Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 607.0850 of the Florida Business Corporation Act (the “Florida Act”) provides that a person who is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of an action because of service as an officer or director of a corporation is entitled to indemnification of expenses actually and reasonably incurred in such defense.
Section 607.0850(1) and (2) of the Florida Act provides further that the corporation may indemnify an officer or director, and advance expenses, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to a criminal action, had no reasonable cause to believe such conduct was unlawful.
The Florida Act provides that a court may order indemnification of an officer or director if it determines that such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to such indemnification in view of all the relevant circumstances. F.S. 607.0850(9).
Section 607.0850 of the Florida Business Corporation Act (Florida Statute) generally permits the Company to indemnify its directors, officers, employees or other agents who are subject to any third-party actions because of their service to the Company if such persons acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company. If the proceeding is a criminal one, such person must also have had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. In addition, the Company may indemnify its directors, officers, employees or other agents who are subject to derivative actions against expenses and amounts paid in settlement which do not exceed, in the judgment of the Board of Directors, the estimated expense of litigating the proceeding to conclusion, including any appeal thereof, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such proceeding, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company. To the extent that a director, officer, employee or other agent is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of a third-party or derivative action, such person will be indemnified against expenses actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith. The Florida Statute also permits the Company to further indemnify such persons by other means unless a judgment or other final adjudication establishes that such person’s actions or omissions which were material to the cause of action constitute (1) a crime (unless such person had reasonable cause to believe his conduct was lawful or had no reasonable cause to believe it unlawful), (2) a transaction from which he derived an improper personal benefit, (3) an action in violation of Florida Statutes Section 607.0834 (relating to unlawful distributions to shareholders), or (4) willful misconduct or a conscious disregard for the best interests of the Company in a proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor or in a proceeding by or in the right of a shareholder.
In addition, Florida Statute Section 607.0831 provides, in general, that no director shall be personally liable for monetary damages to a corporation or any other person for any statement, vote, decision, or failure to act, regarding corporate management or policy, unless (a) the director breached or failed to perform his duties as a director, and (b) the director’s breach of, or failure to perform, those duties constitutes (i) a violation of criminal law, unless the director had reasonable cause to believe his conduct was lawful or had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, (ii) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit, either directly or indirectly, (iii) a circumstance under which the liability provisions of Florida Statute Section 607.0834 are applicable, (iv) in a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor or by or in the right of a shareholder, conscious disregard for the best interest of the corporation, or willful misconduct, or (v) in a proceeding by or in the right of someone other than the corporation or a shareholder, recklessness or an act or omission which was committed in bad faith or with malicious purpose or in a manner exhibiting wanton and willful disregard of human rights, safety, or property.
Our Restated Articles of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated By-laws provide that the Company shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, its officers and directors to the extent that any such person is made a party or threatened to be made a party or called as a witness or is otherwise involved in any action, suit, or proceeding in connection with his status as an officer or director of the Company. Such indemnification covers all expenses incurred by any officer or director (including attorneys’ fees) and all liabilities and losses (including judgments, fines and amounts to be paid in settlement) incurred thereby in connection with any such action, suit or proceeding.
The Company has purchased an insurance policy that purports to insure the officers and directors of the Company against certain liabilities incurred by them in the discharge of their functions as such officers and directors.
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section shall not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d)) that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(h) 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 Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event 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 its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.