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INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

Indemnification Agreement

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This Indemnification Agreement involves

Assured Guaranty Ltd.

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Title: INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
Date: 3/2/2006
Industry: Insurance (Prop. and Casualty)     Sector: Financial

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT, Parties: assured guaranty ltd.
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Exhibit 10.42

 

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

 

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into, effective as of December 21, 2005 by and between Assured Guaranty Ltd., a Bermuda company (the “Company”), and                      (“Indemnitee”).

 

WHEREAS, it is essential to the Company to retain and attract as directors and officers the most capable persons available;

 

WHEREAS, Indemnitee is a director and/or officer of the Company;

 

WHEREAS, both the Company and Indemnitee recognize the increased risk of litigation and other claims currently being asserted against directors and officers of corporations;

 

WHEREAS, the Bye-Laws of the Company require the Company to indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law, and permit the Company to advance expenses relating to the defense of indemnification matters, and the Indemnitee has been serving and continues to serve as a director and/or officer of the Company in part in reliance on the Company’s Bye-Laws;

 

WHEREAS, in recognition of Indemnitee’s need for (i) substantial protection against personal liability based on Indemnitee’s reliance on the aforesaid Bye-Laws, (ii) specific contractual assurance that the protection promised by the Bye-Laws will be available to Indemnitee (regardless of, among other things, any amendment to or revocation of the Bye-Laws or any change in the composition of the Company’s Board of Directors or acquisition transaction relating to the Company), and (iii) an inducement to provide effective services to the Company as a director and/or officer, the Company wishes to provide in this Agreement for the indemnification of and the advancing of expenses to Indemnitee to the fullest extent (whether partial or complete) permitted under law and as set forth in this Agreement, and, to provide for the continued coverage of Indemnitee under the Company’s directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies; and

 

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors has determined that contractual indemnification as set forth herein is reasonable and prudent and promotes the best interests of the Company and its shareholders;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the above premises and of Indemnitee continuing to serve the Company directly or, at its request, with another enterprise, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties agree as follows:

 

1.              Certain Definitions :

 

(a)            Board : the Board of Directors of the Company.

 



 

(b)            Affiliate : any corporation or other person or entity that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the person specified.

 

(c)            Change in Control : shall be deemed to have occurred if:

 

(i)             any “person,” as such term is used in Sections 3(a)(9) and 13(d) of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, becomes a “beneficial owner,” as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under that act, of 25% or more of the Voting Stock (as defined below) of the Company;

 

(ii)            the majority of the Board consists of individuals other than Incumbent Directors, which term means the members of the Board on the Effective Date; provided that any person becoming a director subsequent to such date whose election or nomination for election was supported by three-quarters of the directors who then comprised the Incumbent Directors shall be considered to be an Incumbent Director;

 

(iii)           the Company adopts any plan of liquidation providing for the distribution of all or substantially all of its assets;

 

(iv)           all or substantially all of the assets or business of the Company is disposed of pursuant to a merger, consolidation or other transaction (unless the shareholders of the Company immediately prior to such merger, consolidation or other transaction beneficially own, directly or indirectly, in substantially the same proportion as they owned the Voting Stock of the Company, all of the Voting Stock or other ownership interests of the entity or entities, if any, that succeed to the business of the Company); or

 

(v)            the Company combines with another company and is the surviving corporation but, immediately after the combination, the shareholders of the Company immediately prior to the combination hold, directly or indirectly, 50% or less of the Voting Stock of the combined company (there being excluded from the number of shares held by such shareholders, but not from the Voting Stock of the combined company, any shares received by Affiliates (as defined below) of such other company in exchange for stock of such other company).

 

For the purpose of this definition of “Change in Control,” (I) an “Affiliate” of a person or other entity shall mean a person or other entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the person or other entity specified and (II) “Voting Stock” shall mean capital stock of any class or classes having general voting power under ordinary circumstances, in the absence of contingencies, to elect the directors of a corporation.

 

(d)            Expenses : any expense, liability, or loss, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties, amounts paid or to be paid in settlement, any interest, assessments, or other charges imposed thereon, any federal, state, local, or foreign taxes imposed as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any

 

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payments under this Agreement, and all other costs and obligations, paid or incurred in connection with investigating, defending, prosecuting (subject to Section 2(b)), being a witness in, participating in (including on appeal), or preparing for any of the foregoing in, any Proceeding relating to any Indemnifiable Event.

 

(e)            Indemnifiable Event : any event or occurrence that takes place either prior to or after the execution of this Agreement, directly or indirectly, related to the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, or while a director or officer is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, trustee, agent, or fiduciary of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, employee benefit plan, trust, or other enterprise, or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of a foreign or domestic corporation that was a predecessor corporation of the Company or of another enterprise at the request of such predecessor corporation, or related to anything done or not done by Indemnitee in any such capacity, whether or not the basis of the Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee, or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Company, as described above.

 

(f)             Independent Counsel : the person or body appointed in connection with Section 3.

 

(g)            Proceeding : any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding or any alternative dispute resolution mechanism (including an action by or in the right of the Company), or any inquiry, hearing, or investigation, whether conducted by the Company or any other party, that Indemnitee in good faith believes might lead to the institution of any action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative, or other.

 

(h)            Reviewing Party : the person or body appointed in accordance with Section 3.

 

(i)             Voting Securities : any securities of the Company that vote generally in the election of directors.

 

2.              Agreement to Indemnify .

 

(a)            General Agreement . In the event Indemnitee was, is, or becomes a party to or witness or other participant in, or is threatened to be made a party to or witness or other participant in, a Proceeding by reason of (or arising in part out of) an Indemnifiable Event, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee from and against any and all Expenses to the fullest extent permitted by law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended or interpreted (but in the case of any such amendment or interpretation, only to the extent that such amendment or interpretation permits the Company to provide broader indemnification rights than were permitted prior thereto). The parties hereto intend that this Agreement shall provide for indemnification in excess of that expressly permitted by statute, including, without limitation, any indemnification provided by the Company’s Bye-Laws, vote of its shareholders or disinterested directors, or applicable law; provided

 

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that this indemnity shall not extend to any matter which may attach to Indemnitee in respect of any fraud or dishonesty on the part of Indemnitee, as determined by a final and non-appealable judicial determination.

 

(b)            Initiation of Proceeding . Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, Indemnitee shall not be entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Agreement in connection with any Proceeding initiated by Indemnitee against the Company or any director or officer of the Company unless (i) the Company has joined in or the Board has consented to the initiation of such Proceeding; (ii) the Proceeding is one to enforce indemnification rights under this Agreement; or (iii) the Proceeding is instituted after a Change in Control (other than a Change in Control approved by a majority of the directors on the Board who were directors immediately prior to such Change in Control) and Independent Counsel has approved its initiation.

 

(c)            Expense Advances . If so requested by Indemnitee, the Company shall advance (within ten business days of such request) any and all Expenses to Indemnitee (an “Expense Advance”); provided that, (i) such an Expense Advance shall be made only upon delivery to the Company of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Indemnitee to repay the amount thereof if it is ultimately determined that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company, and (ii) if and to the extent that the Reviewing Party determines that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be so indemnified under applicable law, the Company shall be entitled to be reimbursed by Indemnitee (who hereby agrees to reimburse the Company) for all such amounts theretofore paid. If Indemnitee has commenced or commences legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to secure a determination that Indemnitee should be indemnified under applicable law, as provided in Section 4, any determination made by the Reviewing Party that Indemnitee would not be permitted to be indemnified under applicable law shall not be binding, and Indemnitee shall not be required to reimburse the Company for any Expense Advance until a final judicial determination is made with respect thereto (as to which all rights of appeal therefrom have been exhausted or have lapsed). Indemnitee’s obligation to reimburse the Company for Expense Advances shall be unsecured and no interest shall be charged thereon.

 

(d)            Mandatory Indemnification . Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any Proceeding relating in whole or in part to an Indemnifiable Event or in defense of any issue or matter therein, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses incurred in connection therewith.  For purposes of this Agreement and without limiting the foregoing, if any action, suit or proceeding is disposed of, on the merits or otherwise (including a disposition without prejudice), without (i) the disposition being adverse to Indemnitee, (ii) an adjudication that Indemnitee was liable to the Company, (iii) a plea of guilty or nolo contendere by Indemnitee or (iv) an adjudication that Indemnitee is not entitled to the indemnification provided by this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be considered for the purposes hereof to have been wholly successful with respect thereto.

 

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(e)            Partial Indemnification . If Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for some or a portion of Expenses, but not, however, for the total amount thereof, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify Indemnitee for the portion thereof to which Indemnitee is entitled.

 

(f)             Prohibited Indemnification . No indemnification pursuant to this Agreement shall be paid by the Company:

 

(i)             on account of any Proceeding in which judgment is rendered against Indemnitee for an accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale by Indemnitee of securities of the Company pursuant to the provisions of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or similar provisions of any federal, state, or local laws; or

 

(ii)            if a court of competent jurisdiction by a final judicial determination, shall determine that such indemnity is not permitted under applicable law.

 

(g)            Contribution .  In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for herein is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unavailable to Indemnitee in whole or in part or is insufficient to hold Indemnitee harmless, it is agreed that, in such event, the Company shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, contribute to the payment of Indemnitee’s costs, charges and expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement with respect to any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, in an amount that is just and equitable in the circumstances, taking into account, among other things, contributions by other directors and officers of the Company or others pursuant to indemnification agreements or otherwise; provided, that, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, such contribution shall not be required where such holding by the court is due to any limitation on indemnification set forth in Section 2(f), 6(c) or 13 hereof.

 

3.              Reviewing Party . Prior to any Change in Control, the Reviewing Party shall be any appropriate person or body consisting of a member or members of the Board or any other person or body appointed by the Board who is not a party to the particular Proceeding with respect to which Ind


 
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