FORM OF INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT
10.26
FORM
OF INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
This
Indemnification Agreement, dated as of _____________, 2008, is made by and
between Shuffle Master, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (the "Company"), and
[___________] (the "Indemnitee").
revocation
of the applicable provisions of the Company's Articles of Incorporation and
Bylaws or any change in the composition of the Company's Board of Directors or
acquisition transaction relating to the Company), the Company wishes to provide
in this Agreement for the indemnification of and the advancing of expenses to
the Indemnitee to the fullest extent (whether partial or complete) permitted by
law and as set forth in this Agreement, and, to the extent insurance is
maintained, for the continued coverage of the Indemnitee under the directors'
and officers' liability insurance policy of the Company.
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(a)
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Agreement: shall mean this Indemnification
Agreement, as
amended from time to
time hereafter.
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(b)
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Board
of Directors: shall mean the Board of
Directors of the Company including persons deemed to be
directors pursuant to applicable law.
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(c)
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Claim: means, without limitation except as
explicitly set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, any threatened, asserted, pending
or completed civil,
criminal, administrative, investigative or other action, suit or
proceeding of any
kind whatsoever, or
any appeal of any kind thereof, or any inquiry or
investigation, whether instituted by the Company, any governmental agency or any
other party, that the Indemnitee in good faith believes might lead to the
institution of any such action, suit or proceeding, whether civil,
criminal, administrative, investigative or other, including any
arbitration or other
alternative dispute
resolution mechanism.
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(d)
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Indemnifiable
Expenses: means, without limitation except as
explicitly set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, (i) all expenses and liabilities,
including judgments,
fines, penalties, interest, amounts paid in settlement with the approval
of the Company, and counsel fees and
disbursements (including, without limitation,
experts' fees, court costs, retainers, transcript fees, duplicating,
printing and binding costs, as well as telecommunications, postage
and courier charges)
paid or incurred in connection with investigating, defending, being a
witness in or participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to
investigate, defend, be a witness in or participate in, (including on appeal),
any Claim
relating to any Indemnifiable
Event and (ii) any liabilities
which an
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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).
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(e)
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Indemnifiable
Event: means, without limitation except as
explicitly set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, any act or omission, whether occurring before, on or after the date of
this Agreement, arising from the performance of
the Indemnitee's duties or obligations to the Company or any of its
subsidiaries,
including in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative,
investigative or other action, suit or proceeding to which
the Indemnitee may hereafter be made
a party by reason of being or having
been an officer,
director, manager,
member, partner, tax
matters partner, fiduciary or trustee of, or having served in any other capacity
with,
another Person or any
employee benefit plan
at the request of the Company.
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(f)
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Person: means any individual, corporation,
firm, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, estate,
trust, business association, organization, governmental entity or other entity.
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(a) In the event that the Indemnitee was, is
or becomes subject to,
a party to or witness or
other participant in, or is threatened to be made subject to, 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 the Indemnitee, or
cause such Indemnitee to be indemnified, to the fullest extent permitted by
Minnesota law in effect on the date hereof and as
amended from time to time;
provided, however, that no change in Minnesota law shall have the effect of reducing
the benefits available to the Indemnitee hereunder based on
Minnesota law as in effect on the date hereof or
as such benefits may improve as a result of amendments after the date hereof.
The rights of the Indemnitee provided in this Section 2 shall include, without
limitation, the rights set forth in the other sections of this Agreement.
Payments of Indemnifiable Expenses shall be made as soon as practicable but in any event no later than
thirty (30) days after written demand is presented to the Company.
(b) If so requested by the Indemnitee, the Company shall advance, or cause to be advanced
(within two business days of such request), any and all Indemnifiable Expenses incurred by the Indemnitee (an
"Expense
Advance"). The
Company shall, in accordance with such request
(but without duplication), either (i) pay,
or cause to be paid, such Indemnifiable Expenses on behalf of the Indemnitee, or
(ii) reimburse, or cause the reimbursement of, the
Indemnitee for such Indemnifiable Expenses. The Indemnitee's right to an Expense
Advance is absolute and
shall not be subject to any
condition that the Board of Directors shall not have determined that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified under
applicable law. However,
the obligation of the Company to make an Expense Advance pursuant to
this Section 2(b) shall be subject to the condition that, if, when and to the
extent that a final judicial determination is made (as to which all rights of
appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed) that the Indemnitee is not
entitled to be so indemnified under applicable law, the Company shall be entitled, without further agreement or
documentation, to be reimbursed by the Indemnitee (who hereby agrees to
reimburse the Company) for all such amounts theretofore
paid (it being understood and agreed that the foregoing agreement by the
Indemnitee shall be deemed to satisfy any requirement that the 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). The Indemnitee's
undertaking to repay such Expense Advances shall be unsecured and
interest-free.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, the Indemnitee shall not be entitled to
indemnification or advancement of Indemnifiable Expenses pursuant to this Agreement in
connection with any Claim initiated by the Indemnitee unless (i) the Company has joined in or the Board of Directors
of the Company has authorized or consented to the
initiation of such Claim or (ii) the Claim is one to enforce the Indemnitee's
rights under this Agreement
(including an action pursued by the Indemnitee to secure a determination that the
Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable law).
(d) The indemnification obligations of the
Company under Section 2(a) shall not apply only if, at a properly convened
meeting of the Board of Directors, and after prior written notice to the Indemnitee and
the Indemnitee and his counsel having a right to attend such meeting and present
his position to the Board of Directors, upon at least five business days written
notice of the time and place of such meeting, the Board of Directors shall have determined by
written resolution at such meeting (by majority vote of directors who are not
parties to the applicable Claim), with such resolution being adopted after
the Board consults with and receives advice from the Company's counsel, that the indemnification of the
Indemnitee is not proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee is not
entitled to be indemnified under applicable law; provided, however, that, at the request of the
Indemnitee, the determination as to whether indemnification of the Indemnitee is
not proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee is not entitled to be
indemnified under applicable law shall be made by independent special legal
counsel selected by the Board of Directors (or an authorized committee of the Board), after reasonable
consultation with the Indemnitee (the "Independent
Counsel"). If the Board of Directors or the Independent Counsel determines that the Indemnitee is not
entitled to be indemnified in whole or in part under applicable law, the Indemnitee shall have the right
to commence litigation in any court in the States of Minnesota or Nevada 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 Board of
Directors or the Independent Counsel 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. If the Indemnitee commences legal proceedings in a court of
competent jurisdiction to secure a determination that the Indemnitee should be
indemnified under applicable law, any determination made by the Board of Directors or the Independent Counsel that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified under applicable law
shall not be binding, the Indemnitee shall continue to be entitled to receive
Expense Advances, and the Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the
Company for any Expense Advance, unless and until a final judicial determination is made (as to
which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or lapsed) that the Indemnitee is not entitled to
be so indemnified under applicable law. Any determination by the
Board of
Directors or the Independent Counsel otherwise shall be conclusive and
binding on the Company and the Indemnitee.
(e) To the extent that the Indemnitee has
been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any or all Claims
relating in whole or in part to an Indemnifiable Event or in defense of any issue or matter therein,
including dismissal without prejudice, the Indemnitee shall be indemnified
against all Indemnifiable Expenses actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith, notwithstanding
an earlier determination by the Board of Directors that the Indemnitee is not
entitled to indemnification under applicable law.
8. Nonexclusivity,
Etc. The rights of the Indemnitee hereunder shall be in
addition to any other rights the Indemnitee may have under the Company's
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the laws of the State of Minnesota, any
other agreement, or otherwise. To the extent that a change in
Minnesota law or the interpretation thereof (whether by statute or judicial
decision) permits greater indemnification by agreement than would be afforded
currently under the Company's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, it is the
intent of the parties hereto that the Indemnitee shall enjoy by this Agreement
the greater benefits so afforded by such change. No limitation of the
Indemnitee's rights pursuant to this Agreement shall in any way limit, or imply
any limitation of, the Indemnitee's rights under any other
agreement.
Indemnitee's
spouse, heirs, executors or personal or legal representatives after the
expiration of two years from the date of accrual of such cause of action, and
any claim or cause of action of the Company shall be extinguished and deemed
released unless asserted by the timely filing of a legal action within such
two-year period; provided, however, that if any shorter period of limitations is
otherwise applicable to any such cause of action such shorter period shall
govern.
11. Amendments,
Etc. No supplement, modification or amendment of this
Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties
hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be
deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or
not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver. In
the event the Company or any of its subsidiaries enters into an indemnification
agreement with another director, officer, agent, fiduciary or manager of the
Company or any of its subsidiaries containing a term or terms more favorable to
the indemnitee than the terms contained herein (as determined by the
Indemnitee), the Indemnitee shall be afforded the benefit of such more favorable
term or terms and such more favorable term or terms shall be deemed incorporated
by reference herein as if set forth in full herein.
Claim
relating to an Indemnifiable Event effected without the Company's prior written
consent. The Company shall not, without the prior written consent of
the Indemnitee, effect any settlement of any Claim relating to an Indemnifiable
Event which the Indemnitee is or could have been a party unless such settlement
solely involves the payment of money and includes a complete and unconditional
release of the Indemnitee from all liability on all claims that are the subject
matter of such Claim. Neither the Company nor the Indemnitee shall
unreasonably withhold its or his or her consent to any proposed settlement;
provided that
the Indemnitee may withhold consent to any settlement that does not provide a
complete and unconditional release of the Indemnitee.
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(a)
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If to the Company, to:
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Shuffle
Master, Inc.
0000
Xxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx
Xxxxx, Xxxxxx 00000-0000
Fax: [_________]
Attn: [_________]
with
a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
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(b)
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If to the Indemnitee, to the
address set forth on Annex
A
hereto.
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21. Governing
Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and
enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota applicable to
Minnesota corporations.
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left
Blank.]
SHUFFLE
MASTER, INC.
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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Annex A
Name and Business
Address:
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Attn:
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Tel:
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Fax:
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