|
Item 6.
|
Indemnification of Directors and Officers
.
|
Our officers and directors are indemnified as provided by the Nevada Revised Statutes (the "NRS"), our articles of incorporation and our bylaws.
Nevada Revised Statutes
Section 78.7502 of the NRS provides as follows:
1. A corporation may indemnify any person who was or 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, except an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys' fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.
2. A corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including amounts paid in settlement and attorneys' fees actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of the action or suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation.
3. To the extent that a director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections 1 and 2, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, the corporation shall indemnify him against expenses, including attorneys' fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense.
Section 78.751 of the NRS provides as follows:
1. Any discretionary indemnification under NRS 78.7502 unless ordered by a court or advanced pursuant to subsection 2, may be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances. The determination must be made:
(a) By the stockholders;
(b) By the board of directors by majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding;
(c) If a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding so orders, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion; or
(d) If a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action, suit or proceeding cannot be obtained, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion.
2. The articles of incorporation, the bylaws or an agreement made by the corporation may provide that the expenses of officers and directors incurred in defending a civil or criminal action, suit or proceeding must be paid by the corporation as they are incurred and in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit or proceeding, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer to repay the amount if it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation.
3. The indemnification and advancement of expenses authorized in or ordered by a court pursuant to this section:
(a) Does not exclude any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the articles of incorporation or any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, for either an action in his official capacity or an action in another capacity while holding his office, except that indemnification, unless ordered by a court pursuant to NRS 78.7502 or for the advancement of expenses made pursuant to subsection 2, may not be made to or on behalf of any director or officer if a final adjudication establishes that his acts or omissions involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of the law and was material to the cause of action.
(b) Continues for a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and inures to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
Article VII of our Articles of Incorporation and Article VI of our Bylaws provide that we shall indemnify a director or officer to the full extent permitted by the Nevada Business Corporations Act as in effect at the time of the conduct by such person. Specifically, our Bylaws provide as follows:
Section 4.16. Indemnification: Advancement of Expenses. The Corporation shall indemnify the officers and directors of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by the Nevada Private Corporations Act as the same now exists or many hereafter be amended. In the event that the Nevada Private Corporations Act is amended after the filing of the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation with the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office so as to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of an officer or director, then the liability of an officer or director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Nevada Private Corporations Act as so amended. The Corporation shall pay the expenses incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit of proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such officer or director to repay such amount if it should by ultimately determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized by the Nevada Private Corporations Act. Any amendment to or repeal of any of the provisions in this Section 4.16 shall not adversely affect any right or protection of an officer or director of the Corporation for or with respect to any act or omission of such director occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.
Section 4.17. Indemnification of Employees and Agents. The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to any employee or agent of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by the provision of Section 4.16 of these Bylaws and Article VII of the Corporation’s Articles of Incorporation.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is unenforceable, or that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of counsel that the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. Our articles of incorporation do not limit the automatic director immunity from liability under the NRS.
Our Articles of Incorporation further provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by NRS 78, a director or officer of the Corporation will not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, provided that this article will not eliminate or limit the liability of a director or officer for:
1. acts or omissions which involve intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law; or
2. the payment of dividends in violation of NRS 78.300.