INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.7
AGREEMENT, dated as of February 4, 2019 (this “Agreement”), between New Fortress Energy LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Company”), and Desmond Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx (“Indemnitee”).
|
1.
|
Certain Definitions. In addition to terms defined elsewhere herein, the following terms have the following meanings when used in this Agreement:
|
(a) |
Claim: means any threatened, asserted, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other, including any arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution mechanism, or any appeal of any kind thereof, or any inquiry or investigation, whether instituted by (or in the right of) the Company or any governmental agency or any other person or entity, in which Indemnitee was, is, may be or will be involved as a party, witness or otherwise.
|
(b) |
ERISA: means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.
|
(c) |
Expenses: include attorneys’ fees and all other direct or indirect costs, expenses and obligations, including judgments, fines, penalties, interest, appeal bonds, amounts paid in settlement with the approval of the Company, and counsel fees and disbursements (including, without limitation, experts’ fees, court costs, retainers, appeal bond premiums, transcript fees, duplicating, printing and binding costs, as well as telecommunications, postage and courier charges) paid or incurred in connection with investigating, prosecuting, defending, being a witness in or participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to investigate, prosecute, defend, be a witness in or participate in, any Claim relating to any Indemnifiable Event, and shall include (without limitation) all attorneys’ fees and all other expenses incurred by or on behalf of an Indemnitee in connection with preparing and submitting any requests or statements for indemnification, advancement or any other right provided by this Agreement (including, without limitation, such fees or expenses incurred in connection with legal proceedings contemplated by Section 2(d) hereof).
|
(d) |
Indemnifiable Amounts: means (i) any and all liabilities, Expenses, damages, judgments, fines, penalties, ERISA excise taxes and amounts paid in settlement (including all interest, assessments and other charges paid or payable in connection with or in respect of such liabilities, Expenses, damages, judgments, fines, penalties, ERISA excise taxes or amounts paid in settlement) arising out of or resulting from any Claim relating to an Indemnifiable Event, (ii) any liability pursuant to a loan guaranty or otherwise, for any indebtedness of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, including, without limitation, any indebtedness which the Company or any subsidiary of the Company has assumed or taken subject to, and (iii) any liabilities which an Indemnitee incurs as a result of acting on behalf of the Company (whether as a fiduciary or otherwise) in connection with the operation, administration or maintenance of an employee benefit plan or any related trust or funding mechanism (whether such liabilities are in the form of excise taxes assessed by the United States Internal Revenue Service, penalties assessed by the Department of Labor, restitutions to such a plan or trust or other funding mechanism or to a participant or beneficiary of such plan, trust or other funding mechanism, or otherwise).
|
2
(e) |
Indemnifiable Event: means any event or occurrence, whether occurring before, on or after the date of this Agreement, related to the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director and/or officer or fiduciary of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, manager, member, partner, tax matter partner, trustee, agent, fiduciary or similar capacity, of another company, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust or other entity or enterprise, or by reason of anything done or not done by Indemnitee in any such capacity (in all cases whether or not Indemnitee is acting or serving in any such capacity or has such status at the time any Indemnifiable Amount is incurred for which indemnification, advancement or any other right can be provided by this Agreement). The term “Company,” where the context requires when used in this Agreement, may be construed to include such other company, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust or other entity or enterprise.
|
(f) |
Indemnitee-Related Entities: means any company, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other entity or enterprise (other than the Company or any other company, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other entity or enterprise Indemnitee has agreed, on behalf of the Company or at the Company’s request, to serve as a director, officer, employee or agent and which service is covered by the indemnity described in this Agreement) from whom an Indemnitee may be entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses with respect to which, in whole or in part, the Company may also have an indemnification or advancement obligation.
|
3
(g) |
Jointly Indemnifiable Claim: means any Claim for which the Indemnitee may be entitled to indemnification from both an Indemnitee-Related Entity and the Company pursuant to applicable law, any indemnification agreement or the certificate of incorporation, by-laws, partnership agreement, operating agreement, certificate of formation, certificate of limited partnership or comparable organizational documents of the Company and an Indemnitee-Related Entity.
|
(h) |
Reviewing Party: means any appropriate person or body consisting of a member or members of the Board of Directors or any other person or body appointed by the Board of Directors who is not a party to the particular Claim for which Indemnitee is seeking indemnification.
|
(i) |
Voting Securities: means any securities of the Company which vote generally in the election of directors.
|
(a) |
In the event Indemnitee was, is or becomes a party to or witness or other participant in, or is threatened to be made a party to or witness or other participant in, a Claim by reason of (or arising in part out of) an Indemnifiable Event, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee, or cause Indemnitee to be indemnified, to the fullest extent permitted by law as soon as practicable but in any event no later than thirty (30) days after written demand is presented to the Company, and hold Indemnitee harmless against any and all Indemnifiable Amounts.
|
(b) |
If so requested by Indemnitee, the Company shall advance, or cause to be advanced (within two business days of such request), any and all Expenses incurred by Indemnitee (an “Expense Advance”). The Company shall, in accordance with such request (but without duplication), either (i) pay, or cause to be paid, such Expenses on behalf of Indemnitee, or (ii) reimburse, or cause the reimbursement of, Indemnitee for such Expenses. Subject to Section 2(d), Indemnitee’s right to an Expense Advance is absolute and shall not be subject to any prior determination by the Reviewing Party that the Indemnitee has satisfied any applicable standard of conduct for indemnification.
|
(c) |
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification or advancement of Expenses pursuant to this Agreement in connection with any Claim initiated by Indemnitee unless (i) the Company has joined in or the Board of Directors has authorized or consented to the initiation of such Claim or (ii) the Claim is one to enforce Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.
|
4
(d) |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) the indemnification obligations of the Company under Section 2(a) shall be subject to the condition that the Reviewing Party shall not have determined that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law, and (ii) the obligation of the Company to make an Expense Advance pursuant to Section 2(b) shall be subject to the condition that, if, when and to the extent that the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be so indemnified under applicable law, the Company shall be entitled to be reimbursed by Indemnitee (who hereby agrees to reimburse the Company) for all such amounts theretofore paid (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing agreement by Indemnitee shall be deemed to satisfy any requirement that Indemnitee provide the Company with an undertaking to repay any Expense Advance if it is ultimately determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification under applicable law); provided, however, that if Indemnitee has commenced or thereafter commences legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to secure a determination that Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable law, any determination made by the Reviewing Party that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law shall not be binding and Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any Expense Advance until a final judicial determination is made with respect thereto (as to which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed). Indemnitee’s undertaking to repay such Expense Advances shall be unsecured and interest-free. The Reviewing Party shall be selected by the Board of Directors. If there has been no determination by the Reviewing Party within thirty (30) days after written demand is presented to the Company or if the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified in whole or in part under applicable law, Indemnitee shall have the right to commence litigation in any court in the State of New York or the State of Delaware having subject matter jurisdiction thereof and in which venue is proper seeking an initial determination by the court or challenging any such determination by the Reviewing Party or any aspect thereof, including the legal or factual bases therefor, and the Company hereby consents to service of process and to appear in any such proceeding. Any determination by the Reviewing Party otherwise shall be conclusive and binding on the Company and Indemnitee.
|
5
6
8. Nonexclusivity, Etc. The rights of the Indemnitee hereunder shall be in addition to any other rights Indemnitee may have under the Company’s LLC Agreement or the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act or otherwise. To the extent that a change in applicable law (whether by statute or judicial decision) permits greater indemnification by agreement than would be afforded currently under the Company’s LLC Agreement or this Agreement, it is the intent of the parties hereto that Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement the greater benefits so afforded by such change. To the extent that there is a conflict or inconsistency between the terms of this Agreement or the Company’s LLC Agreement, it is the intent of the parties hereto that the Indemnitee shall enjoy the greater benefits regardless of whether contained herein or in the Company’s LLC Agreement. No amendment or alteration of the Company’s LLC Agreement or any other agreement shall adversely affect the rights provided to Indemnitee under this Agreement.
7
8
9
(a) If to the Company, to:
000 X. 00xx Xxxxxx, 0xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. XxxXxxxxxx, Esq.
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx L.L.P.
0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Fax: (000) 000-0000
0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000
Fax: (000) 000-0000
Attn: Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
E. Xxxxx Xxxxx
Email: xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx; xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
Email: xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx; xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx
10
(b) If to the Indemnitee, to the address set forth on the signature page hereto.
All such notices, requests, consents and other communications shall be deemed to have been given or made if and when received (including by overnight courier) by the parties at the above addresses or sent by electronic transmission. Any notice delivered by any party hereto to any other party hereto shall also be delivered to each other party hereto simultaneously with delivery to the first party receiving such notice.
24. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware applicable to contracts made and to be performed in such state without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of laws.
11
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
|
Name: Xxxxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
|
||
Title: Chief Financial Officer
|
||
Indemnitee
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Desmond Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx
|
|
Name: Desmond Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx
|