Exhibit 10(iii)(3)
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
THIS
AGREEMENT is made this ___ day of ____________, 2009 between
CENTRAL HUDSON ENTERPRISES CORPORATION, a New York corporation (the
“Company”), and ________________ (the
“Officer”).
WHEREAS,
it is essential for the Company to be able to attract and retain
highly capable persons as Officers of the Company;
WHEREAS,
the Company and the Officer each recognize the risk of litigation
and other claims being asserted against officers of public
companies in the current business environment;
WHEREAS,
the Company recognizes the Officer’s need for substantial
protection against personal liability, and the Company desires to
provide in this Agreement for the indemnification of, and the
advancement of expenses to, the Officer to the fullest extent
permitted by the New York Business Corporation Law; and
WHEREAS,
the Officer is relying on the contractual assurances provided by
this Agreement in determining whether to begin serving, or to
continue serving, as an Officer of the Company;
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and as an inducement to
the Officer to serve or continue to serve the Company as an
Officer, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the Company and
the Officer agree as follows:
Section 1 . Certain Definitions . Capitalized terms
used in this Agreement have the meanings set forth in the text of
this Agreement or in the Definitions contained in Appendix A
to this Agreement.
Section 2 . Indemnification . The Company shall
indemnify the Officer as follows:
(a)
Indemnification to the Fullest Extent Permitted by Law . The
Company shall indemnify the Officer and hold the Officer harmless,
to the fullest extent permitted by the
NYBCL, from and against all
Judgments and all Expenses incurred by the Officer in connection
with any Proceeding by reason of or relating to his Corporate
Status.
(b)
Indemnification – General Provisions . The rights to
indemnification provided by Section 2(a) to the Officer shall
include, but shall not be limited to, the rights provided to the
Officer by this Section 2(b) and the other Sections of this
Agreement. Without diminishing in any way the scope of
indemnification rights provided to the Officer by Section 2(a), the
Company agrees that it shall indemnify the Officer and hold the
Officer harmless from and against all Judgments and all Expenses
incurred by the Officer in connection with any Proceeding by reason
of or relating to his Corporate Status, provided the Officer has
met the standard of conduct (the “Applicable Standard of
Conduct”) set forth in the following sentence. The Applicable
Standard of Conduct shall mean that there is not a Judgment or
other final adjudication adverse to the Officer which has
established that: (i) his acts were committed in bad faith or were
the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and were material to
the cause of action so adjudicated; or (ii) he personally gained in
fact a financial profit or other advantage to which he was not
legally entitled.
(c)
Indemnification for Expenses When Wholly or Partly
Successful . Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement, to the extent that the Officer is, by reason of or
relating to his Corporate Status, a party to and is successful, on
the merits or otherwise, in any Proceeding, he shall be indemnified
against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or on
his behalf in connection therewith. If the Officer is not wholly
successful in such Proceeding but 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 shall indemnify the Officer
against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or on
his behalf in connection with each successfully resolved claim,
issue or matter. For purposes of this Agreement, the termination of
any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by dismissal, with
or without prejudice, shall be deemed to be a successful result as
to such claim, issue or matter.
(d)
Indemnification of Expenses as a Witness . The Company shall
indemnify the Officer and hold the Officer harmless from and
against all Expenses actually and reasonably
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incurred by him in connection
with serving as a witness, by reason of or relating to his
Corporate Status, in any Proceeding to which he is not a
party.
Section 3 . Indemnification Procedures . (a) To
obtain indemnification under this Agreement, the Officer shall
submit to the Company a written request with such documentation and
information as is reasonably available to him for the determination
of whether he is entitled to indemnification under this
Agreement.
(b) Within
twenty (20) days from the Company’s receipt of a written
request from the Officer for indemnification pursuant to Section
2(c), 2(d) and/or the last sentence of Section 3(c), the Company
shall make all required indemnification payments to the Officer.
Within sixty (60) days from the Company’s receipt of a
written request from the Officer for indemnification pursuant to
Section 2(a) and/or Section 2(b), a determination of whether or not
the Officer has met the Applicable Standard of Conduct shall be
made as follows:
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(i) if
a Change in Control has occurred, the determination shall be made
by, and be set forth in a written opinion of, an Independent
Counsel selected in accordance with Section 3(d) of this Agreement
(a copy of the written opinion shall be delivered to the Officer);
or
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(ii) if
a Change in Control has not occurred, the determination shall be
made as follows:
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(A) by the Board, acting by a
quorum of Disinterested Directors; or
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(B) if a quorum of Disinterested
Directors so directs:
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(x) by an Independent Counsel
selected in accordance with Section 3(d); this determination shall
be set forth in a written opinion of the Independent Counsel and a
copy of it shall be delivered to the Officer; or
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(y) by the shareholders of the
Company; or
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(C) if a quorum of Disinterested
Directors is not obtainable:
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(v) by an Independent Counsel
selected in accordance with Section 3(d); this determination shall
be set forth in a written opinion of the Independent Counsel and a
copy of it shall be delivered to the Officer; or
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(w) if a judicial proceeding or
arbitration is commenced pursuant to Section 6(a), and if the Court
or arbitrator so directs: by the shareholders of the
Company.
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(c) If
it is determined that the Officer has met the Applicable Standard
of Conduct, the Company shall make all required indemnification
payments to the Officer within ten (10) days after receiving
written notice of the determination. The Officer shall cooperate
with the person(s) making the determination, including providing,
upon reasonable advance request, any documentation or information
relevant to the determination that is not privileged or otherwise
protected from disclosure and that is reasonably available to the
Officer. Any Expenses incurred by the Officer in so cooperating
with the person(s) making the determination shall be borne by the
Company (irrespective of the determination as to the
Officer’s entitlement to indemnification).
(d) If
an Independent Counsel is required or directed under Section 3(b)
to determine whether the Officer has met the Applicable Standard of
Conduct, the Independent Counsel shall meet the qualification
requirements for Independent Counsel set forth in Appendix A and
shall be selected, within fifteen (15) days from the
Company’s receipt of the Officer’s written request for
indemnification, as follows:
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(i)
if a Change in Control has not occurred, the Independent Counsel
shall be selected by the Board, and the Company shall promptly
notify the Officer in writing of the Independent Counsel so
selected; or
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(ii)
if a Change in Control has occurred, the Independent Counsel shall
be selected by the Officer and the Officer shall promptly notify
the Company in writing of the Independent Counsel so selected
pursuant to this Section 3(d)(ii); provided, however, that the
Officer may in his or her discretion request that the Board select
the Independent Counsel, in which case the Independent Counsel
shall be selected in the manner provided in clause (i) of this
Section 3(d).
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Within ten (10) days after the
Company or the Officer, as the case may be, gives the other written
notice of the selection of the Independent Counsel, the party
receiving such notice may give the party giving such notice a
written objection to the Independent Counsel that has been
selected. Any such objection can be based only on the ground that
the selected Independent Counsel does not meet the qualification
requirements for “Independent Counsel” as set forth in
Appendix A, and the objection must set forth with particularity the
factual basis of such assertion. Absent a proper and timely
objection, the selected law firm or lawyer shall act as Independent
Counsel with respect to the request for indemnification. If a
timely written objection is made setting forth with particularity
the factual basis for the assertion, the selected Independent
Counsel may not serve as Independent Counsel unless and until the
objection is withdrawn or a court has determined that the objection
is without merit. If, within thirty (30) days after the submission
by the Officer of the written request for indemnification pursuant
to Section 3(a), an Independent Counsel has not been selected or
all objections to a selected Independent Counsel have not been
resolved, either the Company or the Officer may petition the
Supreme Court of the State of New York in New York County or in
Dutchess County for (i) an expedited judicial resolution of any
objection that has been made by the Company or by the Officer to
the other’s selection of Independent Counsel, and/or for (ii)
an expedited judicial appointment as Independent Counsel of a
person designated by the Court (or by such other person as the
Court shall designate); and the law firm or lawyer with respect to
whom all objections are so resolved by the Court or the law firm or
lawyer so appointed by the Court or its designee shall be the
Independent Counsel for purposes of making the determination of
whether the Officer is entitled to indemnification under this
Section 3 with respect to the Officer’s request for
indemnification. If an expedited judicial decision is not received
within sixty (60) days from
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the Company’s receipt of
the Officer’s written request for indemnification, the
Officer shall have the option of waiting for a judicial decision
with respect to the choice of an Independent Counsel or pursuing
his remedies under Section 6. If the Officer chooses to pursue his
remedies under Section 6, the Officer and the Company shall
promptly file a stipulation with the Court withdrawing any and all
petitions filed pursuant to this Section 3(d).
(e) Upon
the commencement of any judicial proceeding or arbitration pursuant
to Section 6(a), the selected Independent Counsel shall be
discharged and relieved of any further responsibility in such
capacity (subject to the applicable standards of professional
conduct then prevailing). The Company shall pay the reasonable fees
and expenses of the selected law firm or lawyer incurred in
connection with acting or preparing to act as Independent
Counsel.
(f) In
determining whether the Officer is entitled to indemnification
under this Agreement, the person(s) making such determination shall
presume that the Officer has met the Applicable Standard of
Conduct, and the Company shall have the burden of proof to overcome
that presumption in making any determination contrary to that
presumption. In this connection, the person(s) making the
determination shall be bound by an explicit judicial finding in the
relevant Proceeding that (A) the Officer’s acts were
committed in bad faith or were the result of active or deliberate
dishonesty and were material to the cause of action so adjudicated
or (B) the Officer personally gained, in fact, a financial profit
or other advantage to which he was not legally entitled. In the
absence of such an explicit and specific judicial finding described
in the prior sentence, the person(s) making the determination shall
decide, on the basis of reasonably available information, whether
the final adjudication in the proceeding establishes that the
Officer has met the Applicable Standard of Conduct. The termination
of any Proceeding by judgment, settlement, conviction or upon a
plea of nolo contendere (or its equivalent) shall not by
itself create a presumption that the Officer’s acts (i) were
committed in bad faith, (ii) were the result of active and
deliberate dishonesty, (iii) were material to the cause of action
against the Officer, or (iv) that the Officer personally gained in
fact a financial profit or other advantage to which he was not
legally entitled.
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(g) No
determination as to whether the Officer has met the Applicable
Standard of Conduct shall be required prior to the final
disposition of the Proceeding.
(h) For
purposes of determining whether the Officer acted in bad faith, the
Officer shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if the Officer
acted in reliance (without knowledge of any materially false or
misleading statement or omission therein) on (i) the records or
books of account of the Enterprise, including financial statements,
(ii) information supplied to the Officer by the officers of the
Enterprise in the course of their duties, (iii) the advice of legal
counsel for the Enterprise, or (iv) information or records given or
reports made to the Enterprise by an independent certified public
accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with
reasonable care by the Enterprise. The provisions of this Section
shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the
other circumstances in which the Officer may be deemed to be
entitled to indemnification.
(i) An
Officer who acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably
believed to be in the best interests of the participants and
beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed not to
have acted in “bad faith” as referred to in this
Agreement.
(j) The
knowledge or actions, or failure to act, of any director, officer,
agent or employee of the Enterprise shall not be imputed to the
Officer for purposes of determining whether the Officer has met the
Applicable Standard of Conduct.
Section 4 . Advance of Expenses . The Company shall
advance to the Officer full payment for Expenses incurred by the
Officer (or reasonably expected to be incurred by the Officer
during the three (3) months following a request for payment) by
reason of or relating to his Corporate Status, in connection with
any Proceeding, and such advances shall be made within thirty (30)
days after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements
requesting such advances from time to time, whether prior to or
after final disposition of any Proceeding. Advances shall be
unsecured and interest free. Advances shall be made without regard
to the Officer’s ability to repay the amounts advanced and
without regard to the Officer’s ultimate entitlement to
indemnification under the other provisions of this Agreement.
Advances shall
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include payment for any and all
Expenses reasonably incurred by the Officer in pursuing an action
to enforce this right to receive advances of Expenses, including
Expenses incurred in preparing and forwarding statements to the
Company to support the advances sought. The Officer hereby agrees
and undertakes to repay all such advances to the extent that it is
ultimately determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by
the Company for the Proceeding (or for particular claims, issues,
or matters in such Proceeding) with respect to which the advance is
made.
Section 5 . Certain Exclusions . Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not be
obligated by this Agreement to indemnify the Officer, or to advance
Expenses, with respect to:
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(a) any
matter for which payment has actually been made to or for the
account of the Off
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