Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:
•actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services; or
•active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment and which is material to the cause of action.
The Company’s charter contains such a provision that eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
The Company’s charter also authorizes the Company, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to obligate the Company to indemnify any present or former director or officer or any individual who, while a director or officer of the Company and at the request of the Company, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner, member, manager or trustee, from and against any claim or liability to which that individual may become subject or which that individual may incur by reason of his or her service in any such capacity and to pay or reimburse his or her reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding.
The Company’s bylaws obligate it, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify any present or former director or officer or any individual who, while a director or officer of the Company and at the request of the Company, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner or trustee and who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity, from and against any claim or liability to which that individual may become subject or which that individual may incur by reason of his or her service in any such capacity and to pay or reimburse his or her reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding.
The Company’s charter and bylaws also permit the Company to indemnify and advance expenses to any individual who served a predecessor of the Company in any of the capacities described above and any employee or agent of the Company or a predecessor of the Company.
Maryland law requires a corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which the Company’s charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:
•the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (i) was committed in bad faith or (ii) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty;
•the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or
•in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.
However, under Maryland law, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or for a judgment of liability on the basis of that personal benefit was improperly received, unless in either case a court orders indemnification and then only for expenses. In addition, Maryland law permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of:
•a written affirmation by the director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation; and
•a written undertaking by him or her on his or her behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the standard of conduct was not met.
The Company entered into indemnification agreements with the Company’s directors and executive officers that obligate the Company to indemnify them to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.
The indemnification agreements provide that if a director or executive officer is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of such director’s or executive officer’s status as a director, officer or employee of the Company, the Company must indemnify such director or executive officer for all expenses and liabilities actually and reasonably incurred by him or her, or on his or her behalf, unless it has been established that:
•the act or omission of the director or executive officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty;
•the director or executive officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or other services; or
•with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, the director or executive officer had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.
The indemnification agreements also provide that upon application of a director or executive officer of the Company to a court of appropriate jurisdiction, the court may order indemnification of such director or executive officer if:
•the court determines the director or executive officer is entitled to indemnification under the applicable section of the MGCL, in which case the director or executive officer will be entitled to recover from the Company the expenses of securing such indemnification; or
•the court determines that such director or executive officer is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification in view of all the relevant circumstances, whether or not the director or executive officer has met the standards of conduct set forth in the applicable section of the MGCL or has been adjudged liable for receipt of an improper benefit under the applicable section of the MGCL; provided, however, that the Company’s indemnification obligations to such director or executive officer will be limited to the expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her, or on his or her behalf, in connection with any proceeding by or in the right of the Company or in which the executive officer or director will have been adjudged liable for receipt of an improper personal benefit under the applicable section of the MGCL.
Notwithstanding, and without limiting, any other provisions of the indemnification agreements, if a director or executive officer is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of such director’s or executive officer’s status as a director, executive officer or employee of the Company, and such director or executive officer is successful, on the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in such proceeding, the Company must indemnify such director or executive officer for all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her, or on his or her behalf, in connection with each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter, including any claim, issue or matter in such a proceeding that is terminated by dismissal, with or without prejudice.
In addition, the indemnification agreements require the Company to advance reasonable expenses incurred by the indemnitee within 20 days of the receipt by the Company of a statement from the indemnitee requesting the advance, provided the statement evidences the expenses and is accompanied by:
•a written affirmation of the indemnitee’s good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification; and
•a written undertaking by or on behalf of the indemnitee to repay the portion of any expenses advanced to the indemnitee relating to claims, issues or matters in a proceeding if it is ultimately established that the standard of conduct was not met.
The indemnification agreements also provide for procedures for the determination of entitlement to indemnification, including requiring such determination be made by independent counsel after a change of control of the Company.
In addition to the maximum extent permitted by law, the Plan provides the members of the Company’s board of directors with limited liability with respect to actions taken or decisions made in good faith relating to the plan and indemnification in connection with their activities under the plan.
Insofar as the foregoing provisions permit indemnification of directors, executive officers or persons controlling the Company for liability arising under the Securities Act, the Company has been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, this indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 9. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned Company 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 the 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 and of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange 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 in such information in the registration statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(l)(i) and (a)(l)(ii) above 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 Securities and Exchange Commission by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act 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 issuer hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Company’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 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.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to Item 6 of this Part II, or otherwise, the Company 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 of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company 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 Company 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 of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.