EXHIBIT 10.31
ARYX THERAPEUTICS,
INC.
EXECUTIVE SEVERANCE BENEFIT
PLAN
Section 1.
INTRODUCTION.
The ARYx Therapeutics, Inc.
Executive Severance Benefit Plan (the “ Plan
”) is hereby established effective May 20, 2009.
The purpose of the Plan is to provide for the payment of severance
benefits to certain executive employees of ARYx
Therapeutics, Inc. (the “ Company ”)
upon the termination of their employment under specified
circumstances. This Plan shall supersede any executive
severance benefit agreement, plan, policy or practice previously
maintained or entered into by the Company for or with any Eligible
Employee (as defined in Section 2(a)(1) below).
This Plan document is also the Summary Plan Description for the
Plan.
Section 2.
ELIGIBILITY FOR
BENEFITS.
(a)
General Rules.
Subject to the requirements
set forth herein, the Company will grant severance benefits under
the Plan to Eligible Employees.
(1)
Definition of “ Eligible
Employee .” For purposes of this Plan, Eligible
Employees shall be those employees of the Company who are approved
for participation in the Plan by the Company’s Board of
Directors (the “ Board ”) as listed in
APPENDIX A hereto and who sign and return a Participation
Agreement in the form attached hereto as APPENDIX B within
thirty (30) days following his or her notification of selection for
participation in the Plan. The determination of whether an
employee is an Eligible Employee shall be made by the Board, in its
sole discretion, and such determination shall be binding and
conclusive on all persons. If an employee who is deemed an
Eligible Employee by the Board has an individually negotiated
employment agreement with the Company relating to severance
benefits that is in effect on his or her termination date, the
provisions of that agreement relating to severance benefits shall
be superseded by the terms of this Plan; provided, however ,
that all other remaining provisions of that agreement shall remain
in effect.
(2)
Release of
Claims. To be
eligible to receive benefits under the Plan, an Eligible Employee
must execute a general waiver and release in substantially the form
attached hereto as EXHIBIT A , EXHIBIT B or
EXHIBIT C , as appropriate, within the time provided
therein, and such release must become effective in accordance with
its terms, but in all cases the release must become effective
within 60 days following the date of the Eligible Employee’s
“separation from service” (as defined under Treasury
Regulation Section 1.409A-1(h)). The Company, in its
sole discretion, may modify the form of the required release to
comply with applicable law and shall determine the form of the
required release, which may be incorporated into a termination
agreement or other agreement with the Eligible Employee. Such
release shall include non-competition and non-solicitation
provisions as deemed appropriate by the Company in its sole
discretion, in accordance with applicable law.
(3)
Return of Property.
To be eligible to receive
benefits under the Plan, an Eligible Employee must return all
Company property which he or she has had in his or her possession
at any time, including but not limited to any materials which
contain or embody any proprietary or confidential information of
the Company and any computers, mobile telephones or other physical
property.
(b)
Exceptions to Benefit
Entitlement. An
employee, including an employee who otherwise is an Eligible
Employee, will not receive benefits under the Plan if the employee
is terminated for Cause (as defined herein), if the employee
resigns without Good Reason (as defined herein), or if the
employee’s employment is terminated as a result of the
employee’s death or disability, in each case as determined by
the Company pursuant to Sections 3(c)(1) and
3(c)(2) below.
Section 3.
AMOUNT OF BENEFIT.
(a)
Termination without Cause or
Resignation for Good Reason. If at any time the Company terminates an
Eligible Employee’s employment without Cause (as defined
herein), or the Eligible Employee resigns for Good Reason (as
defined herein), and such termination constitutes a
“separation from service” (as defined above), the
Company shall provide the Eligible Employee with the following
severance benefits:
(1)
A cash severance benefit in an
amount equal to six (6) months of the Eligible
Employee’s Base Salary (as defined herein), subject to
withholdings and deductions, which aggregate amount shall be paid
in a single lump sum payment. On the first regular payroll
date following the effective date of the Eligible Employee’s
release of claims, the Company will pay the Eligible Employee this
cash severance benefit;
(2)
Acceleration of the vesting of the
unvested shares of common stock held by the Eligible Employee that
were issued pursuant to his or her compensatory equity awards and
the unvested shares of common stock subject to unexercised stock
options then held by the Eligible Employee such that the shares
that would have vested under such awards had the Eligible Employee
remained employed by the Company for six (6) months following
the termination of the Eligible Employee’s employment shall
vest and, in the case of options, become immediately exercisable
(or, if no shares would vest during such time under an award due to
a cliff vesting provision, then the number of shares vesting and
becoming exercisable pursuant to this paragraph shall equal the
product of (i) the total number of shares subject to the award
and (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is six
(6) and the denominator of which is the total number of months
in the vesting schedule), with such vesting occurring as of the
date of the Eligible Employee’s termination (such
acceleration of vesting, the “ 6 Month
Acceleration ”); and
(3)
Provided that the Eligible Employee
is eligible to continue coverage under a health, dental, or vision
plan sponsored by the Company under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“ COBRA ”) at
the time of the Eligible Employee’s termination and timely
elects such continuation of coverage under COBRA, the Company will
pay COBRA premiums on behalf of the Eligible Employee for a period
of up to six (6) months following the Eligible
Employee’s termination of employment (but in no event longer
that the date on which the Eligible Employee ceases to be eligible
for COBRA). Upon the conclusion of such period of insurance
premium payments made by the Company, the Eligible Employee will be
responsible for the entire payment of premiums required under COBRA
for the duration of the COBRA period. No provision of this
Plan will affect the continuation coverage
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rules under COBRA, except that the
Company’s payment of any applicable insurance premiums will
be credited as payment by the Eligible Employee for purposes of the
Eligible Employee’s payment required under COBRA.
Therefore, the period during which an Eligible Employee may elect
to continue the Company’s health, dental, or vision plan
coverage at his or her own expense under COBRA, the length of time
during which COBRA coverage will be made available to the Eligible
Employee, and all other rights and obligations of the Eligible
Employee under COBRA (except the obligation to pay insurance
premiums that the Company pays in accordance with the foregoing)
will be applied in the same manner that such rules would apply
in the absence of this Plan. For purposes of this
Section 3(a)(3), (i) references to COBRA shall be deemed
to refer also to analogous provisions of state law and
(ii) any applicable insurance premiums that are paid by the
Company shall not include any amounts payable by the Eligible
Employee under an Internal Revenue Code Section 125 health
care reimbursement plan, which amounts, if any, are the sole
responsibility of the Eligible Employee.
(b)
Termination without Cause or
Resignation for Good Reason Following a Change of
Control. If the
Company terminates an Eligible Employee’s employment without
Cause, or the Eligible Employee resigns for Good Reason, at any
time during the period commencing on the effective date of a Change
of Control (as defined herein) and ending thirteen (13) months
following the effective date of the Change of Control, and provided
such termination constitutes a separation from service, then the
Eligible Employee shall be entitled to the benefits set forth in
Section 3(a); provided, however , that in lieu of the 6
Month Acceleration, the vesting (and, in the case of options,
exercisability) of each then-unvested equity award held by the
Eligible Employee shall be fully accelerated, such that 100% of the
shares shall be vested and exercisable effective as of the date of
the Eligible Employee’s termination of employment.
(c)
Definitions.
(1)
For purposes of this Plan, “
Cause ” shall mean that the Eligible Employee
committed, or there has occurred, one or more of the following:
(a) conviction of, a guilty plea with respect to, or a plea of
nolo contendere to a charge that the Eligible Employee has
committed a felony under the laws of the United States or of any
state of a crime involving moral turpitude, including, but not
limited to, fraud, theft, embezzlement or any crime that results in
or is intended to result in personal enrichment at the expense of
the Company; (b) material breach of any agreement entered into
between the Eligible Employee and the Company that impairs the
Company’s interest therein; (c) willful misconduct, or
gross neglect by such Eligible Employee of his or her duties, if
such conduct is not cured within seven (7) days of the
Eligible Employee’s receipt of written notice (provided that
such conduct can reasonably be cured); (d) an unauthorized use
or disclosure of the Company’s confidential information or
trade secrets; or (e) engagement in any activity that
constitutes a material conflict of interest with the Company.
The Eligible Employee’s death or physical or mental
disability shall also constitute Cause for termination
hereunder. Cause to terminate employment based on the
Eligible Employee’s physical or mental disability shall exist
if any illness, disability or other incapacity renders the Eligible
Employee physically or mentally unable to regularly perform his or
her duties hereunder for a period in excess of sixty (60)
consecutive days or more than ninety (90) days in any consecutive
twelve (12) month period. The Board of Directors shall make a
good faith determination of whether the Eligible Employee is
physically or mentally unable to regularly perform his or her
duties, subject to its review and consideration of any physical
and/or mental health information provided to it by the Eligible
Employee.
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(2)
For purposes of this Plan, “
Good Reason ” shall mean the Eligible
Employee’s resignation from all positions he or she
then-holds with the Company if any one of the following events
occurs on or after the commencement of the Eligible
Employee’s employment without his or her consent:
(A) (I) any material reduction of the Eligible
Employee’s then current annual base salary, except to the
extent that the annual base salary of all other officers of the
Company is similarly reduced; (II) any material diminution of
the Eligible Employee’s duties, responsibilities or
authority; (III) any requirement that the Eligible Employee
relocate to a work site that would increase his or her one-way
commute distance by more than thirty-five (35) miles; or
(IV) any material breach by the Company of its obligations
under the employment agreement between the Company and the Eligible
Employee, (B) the Eligible Employee provides written notice to
the Company’s Chief Executive Officer within the 90-day
period immediately following such material change or reduction,
(C) such material change or reduction is not remedied by the
Company within forty-five (45) days following the Company’s
receipt of such written notice, and (D) the Eligible
Employee’s resignation is effective not later than thirty
(30) days after the expiration of such cure period.
(3)
Change of Control.
For purposes of the Plan, a “
Change of Control ” shall have the meaning
given to the term “Change in Control” as set forth in
the Company’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan in effect on the
date hereof and as amended and/or restated from time to
time.
(4)
For purposes of calculating Plan
benefits, “ Base Salary ” shall mean the
Eligible Employee’s base pay (excluding incentive pay,
premium pay, commissions, overtime, bonuses and other forms of
variable compensation), at the rate in effect during the last
regularly scheduled payroll period immediately preceding the
Eligible Employee’s termination (ignoring any reduction in
Base Salary that is the basis for the Eligible Employee’s
resignation for Good Reason, as applicable).
(d)
Other Employee
Benefits. All other
benefits (such as life insurance, disability coverage, and
401(k) plan coverage) terminate as of the Eligible
Employee’s termination date (except to the extent that a
conversion privilege may be available thereunder).
(e)
Certain
Reductions. The
Company shall reduce an Eligible Employee’s severance
benefits, in whole or in part, by any other severance benefits, pay
in lieu of notice, or other similar benefits payable to the
Eligible Employee by the Company that become payable in connection
with the Eligible Employee’s termination of employment
pursuant to (i) any applicable legal requirement, including,
without limitation, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act (the “ WARN Act ”), or
(ii) any Company policy or practice providing for the Eligible
Employee to remain on the payroll for a limited period of time
after being given notice of the termination of the Eligible
Employee’s employment. The benefits provided under this
Plan are intended to satisfy, in whole or in part, any and all
statutory obligations that may arise out of an Eligible
Employee’s termination of employment, and the Plan
Administrator shall so construe and implement the terms of the
Plan. In the Company’s sole discretion, such reductions
may be applied on a retroactive basis, with severance benefits
previously paid being recharacterized as payments pursuant to the
Company’s statutory obligation.
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Section 4.
LIMITATIONS ON
PAYMENTS.
(a)
Taxes and Offsets.
All payments under the Plan
will be subject to applicable withholding for federal, state and
local taxes. If an Eligible Employee is indebted to the
Company at his or her termination date, the Company reserves the
right to offset any severance payments under the Plan by the amount
of such indebtedness. In no event shall payment of any Plan
benefit be made prior to the Eligible Employee’s separation
from service or prior to the effective date of the release
described in Section 2(a)(2).
(b)
Best After Tax.
If any payment or benefit (including
payments and benefits pursuant to this Agreement) that an Eligible
Employee would receive in connection with a Change of Control from
the Company or otherwise (“ Payment ”)
would (i) constitute a “parachute payment” within
the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended (the “ Code ”), and
(ii) but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax
imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “ Excise
Tax ”), then the Company shall cause to be
determined, before any amounts of the Payment are paid to the
Eligible Employee, which of the following two alternative forms of
payment would maximize the Eligible Employee’s after-tax
proceeds: (i) payment in full of the entire amount of the
Payment (a “ Full Payment ”), or
(ii) payment of only a part of the Payment so that the
Eligible Employee receives the largest payment possible without the
imposition of the Excise Tax (a “ Reduced
Payment ”), whichever amount results in the
Participant ’s receipt, on an after-tax basis,
of the greater amount of the Payment notwithstanding that all or
some portion of the Payment may be subject to the Excise Tax.
For purposes of determining whether to make a Full Payment or a
Reduced Payment, the Company shall cause to be taken into account
all applicable federal, state and local income and employment taxes
and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal
rate, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which
could be obtained from a deduction of such state and local
taxes). If a Reduced Payment is made, (i) the Payment
shall be paid only to the extent permitted under the Reduced
Payment alternative, and the Eligible Employee shall have no rights
to any additional payments and/or benefits constituting the
Payment, and (ii) reduction in payments and/or benefits shall
occur in the following order: (1) reduction of cash payments;
(2) cancellation of accelerated vesting of equity awards other
than stock options; (3) cancellation of accelerated vesting of
stock options; and (4) reduction of other benefits paid to the
Eligible Employee. In the event that acceleration of
compensation from the Eligible Employee’s equity awards is to
be reduced, such acceleration of vesting shall be canceled in the
reverse order of the date of grant.
The independent professional firm
engaged by the Company for general tax audit purposes as of the day
prior to the effective date of the Change of Control shall make all
determinations required to be made under this
Section 4(b). If the firm so engaged by the Company is
serving as accountant or auditor for the individual, entity or
group effecting the Change of Control, the Company shall appoint a
nationally recognized independent professional firm to make the
determinations required hereunder. The Company shall bear all
expenses with respect to the determinations by such firm required
to be made hereunder.
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The firm engaged to make the
determinations hereunder shall provide its calculations, together
with detailed supporting documentation, to the Company and the
Eligible Employee within fifteen (15) calendar days after the date
on which the Eligible Employee’s right to a Payment is
triggered (if requested at that time by the Company or the Eligible
Employee) or such other time as requested by the Company or the
Eligible Employee. If the firm determines that no Excise Tax
is payable with respect to a Payment, either before or after the
application of the Reduced Amount, it shall furnish the Company and
the Eligible Employee with a statement reasonably acceptable to the
Eligible Employee that no Excise Tax will be imposed with respect
to such Payment. Any good faith determinations of the firm
made hereunder shall be final, binding and conclusive upon the
Company and the Eligible Employee.
(c)
Code
Section 409A.
If the Company (or, if applicable, the successor entity thereto)
determines that the severance payments and benefits provided under
the Plan (the “ Plan Payments ”)
constitute “deferred compensation” under Code
Section 409A (together, with any state law of similar effect,
“ Section 409A ”) and an Eligible
Employee is a “specified employee” of the Company or
any successor entity thereto, as such term is defined in
Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) (a “ Specified
Employee ”) on his or her separation from service,
then, solely to the extent necessary to avoid the incurrence of the
adverse personal tax consequences under Section 409A, the
timing of the Plan Payments shall be delayed as follows: on
the earlier to occur of (i) the date that is six months and
one day after the date of his or her separation from service or
(ii) the date of the Eligible Employee’s death (such
earlier date, the “ Delayed Initial Payment
Date ”), the Company (or the successor entity
thereto, as applicable) shall (A) pay to the Eligible Employee
a lump sum amount equal to the sum of the Plan Payments that the
Eligible Employee would otherwise have received through the Delayed
Initial Payment Date (including reimbursement for any premiums paid
by the Eligible Employee for health insurance coverage under COBRA)
if the commencement of the payment of the Plan Payments had not
been delayed pursuant to this Section 4(c) and
(B) commence paying the balance of the Plan Payments in
accordance with the applicable payment schedules set forth in
Section 3 above. It is intended that (i) each
installment of the Plan Payments provided under this Plan is a
separate “payment” for purposes of Section 409A,
(ii) all of the Plan Payments satisfy, to the greatest extent
possible, the exemptions from the application of Section 409A
provided under of Treasury Regulation 1.409A-1(b)(4),
1.409A-1(b)(5) and 1.409A-1(b)(9), and this Plan will be
construed to the greatest extent possible as consistent with those
provisions.
Section 5.
REEMPLOYMENT.
In the event of an Eligible
Employee’s reemployment by the Company during the period of
time in respect of which Plan Payments have been paid, the Company,
in its sole discretion, may require such Eligible Employee to repay
to the Company all or a portion of such Plan Payments as a
condition of reemployment.
Section 6.
RIGHT TO INTERPRET PLAN;
AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION.
(a)
Exclusive Discretion.
The Plan Administrator (set
forth in Section 11(d)) shall have the exclusive discretion
and authority to establish rules, forms, and procedures for the
administration of the Plan and to construe and interpret the Plan
and to decide any and all questions of fact, interpretation,
definition, computation or administration arising in connection
with the operation of the Plan, including, but not limited to, the
eligibility to participate in the Plan and amount of benefits paid
under the Plan. The rules, interpretations, computations and
other actions of the Plan Administrator shall be binding and
conclusive on all persons.
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(b)
Amendment or
Termination. The
Company reserves the right to amend or terminate this Plan
(including Appendix A) or the benefits provided hereunder at any
time prior to a Change of Control; provided, however, that
no such amendment or termination shall materially adversely impair
the rights of any Eligible Employee under the Plan without his or
her written consent.
Section 7.
NO IMPLIED EMPLOYMENT
CONTRACT.
The Plan shall not be deemed to
(i) give any employee or other person any right to be retained
in the employ of the Company or (ii) interfere with the right
of the Company to discharge any employee or other person at any
time, with or without cause, which right is hereby
reserved.
Section 8.
LEGAL
CONSTRUCTION.
This Plan is intended to be governed
by and shall be construed in accordance with the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ ERISA
”) and, to the extent not preempted by ERISA, the laws of the
State of Florida.
Section 9.
CLAIMS, INQUIRIES AND
APPEALS.
(a)
Applications for Benefits and
Inquiries. Any
application for benefits, inquiries about the Plan or inquiries
about present or future rights under the Plan must be submitted to
the Plan Administrator in writing by an applicant (or his or her
authorized representative).
(b)
Denial of Claims.
In the event that any
application for benefits is denied in whole or in part, the Plan
Administrator must provide the applicant with written or electronic
notice of the denial of the application, and of the
applicant’s right to review the denial. Any electronic
notice will comply with the regulations of the U.S. Department of
Labor. The notice of denial will be set forth in a manner
designed to be understood by the applicant and will include the
following:
(1)
the specific reason or reasons for
the denial;
(2)
references to the specific Plan
provisions upon which the denial is based;
(3)
a description of any additional
information or material tha