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Item 6.
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Indemnification of Directors and Officers
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We are governed by the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation may indemnify any person, including an officer or director, who was or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed legal action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person was or is an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the corporation’s best interest and, for criminal proceedings, had no reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any person, including an officer or director, who was or is, or is threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or contemplated action or suit by or in the right of such corporation, under the same conditions, except that such indemnification is limited to expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person, and except that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if such person is adjudged to be liable to such corporation. Where an officer or director of a corporation is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to above, or any claim, issue or matter therein, the corporation must indemnify that person against the expenses (including attorneys’ fees) which such officer or director actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith.
We are a Delaware corporation. Subsection (b)(7) of Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) enables a corporation in its original certificate of incorporation or an amendment thereto to eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for violations of the director’s fiduciary duty, except (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL (providing for liability of directors for unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock purchases or redemptions), or (iv) for any transaction from which a director derived an improper personal benefit. The Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as amended, ("Certificate") has eliminated the personal liability of its directors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Subsection (a) of Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a corporation to indemnify any director or officer, or former director or officer, 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 the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer 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 in connection with such action, suit or proceeding provided that such director or officer acted in good faith in a manner reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, provided further that such director or officer had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.
Subsection (b) of Section 145 of the DGCL empowers a corporation to indemnify any current or former director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, 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 such person acted in any of the capacities set forth above, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit provided that such director or officer 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, except that no indemnification may be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such director or officer shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the 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 of the circumstances of the case, such director or officer is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
Section 145 of the DGCL further provides that to the extent a director or officer of a corporation has been successful in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) or (b) or in the 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; that indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the indemnified party may be entitled; and empowers the corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who 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 any liability asserted against him or incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify him against such liabilities under Section 145.
Article Seven of our Certificate states that the corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to, or testifies in, any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative in nature, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer or employee of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer or employee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, penalties, and amounts paid in settlement or other liabilities actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by law, and the corporation may adopt by-laws or enter into agreements with any such person for the purpose of providing such indemnification. We also maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance to insure our directors and officers against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as such.
The foregoing summaries do not purport to be complete and each is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the statute, our Certificate and By-laws and the arrangements referred to above.
(a) The undersigned hereby undertakes:
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(1)
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To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
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(i)
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to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
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(ii)
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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. 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% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
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(iii)
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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.
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Provided, however
, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if this Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and 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 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 hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of our 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 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 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 our payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person 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, we 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 of 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.