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Exhibit 10.10
Form of Indemnification Agreement
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FORM OF
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT dated as of this ___ day of __________, 2000, by and between
TBM Holdings Inc., a Florida corporation (the "Company"), and ________________
(the "Indemnitee").
WHEREAS, the Indemnitee is serving as a director and/or officer of the
Company, and the Company, in order to induce the Indemnitee to continue his
service, wishes to set forth its indemnification obligations to the Indemnitee.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and conditions set forth
herein, including the Indemnitee's continued service to the Company, the Company
and Indemnitee hereby agree as follows:
1. Definitions. The following terms, as used herein, shall have the
following respective meanings:
"Covered Amount" means the aggregate amount of all Losses and Expenses
which, in type or amount, are not insured under any director's and officer's
liability insurance maintained by the Company from time to time.
"Covered Act" means any of the following, whether occurring on, prior to
or after the date of this Agreement: any breach of duty, neglect, error,
misstatement, misleading statement, omission or other act done or attempted by
Indemnitee or any of the foregoing alleged by any claimant or any claim against
Indemnitee by reason of his being a director or officer, or both, of the
Company or serving at the request of the Company as a director or officer, or
both, of a Subsidiary.
"Determination" means a determination, based on the facts known at the
time, made by:
(i) a majority vote of a quorum of disinterested directors of the
Company;
(ii) independent legal counsel in a written opinion prepared at the
request of a majority of a quorum of disinterested directors of the Company;
(iii) a majority of the disinterested stockholders of the Company; or
(iv) a final adjudication by a court of competent jurisdiction.
"Determined" shall have a correlative meaning.
"Excluded Claim" means any Loss or Expense:
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(i) based upon or attributable to Indemnitee's gaining in fact any
personal profit or advantage to which the Indemnitee is not entitled;
(ii) for the return by Indemnitee of any remuneration paid to
Indemnitee without the previous approval of the stockholders of the Company
which is illegal;
(iii) for an accounting of profits in fact made from the purchase or
sale by Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any similar provision of
any state law;
(iv) resulting from Indemnitee's knowingly fraudulent, dishonest or
willful misconduct;
(v) the payment of which by the Company under this Agreement is not
permitted by applicable law; or
(vi) which is not within the Covered Amount.
"Expenses" means any reasonable expenses incurred by Indemnitee as a
result of a claim or claims made against him for any Covered Act including,
without limitation, counsel fees and costs of investigative, judicial or
administrative proceedings or appeals, but shall not include Fines.
"Fines" means any fine, penalty or, with respect to an employee benefit
plan, any excise tax or penalty assessed with respect thereto.
"Loss" means any amount which the Indemnitee is legally obligated to pay
as a result of a claim or claims made against him for any Covered Act including,
without limitation, damages and judgments and sums paid in settlement of a claim
or claims, but shall not include Fines.
"Subsidiary" means any corporation more than 80% of the outstanding
voting securities of which are owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company.
2. Maintenance of Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance.
(a) The Company hereby represents and warrants that it
currently maintains a policy of directors' and officers' liability insurance.
(b) The Company hereby covenants and agrees that, so long as
Indemnitee shall continue to serve as a director or officer, or both, of the
Company and thereafter so long as the Indemnitee shall be subject to any
possible claim or threatened, pending or completed action, suit, investigation
or proceeding, whether civil, criminal or investigative, by reason of the fact
that the Indemnitee was a director or officer, or both, of the Company or served
at the request of the Company as a director or officer, or both,
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of a Subsidiary, the Company, subject to Section 2(c), shall maintain in full
force and effect directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage.
(c) The Company shall have no obligation to maintain directors'
and officers' liability insurance coverage if the Company determines in good
faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, the premium cost for such
insurance is disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided, or the
coverage provided by such insurance is limited by exclusions so as to provide an
insufficient benefit.
3. Indemnification. The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee fully
and hold him harmless from the Covered Amount of any and all Losses and Expenses
subject, in each case, to the further provisions of this Agreement.
4. Excluded Coverage.
(a) The Company shall have no obligation under this Agreement
to indemnify the Indemnitee and hold him harmless from any Loss or Expense
which has been Determined to constitute an Excluded Claim.
(b) The Company shall have no obligation to indemnify
Indemnitee and hold him harmless from any Loss or Expense to the extent that
Indemnitee is indemnified by the Company pursuant to the Company's bylaws or
indemnified by a Subsidiary pursuant to the Subsidiary's bylaws or is otherwise
indemnified (other than pursuant to any indemnification which is, by its terms,
secondary to any indemnification provided by the Company or any Subsidiary).
5. Indemnification Procedures.
(a) Promptly after receipt by the Indemnitee of notice of the
commencement of or the threat of commencement of any action, suit, investigation
or proceeding, the Indemnitee shall, if indemnification with respect thereto may
be sought from the Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the
commencement or threat thereof.
(b) If, at the time of the receipt of such notice, the Company
has directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage in effect, the Company
shall give prompt notice of the commencement or the threat of commencement of
such action, suit, investigation or proceeding to the insurers in accordance
with the procedures set forth in the respective policies in favor of Indemnitee.
The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause
such insurers to pay, on behalf of Indemnitee, all Losses and Expenses payable
as a result of such action, suit, investigation or proceeding in accordance with
the terms of such policies.
(c) To the extent the Company does not, at the time of the
commencement of or the threat of commencement of such action, suit,
investigation or
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proceeding, have applicable directors' and officers' liability insurance
coverage, or if a Determination is made that any Expenses arising out of such
action, suit, investigation or proceeding will not be payable under the
directors' and officers' liability insurance coverage then in effect, the
Company shall be obligated to pay the Expenses of such action, suit,
investigation or proceeding as they are incurred and in advance of the final
disposition thereof and the Company shall be entitled to assume the defense of
such action, suit, investigation or proceeding, with counsel reasonably
satisfactory to Indemnitee, upon the delivery to Indemnitee of written notice of
its election so to do. After delivery of such notice, the Company will not be
liable to Indemnitee under this Agreement for any legal or other Expenses
subsequently incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such defense other
than reasonable Expenses of investigation; provided, that Indemnitee shall have
the right to employ his counsel in any such action, suit, investigation or
proceeding but the fees and expenses of such counsel incurred after delivery of
such notice shall be at the Indemnitee's expense; and provided further, that if
(i) the employment of counsel by Indemnitee has been previously authorized by
the Company, (ii) Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a
conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee in the conduct of any
such defense or (iii) the Company shall not, in fact, have employed counsel to
assume the defense of such action, the fees and expenses of such counsel
employed by Indemnitee shall be at the expense of the Company.
(d) All payments on account of the Company's indemnification
obligations under this Agreement shall be made within sixty (60) days of
Indemnitee's written request therefor unless a Determination is made that the
claims giving rise to Indemnitee's request are Excluded Claims or otherwise not
payable under this Agreement; provided, that all payments on account of the
Company's obligations under Section 5(c) of this Agreement prior to the final
disposition of any action, suit, investigation or proceeding shall be made
within 20 days of Indemnitee's written request therefor and such obligation
shall not be subject to any such determination but shall be subject to Section
5(e) of this Agreement.
(e) Indemnitee agrees that he will reimburse the Company for
all Losses and Expenses paid by the Company in connection with any action, suit,
investigation or proceeding against Indemnitee in the event and only to the
extent that a Determination shall have been made by a court in a final
adjudication from which there is no further right of appeal that the Indemnitee
is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company for such Expenses because the
claim is an Excluded Claim or because Indemnitee is otherwise not entitled to
payment under this Agreement.
6. Settlement. The Company shall have no obligation to indemnify
Indemnitee under this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of any
action, suit, investigation or proceeding effected without the Company's prior
written consent. The Company shall not settle any claim in any matter which
would impose any Fine or any obligation on Indemnitee without Indemnitee's
written consent. Neither the Company nor Indemnitee shall unreasonably withhold
their consent to any proposed settlement.
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7. Rights Not Exclusive. The rights provided hereunder shall not be
deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the Indemnitee may be entitled
under the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the Company or a Subsidiary or
any by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or of disinterested directors or
otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in any
other capacity by holding such office, and shall continue after the Indemnitee
ceases to serve the Company as an officer or director of the Company or an
officer or director of a Subsidiary.
8. Enforcement.
(a) Indemnitee's right to indemnification shall be enforceable
by Indemnitee only in the courts of the State of Connecticut or in the United
States District Court for the District of Connecticut and shall be enforceable
notwithstanding any adverse Determination. In any such action, if a prior
adverse Determination has been made, the burden of proving that indemnification
is required under this Agreement shall be on Indemnitee. The Company shall have
the burden of proving that indemnification is not required under this Agreement
if no prior adverse Determination shall have been made.
(b) In the event that any action is instituted by Indemnitee
under this Agreement, or to enforce or interpret any of the terms of this
Agreement, Indemnitee shall be entitled to be paid all court costs and expenses,
including reasonable counsel fees, incurred by Indemnitee with respect to such
action, unless the court determines that each of the material assertions made by
Indemnitee as a basis for such action were not made in good faith or were
frivolous.
9. Severability. In the event that any provision of this Agreement is
determined by a court to require the Company to do or to fail to do an act which
is in violation of applicable law, such provision shall be limited or modified
in its application to the minimum extent necessary to avoid a violation of law,
and, as so limited or modified, such provision and the balance of this Agreement
shall be enforceable in accordance with the terms thereof.
10. Choice of Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed
and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Connecticut.
11. Consent to Jurisdiction. The Company and the Indemnitee each
hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of
Connecticut and the United States District Court for the State of Connecticut
for all purposes in connection with any action or proceeding which arises out of
or relates to this Agreement and agree that any action instituted under this
Agreement shall be brought only in the courts of the State of Connecticut or in
the United States District Court for the State of Connecticut.
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12. Successor and Assigns. This Agreement shall be (i) binding upon
all successors and assigns of the Company (including any transferee of all or
substantially all of its assets and any successor by merger or otherwise by
operation of law) and (ii) shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the
heirs, personal representatives and estate of Indemnitee.
13. Amendment; Supercedes any Prior Agreement. No amendment,
modification, termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective
unless made in a writing signed by each of the parties hereto. This Agreement
supercedes any prior agreement between the Company and Indemnitee with respect
to the subject matter hereof.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company and Indemnitee have executed this
Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
TBM HOLDINGS INC.
By:
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Name:
Title:
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