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EXHIBIT 10.20 Indemnity Agreement

Indemnification Agreement

EXHIBIT 10.20 Indemnity Agreement | Document Parties: GRANITE CONSTRUCTION INC | Michael F. Donnino You are currently viewing:
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GRANITE CONSTRUCTION INC | Michael F. Donnino

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Title: EXHIBIT 10.20 Indemnity Agreement
Governing Law: Delaware     Date: 3/2/2006
Industry: Construction Services    

EXHIBIT 10.20 Indemnity Agreement, Parties: granite construction inc , michael f. donnino
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Exhibit 10.20

Indemnity Agreement

 

This indemnity agreement, dated as of January 22, 2004 (the “Effective Date”), is made by and between Granite Construction Incorporated , a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and Michael F. Donnino , an Officer of the Company (the "Indemnitee"). This indemnity agreement, amended and re-drafted in substantially the form of the original form of indemnity agreement approved by the shareholders of the Company on February 22, 1990, is referred to hereinafter as the “Agreement.”

 

Recitals

 

A.   The Company is aware that competent and experienced persons are increasingly reluctant to serve as directors or officers of corporations unless they are protected by comprehensive liability insurance or indemnification, due to increased exposure to litigation costs and risks resulting from their service to such corporations, and due to the fact that the exposure frequently bears no reasonable relationship to the compensation of such directors and officers;

 

B.   The statutes and judicial decisions regarding the duties of directors and officers are often difficult to apply, ambiguous, or conflicting, and therefore fail to provide such directors and officers with adequate, reliable knowledge of legal risks to which they are exposed or information regarding the proper course of action to take;

 

C.   Plaintiffs often seek damages in such large amounts and the costs of litigation may be so enormous (whether or not the case is meritorious), that the defense and/or settlement of such litigation is often beyond the personal resources of officers and directors;

 

D.   The Company believes that it is unfair for its directors and officers and the directors and officers of its subsidiaries to assume the risk of huge judgments and other expenses which may occur in cases in which the director or officer received no personal profit and in cases where the director or officer was not culpable;

 

E.   The Company recognizes that the issues in controversy in litigation against a director or officer of a corporation such as the Company or a subsidiary of the Company are often related to the knowledge, motives and intent of such director or officer, that he/she is usually the only witness with knowledge of the essential facts and exculpating circumstances regarding such matters, and that the long period of time which usually elapses before the trial or other disposition of such litigation often extends beyond the time that the director or officer can reasonably recall such matters and may extend beyond the normal time for retirement for such director or officer with the result that he/she, after retirement or in the event of his/her death, his/her spouse, heirs, executors or administrators may be faced with limited ability and undue hardship in maintaining an adequate defense, which may discourage such a director or officer from serving in that position;

 

F.   Based upon their experience as business managers, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") has concluded that, to retain and attract talented and experienced individuals to serve as officers and directors of the Company and its subsidiaries and to encourage such individuals to take the business risks necessary for the success of the Company and its subsidiaries, it is necessary for the Company to contractually indemnify its officers and directors and the officers and directors of its subsidiaries, and to assume for itself maximum liability for expenses and damages in connection with claims against such officers and directors in connection with their service to the Company and its subsidiaries, and has further concluded that the failure to provide such contractual indemnification could result in great harm to the Company and its subsidiaries and the Company's shareholders;

 

G.   Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, under which the Company is organized ("Section 145"), empowers the Company to indemnify its officers, directors, employees and agents by agreement and to indemnify persons who serve, at the request of the Company, as the directors, officers, employees or agents of other corporations or enterprises, and expressly provides that the indemnification provided by Section 145 is not exclusive;

 

H.   The Company, after reasonable investigation prior to the date hereof, has determined that the liability insurance coverage available to the Company and its subsidiaries as of the date hereof is inadequate and/or unreasonably expensive. The Company believes, therefore, that the interests of the Company's shareholders would best be served by a combination of such insurance as the Company may obtain, or request a subsidiary to obtain, pursuant to the Company's obligations hereunder and the indemnification by the Company of the directors and officers of the Company and its subsidiaries;

 

I.   The Company desires and has requested the Indemnitee to serve or continue to serve as a director or officer of the Company and/or one or more subsidiaries of the Company free from undue concern for claims for damages arising out of or related to such services to the Company and/or one or more subsidiaries of the Company; and

 

J.   The Indemnitee is willing to serve, or to continue to serve, the Company and/or one or more subsidiaries of the Company, provided that he/she is furnished the indemnity provided for herein.

 


Agreement

 

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

 

1.   Definitions .

 

(a)   Agent .   For the purposes of this Agreement, "agent" of the Company means any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or other agent of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company; or is or was serving at the request of, for the convenience of, or to represent the interests of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise; or was a director, officer, employee or agent of a foreign or domestic corporation which was a predecessor corporation of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company, or was a director, officer, employee or agent of another enterprise at the request of, for the convenience of, or to represent the interests of such predecessor corporation.

 

(b)   Expenses . For purposes of this Agreement, "expenses" includes all out-of-pocket and indirect costs of any type or nature whatsoever (including, without limitation, all attorneys' fees and related disbursements, other out-of-pocket costs actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with either the investigation, defense or appeal of a proceeding or establishing or enforcing a right to indemnification under this Agreement, Section 145 or otherwise; provided, however, that “expenses” shall not include any judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties or amounts paid in settlement of a proceeding.

 

(c)   Proceeding . For the purposes of this Agreement, "proceeding" means any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or any other type whatsoever.

 

(d)   Subsidiary . For purposes of this Agreement, "subsidiary" means any corporation of which more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities is owned directly or indirectly by the Company, by the Company and one or more other subsidiaries, or by one or more other subsidiaries.

 

2.   Agreement to Serve . The Indemnitee agrees to serve and/or continue to serve as an agent of the Company, at its will (or under separate agreement, if such agreement exists), in the capacity Indemnitee currently serves as an agent of the Company, so long as he/she is duly appointed or elected and qualified in accordance with the applicable provisions of the bylaws of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or until such time as he/she tenders his/her resignation in writing, provided, however, that nothing contained in this Agreement is intended to create any right to continued employment by Indemnitee.

 

3.   Liability Insurance .

 

(a)   Maintenance . The Company hereby covenants and agrees that, so long as the Indemnitee shall continue to serve as an agent of the Company and thereafter so long as the Indemnitee shall be subject to any possible proceeding by reason of the fact that the Indemnitee was an agent of the Company, the Company, subject to Section 3(c), shall promptly obtain and maintain in full force and effect directors' and officers' liability insurance ("D&O Insurance") in reasonable amounts from established and reputable insurers.

 

(b)   Rights and Benefits . In all policies of D&O Insurance, the Indemnitee shall be named as an insured in such a manner as to provide the Indemnitee the same rights and benefits as are accorded to the most favorably insured of the Company's directors, if the Indemnitee is a director; or of the Company's officers, if the Indemnitee is not a director of the Company but is an officer; or of the Company's key employees, if the Indemnitee is not an officer or director but is a key employee.

 

(c)   Limitations . Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no obligation to obtain or maintain D&O Insurance if the Company determines in good faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, the premium costs for such insurance are disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided, the coverage provided by such insurance is limited by exclusions so as to provide an insufficient benefit, or the Indemnitee is covered by similar insurance maintained by a subsidiary of the Company.

 

4.   Mandatory Indemnification . The Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee as follows:

 

(a)   Third Party Actions . If the Indemnitee is a person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the Company) by reason of the fact that he/she is or was an agent of the Company, or by reason of anything done or not done by him/her in any such capacity, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against any and all expenses and liabilities of any type whatsoever (including, but not limited to, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in connection with the investigation, defense, settlement or appeal of such proceeding if he/she acted in good faith and in a manner he/she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his/her conduct was unlawful; and

 


(b)   Derivative Actions . If the Indemnitee is a person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he/she is or was an agent of the Company, or by reason of anything done or not done by him/her in any such capacity, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him/her in


 
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