "Effective Date")
upon which the amendment was approved by the Shareholders. In the event that the
Company shall purport to adopt any amendment to its Articles or Regulations or
take any other action the effect of which is to deny, diminish, or encumber the
Indemnitee's rights to indemnity pursuant to the Articles, the Regulations, the
ORC, or any such other law, such amendment shall apply only to acts or failures
to act occurring entirely after the Effective Date thereof.
3. ADDITIONAL INDEMNIFICATION
--------------------------
(a) Pursuant to Section 1701.13(E)(6) of the ORC, without limiting any
right which the Indemnitee may have pursuant to Section 2 hereof or any other
provision of this Agreement or the Articles, the Regulations, the ORC, any
policy of insurance, or otherwise, but subject to any limitation on the maximum
permissible indemnity which may exist under applicable law at the time of any
request for indemnity hereunder and subject to the following provisions of this
Section 3, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against any amount which
he is or
-3-
4
becomes obligated to pay relating to or arising out of any claim made
against him because of any act, failure to act, or neglect or breach of duty,
including any actual or alleged error, misstatement, or misleading statement,
that he commits, suffers, permits, or acquiesces in while acting in his capacity
as an officer of the Company. The payments which the Company is obligated to
make pursuant to this Section 3 shall include any and all Expenses, judgments,
fines, and amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred by the
Indemnitee in connection therewith including any appeal of or from any judgment
or decision; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the Company shall not be obligated under
this Section 3 to make any payment in connection with any claim against the
Indemnitee:
(i) to the extent of any fine or similar governmental
imposition which the Company is prohibited by
applicable law from paying which results from a
final, nonappealable order; or
(ii) to the extent based upon or attributable to the
Indemnitee having actually realized a personal gain
or profit to which he was not legally entitled,
including profit from the purchase and sale by the
Indemnitee of equity securities of the Company which
are recoverable by the Company pursuant to Section
16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or
profit arising from transactions in publicly traded
securities of the Company which were effected by the
Indemnitee in violation of Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder.
(b) A determination as to whether the Indemnitee shall be entitled to
indemnification under this Section 3 shall be made in accordance with Section
4(a) hereof. Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in defending any claim to which
this Section 3 applies shall be paid by the Company as they are actually and
reasonably incurred in advance of the final disposition of such claim under the
procedure set forth in Section 4(b) hereof.
4. CERTAIN PROCEDURES RELATING TO INDEMNIFICATION
----------------------------------------------
(a) For purposes of pursuing his rights to indemnification under
Section 3 hereof, the Indemnitee shall (i) submit to the Board a sworn statement
of request for indemnification substantially in the form of Exhibit 1 attached
hereto and made a part hereof (the "Indemnification Statement") averring that he
is entitled to indemnification hereunder; and (ii) present to the Company
reasonable evidence of all amounts for which indemnification is requested.
Submission of an Indemnification Statement to the Board shall create a
presumption that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification hereunder, and
the Company shall, within 60 calendar days after submission of the
Indemnification Statement, make the payments requested in the Indemnification
Statement to or for the benefit of the Indemnitee, unless (A) within such
60-calendar-day period the Board shall resolve by vote of a majority of the
directors at a meeting at which a quorum is present that the Indemnitee is not
entitled to indemnification under Section 3 hereof, (B) such vote shall be based
upon clear and convincing evidence (sufficient to rebut the
-4-
5
foregoing presumption), and (C) the Board shall notify Indemnitee within such
period of such vote, which notice shall disclose with particularity the evidence
upon which the vote is based. The foregoing notice shall be sworn to by all
persons who participated in the vote and voted to deny indemnification. The
provisions of this Section 4(a) are intended to be procedural only and shall not
affect the right of Indemnitee to indemnification under Section 3 of this
Agreement so long as Indemnitee follows the prescribed procedure, and any
determination by the Board that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification
and any failure to make the payments requested in the Indemnification Statement
shall be subject to judicial review by any court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) For purposes of obtaining payments of Expenses in advance of final
disposition pursuant to the last sentence of Section 2(d) or the last sentence
of Section 3(b) hereof, the Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a sworn
request for advancement of Expenses substantially in the form of Exhibit 2
attached hereto and made a part hereof (the "Undertaking"), averring that he has
reasonably incurred or will reasonably incur actual Expenses in defending an
action, suit or proceeding referred to in Section 2(a) or 2(b) or any claim
referred to in Section 3, or pursuant to Section 8 hereof. Indemnitee shall be
eligible to execute Part A of the Undertaking by which he undertakes to: (A)
repay such amount if (1) with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim
(other than an action by or in the right of the Company) brought against the
Indemnitee by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee is or was an officer of the
Company for which the Indemnitee has received advancement of Expenses, it is
determined that the Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which
he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the
Company or (2) with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim brought
against the Indemnitee by or in the right of the Company for which the
Indemnitee has received advancement of Expenses, the Indemnitee is adjudged to
be liable for negligence or for misconduct in the performance of his duty to the
Company and the court has not determined that Indemnitee is entitled to
indemnification; and (B) reasonably cooperate with the Company concerning the
action, suit, proceeding or claim. In all cases, the Indemnitee shall be
eligible to execute Part B of the Undertaking by which he undertakes to repay
such amount if it ultimately is determined that he is not entitled to be
indemnified by the Company under this Agreement or otherwise. In the event that
the Indemnitee is eligible to and does execute both Part A and Part B of the
Undertaking, the Expenses which are paid by the Company pursuant thereto shall
be required to be repaid by the Indemnitee only if he is required to do so under
the terms of both Part A and Part B of the Undertaking. Upon receipt of the
Undertaking, the Company shall thereafter promptly pay such Expenses of the
Indemnitee as are noticed to the Company in reasonable detail arising out of the
matter described in the Undertaking. No security shall be required in connection
with any Undertaking.
5. LIMITATION ON INDEMNITY
-----------------------
Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the Company
shall not be required hereby to indemnify the Indemnitee with respect to any
action, suit, or proceeding that was initiated by the Indemnitee unless (a) such
action, suit, or proceeding was initiated by the Indemnitee to enforce any
rights to indemnification arising hereunder and such person shall have been
formally adjudged to be entitled to indemnity by reason hereof, (b) authorized
by another
-5-
6
agreement to which the Company is a party whether heretofore or hereafter
entered, or (c) otherwise ordered by the court in which the suit was brought.
6. SUBROGATION; DUPLICATION OF PAYMENTS
------------------------------------
(a) 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
Indemnitee, who shall execute all papers required and shall do everything that
may be necessary to secure such rights, including the execution of such
documents necessary to enable the Company effectively to bring suit to enforce
such rights.
(b) The Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any
payment in connection with any claim made against Indemnitee to the extent
Indemnitee has actually received payment (under any insurance policy, the
Regulations or otherwise) of the amounts otherwise payable hereunder.
7. SHAREHOLDER RATIFICATION
------------------------
The Company may, at its option, propose at any future meeting of
Shareholders that this Agreement be ratified by the Shareholders; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that the Indemnitee's rights hereunder shall be fully enforceable in
accordance with the terms hereof whether or not such ratification is sought or
obtained.
8. FEES AND EXPENSES OF ENFORCEMENT
--------------------------------
It is the intent of the Company that the Indemnitee not be required to
incur the expenses associated with the enforcement of his rights under this
Agreement by litigation or other legal action because the cost and expense
thereof would substantially detract from the benefits intended to be extended to
the Indemnitee hereunder. Accordingly, if it should appear to the Indemnitee
that the Company has failed to comply with any of its obligations under this
Agreement or in the event that the Company or any other person takes any action
to declare this Agreement void or unenforceable, or institutes any action, suit
or proceeding to deny or to recover from, the Indemnitee the benefits intended
to be provided to the Indemnitee hereunder, the Company irrevocably authorizes
the Indemnitee from time to time to retain counsel of his choice, at the expense
of the Company as hereafter provided, to represent the Indemnitee in connection
with the initiation or defense of any litigation or other legal action, whether
by or against the Company or any director, officer, shareholder, or other person
affiliated with the Company, in any jurisdiction. Regardless of the outcome
thereof, the Company shall pay and be solely responsible for any and all costs,
charges, and expenses, including fees and expenses of attorneys and others,
reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee pursuant to this Section 8.
-6-
7
9. MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION
-----------------------
In the event that the Company shall be a constituent corporation in a
consolidation, merger, or other reorganization, the Company, if it shall not be
the surviving, resulting, or acquiring corporation therein, shall require as a
condition thereto that the surviving, resulting, or acquiring corporation agree
to assume all of the obligations of the Company hereunder and to indemnify the
Indemnitee to the full extent provided herein. Whether or not the Company is the
resulting, surviving, or acquiring corporation in any such transaction, the
Indemnitee shall stand in the same position under this Agreement with respect to
the resulting, surviving, or acquiring corporation as he would have with respect
to the Company if its separate existence had continued.
10. NONEXCLUSIVITY; NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES; SEVERABILITY
----------------------------------------------------------
(a) The rights to indemnification provided by this Agreement shall not
be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which the Indemnitee may
be entitled under the Articles, the Regulations, the ORC or any other statute,
any insurance policy, agreement, or vote of shareholders or directors or
otherwise, as to any actions or failures to act by the Indemnitee, and shall
continue after he has ceased to be a director, officer, employee, or agent of
the Company or other entity for which his service gives rise to a right
hereunder, and shall inure to the benefit of his heirs, executors and
administrators.
(b) Except as provided in Section 10 (a), the rights to indemnification
provided by this Agreement are personal to Indemnitee and are non-transferable
by Indemnitee, and no party other than the Indemnitee is entitled to
indemnification under this Agreement.
(c) If any provision of this Agreement or the application of any
provision hereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, unenforceable
or otherwise illegal, the remainder of this Agreement and the application of
such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected, and the
provision so held to be invalid, unenforceable or otherwise illegal shall be
reformed to the extent (and only to the extent) necessary to make it
enforceable, valid and legal.
11. SECURITY
--------
To ensure that the Company's obligations pursuant to this Agreement can
be enforced by Indemnitee, the Company may, at its option, establish a trust
pursuant to which the Company's obligations pursuant to this Agreement and other
similar agreements can be funded.
12. NOTICES
-------
All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and
shall be personally delivered or sent by recognized overnight courier service
(a) if to the Company, to the then-current principal executive offices of the
Company (Attention: General Counsel) or (b) if to
-7-
8
the Indemnitee, to the last known address of Indemnitee as reflected in the
Company's records. Either party may change its address for the delivery of
notices or other communications hereunder by providing notice to the other party
as provided in this Section 12. All notices shall be effective upon actual
delivery by the methods specified in this Section 12.
13. GOVERNING LAW
-------------
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with
the laws of the State of Ohio, without giving effect to the principles of
conflict of laws thereof.
14. MODIFICATION
------------
This Agreement and the rights and duties of the Indemnitee and the
Company hereunder may be modified only by an instrument in writing signed by
both parties hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this
Agreement as of the date first above written.
OMNOVA SOLUTIONS INC.
By:
-----------------------------
Name:
Title:
----------------------------------
[Signature of Indemnitee]
-8-
9
EXHIBIT 1
INDEMNIFICATION STATEMENT
-------------------------
STATE OF ____________________)
) SS
COUNTY OF ___________________)
I, ________________, being first duly sworn, do depose and say as
follows:
1. This Indemnification Statement is submitted pursuant to the
Indemnification Agreement, dated __________ 1999, between Omnova Solutions Inc.,
an Ohio corporation (the "Company"), and the undersigned.
2. I am requesting indemnification against costs, charges, expenses
(which may include fees and expenses of attorneys and/or others), judgments,
fines, and amounts paid in settlement (collectively, "Liabilities"), which have
been actually and reasonably incurred by me in connection with a claim referred
to in Section 3 of the aforesaid Indemnification Agreement.
3. With respect to all matters related to any such claim, I am entitled
to be indemnified as herein contemplated pursuant to the aforesaid
Indemnification Agreement.
4. Without limiting any other rights which I have or may have, I am
requesting indemnification against Liabilities which have or may arise out of
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
----------------------------------
[Signature of Indemnitee]
Subscribed and sworn to before me, a Notary Public in and for said
County and State, this _____ day of ________, 19__.
----------------------------------
[Seal]
My commission expires the _____ day of __________, 19__.
10
EXHIBIT 2
UNDERTAKING
-----------
STATE OF ____________________)
) SS
COUNTY OF ___________________)
I, ___________________, being first duly sworn do depose and say as
follows:
1. This Undertaking is submitted pursuant to the Indemnification
Agreement, dated _________________, 1999 between Omnova Solutions Inc., an Ohio
corporation (the "Company") and the undersigned.
2. I am requesting payment of costs, charges, and expenses which I have
reasonably incurred or will reasonably incur in defending an action, suit or
proceeding, referred to in Section 2(a) or 2(b) or any claim referred to in
Section 3, or pursuant to Section 8, of the aforesaid Indemnification Agreement.
3. The costs, charges, and expenses for which payment is requested are,
in general, all expenses related to
--------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. PART A
------
I hereby undertake to: (a) repay all amounts paid pursuant hereto if
(i) with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim (other than an action
by or in the right of the Company) brought against me by reason of the fact that
I am or was an officer of the Company for which I have received advancement of
Expenses, it is determined that I did not act in good faith or in a manner which
I reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the
Company or (ii) with respect to any action, suit, proceeding or claim brought
against me by or in the right of the Company for which I have received
advancement of Expenses, I am adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct
in the performance of my duty to the Company and the court has not determined
that I am entitled to indemnification; and (b) reasonably cooperate with the
Company concerning the action, suit, proceeding or claim.
----------------------------------
[Signature of Indemnitee]
11
4. PART B
------
I hereby undertake to repay all amounts paid pursuant hereto if it
ultimately is determined that I am not entitled to be indemnified by the Company
under the aforesaid Indemnification Agreement or otherwise.
----------------------------------
[Signature of Indemnitee]
Subscribed and sworn to before me, a Notary Public in and for said
County and State, this _____ day of __________, 19__.
----------------------------------
[Seal]
My commission expires the ____ day of __________, 19__.
-2-
