Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) allows for the indemnification of officers, directors and other corporate agents in terms sufficiently broad to indemnify such persons under certain circumstances for liabilities (including reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act.
Article X of Cypress’ Second Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as the same now exists or may hereafter be amended, a director shall not be personally liable to Cypress or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director and that Cypress is authorized to provide indemnification of (and advancement of expenses to) directors, officers, employees and other agents of Cypress in excess of the indemnification and advancement otherwise permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, subject only to statutory and non-statutory limits created by applicable Delaware law with respect to actions for breach of duty to a corporation, its stockholders and others. The DGCL provides that directors of a corporation will not be personally liable for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duties as directors, except for liability (i) for any breach of their duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
Article VI of Cypress’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) provides that Cypress (i) shall 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 (other than an action by or in the right of Cypress) by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer of Cypress, or is or was serving at the request of Cypress as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, and (ii) may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or contemplated action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of Cypress) by reason of the fact that he is or was an employee or agent of Cypress, or is or was serving at the request of Cypress as an 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 such action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of Cypress, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. The Bylaws provide that the termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of
nolo contendere
or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of Cypress, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.
Article VI of Cypress’s Bylaws also provides that Cypress (i) shall 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 Cypress to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a director or officer of Cypress, or is or was serving at the request of Cypress as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, and (ii) 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 Cypress to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was an employee or agent of Cypress, or is or was serving at the request of Cypress as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of Cypress except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to Cypress unless and only to the extent that the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is
fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Delaware Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
Cypress’s Bylaws also provide that, to the extent that a director or officer of Cypress has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to above, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection therewith and to the extent that an employee or agent of Cypress has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to above, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he may be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection therewith.
Cypress’s Bylaws also permit Cypress to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or agent of Cypress for any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, regardless of whether the Bylaws would permit indemnification. Cypress currently maintains liability insurance for the benefit of its officers and directors.
The above discussion of the DGCL and of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by such statute, Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and indemnification agreements.
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits
See the Exhibit Index at page 7, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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;
(ii)
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement; and
(iii)
To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;
provided however
, that Paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this Section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this 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 may be permitted to directors, executive officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6 above, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities 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 Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.