Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
As a corporation incorporated in the State of Florida, we are subject to the Florida Business Corporation Act (the “FBCA”). Section 607.0831 of the FBCA provides that a director is not personally liable for monetary damages to the 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 or her duties as a director and (b) the director’s breach of, or failure to perform, those duties constitutes (1) a violation of the criminal law, unless the director had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was lawful or had No reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful (a judgment or other final adjudication against a director in any criminal proceeding for a violation of the criminal law estops that director from contesting the fact that his or her breach, or failure to perform, constitutes a violation of the criminal law; but does not stop the director from establishing that he or she had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was lawful or had No reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful), (2) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit, either directly or indirectly, (3) a circumstance under which the liability provisions of Section 607.0834 are applicable, (4) 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 or intentional misconduct; or (5) 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.
Under Section 607.0851 of the FBCA (1) except as otherwise provided in Section 607.0851 and in Section 607.0859, and not in limitation of indemnification allowed under Section 607.0858(1), a corporation may indemnify an individual who is a party to a proceeding because the individual is or was a director or officer against liability incurred in the proceeding if: (a) the director or officer acted in good faith; (b) the director or officer acted in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation; and (c) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had No reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. (2) The conduct of a director or officer with respect to an employee benefit plan for a purpose the director or officer reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the participants in, and the beneficiaries of, the plan is conduct that satisfies the requirement of paragraph (1)(b). (3) The termination of a proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, does not, of itself, create a presumption that the director or officer did not meet the relevant standard of conduct described in Section 607.0851. (4) Unless ordered by a court under Section 607.0854(1)(c), a corporation may not indemnify a director or an officer in connection with a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation except for expenses and amounts paid in settlement not exceeding, in the judgment of the board of directors, the estimated expense of litigating the proceeding to conclusion, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such proceeding, including any appeal thereof, where such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation.
Under Section 607.0852 of the FBCA, a corporation must indemnify an individual who is or was a director or officer who was wholly successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which the individual was a party because he or she is or was a director or officer of the corporation against expenses incurred by the individual in connection with the proceeding.
In addition, under Section 607.0853 of the FBCA, to the extent that a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any proceeding referred to in Sections 607.0851 or 607.0852 described above, or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter therein, the corporation may, by a provision in the articles of incorporation, bylaws or any agreement, or by shareholder or disinterested directors vote, obligate itself in to advance funds to pay for or reimburse expenses incurred in connection with the proceeding by an individual who is a party to the proceeding because that individual is or was a director or an officer if the director or officer delivers to the corporation a signed written undertaking of the director or officer to repay any funds advanced.
Under Section 607.0858 of the FBCA, the indemnification and advancement of expenses provided pursuant to Section 607.0851 and 607.0852 of the FBCA are not exclusive, and a corporation may make any other or further indemnification or advancement of expenses of any of its directors, officers, employees, or agents, under any bylaw, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise, both as to action in his or her official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. However, under 607.0859 indemnification or advancement of expenses shall not be made to or on behalf of any director, officer, employee or agent if a judgment or other final adjudication establishes that his or her actions, or omissions to act, were material to the cause of action so adjudicated and constitute: (a) willful misconduct or a conscious disregard for the best interests of the corporation in a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor or in a proceeding by or in the right of a shareholder. (b) a transaction from which the director, officer, employee or agent derived an improper personal benefit; (c) a violation of the criminal law, unless the director, officer, employee or agent had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful; (d) in the case of a director, a circumstance under which the liability provisions of Section 607.0834 are applicable. Section 607.0859 also states that a corporation may provide indemnification or advance expenses to a director or officer only as permitted in Sections 607.0850 – 0859. Our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation provide that we shall indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by the current law.
Section 607.0857 provides that a corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of and for the benefit of an individual who is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or who, while a director or officer of the corporation, is or was serving at the corporation’s request as a director, officer, manager, member, partner, trustee, employee, or agent of another domestic or foreign corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan, or other enterprise or entity, against liability asserted against or incurred by the individual in that capacity or arising from his or her status as a director or officer, whether or not the corporation would have power to indemnify or advance expenses to the individual against the same liability under the FBCA. We have secured insurance covering our directors and officers and those of our principal subsidiaries and affiliate companies against certain liabilities.
Our Amended and Restated Bylaws (or “Bylaws”) provide that we will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any person who was or is made or threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any action, suit, proceeding, or appeal thereof, whether civil criminal, administrative, or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was, or he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer, employee, or agent of us or is or was serving at the request of us as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise (an “Indemnitee”), against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by such Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding. We are required to indemnify an Indemnitee in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee only if the initiation of such Proceeding (or part thereof) by the Indemnitee was authorized by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that we must indemnify such person in connection with a Proceeding to enforce such persons’ rights under the indemnification provision of our Bylaws.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and certain officers. These indemnification agreements may require us, among other things, to indemnify our directors and officers for some expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by a director or officer in any action or proceeding arising out of his or her service as one of our directors or officers, or any of our subsidiaries or any other company or enterprise to which the person provides services at our request.
We maintain a general liability insurance policy that covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of our corporation arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. Please read “Item 17. Undertakings” for more information on the SEC’s position regarding such indemnification provisions.
Item 17. 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 set forth 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), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) above do 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 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is a part of 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.
(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and
(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that No statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.
(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of securities:
The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communications that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(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 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.
(j) To file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act (“Act”) in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under section 305(b)(2) of the Act.