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INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
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THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
(the “ Agreement ”) is made as of this ___ day
of
_____
, 2009, by and between Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the “ Corporation ”), and [
________
], an individual (“ Indemnitee ”).
1. The Corporation and Indemnitee
recognize that unforeseen litigation may subject directors,
officers and agents to costs and expenses.
2. The Corporation desires to
attract and retain the services of highly qualified individuals,
such as Indemnitee, to serve as directors, officers and agents of
the Corporation and to indemnify its directors, officers and agents
so as to provide them with the maximum protection permitted by
law.
3. The Corporation believes it is
prudent and necessary to obligate itself contractually to indemnify
its directors, officers and agents to the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law so that they will serve or continue to serve the
Corporation free from undue concern that they will not be so
indemnified.
4. Indemnitee has served and is
willing to serve, to continue to serve and to take on additional
service for or on behalf of the Corporation on the condition that
Indemnitee be so indemnified.
5. Indemnitee has served at all
times under the Corporation’s by-laws which provided for
indemnification of Indemnitee to the maximum extent provided under
Delaware law and, because Indemnitee relied upon such
indemnification under the by-laws and for other reasons, this
Agreement covers the service by the Indemnitee to the Corporation
from the Indemnitee’s first election as a director or officer
of the Corporation.
In consideration of the Recitals
set forth above and the mutual covenants and agreements set forth
below, the Corporation and Indemnitee do hereby agree as
follows:
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1.
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Definitions .
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(a) Agent . For the purposes of this
Agreement, “ Agent ” means and includes
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service as director, officer, employee or other agent of the
Corporation or any subsidiary, or service at the request of the
Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another
foreign or domestic corporation, limited liability company,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, or service
as a director, officer, employee or agent of a foreign or domestic
corporation which was a predecessor corporation of the corporation,
or of another enterprise at the request of such predecessor
corporation.
(b)
Corporation . For purposes of this Agreement, “
Corporation ” means, in addition to Fuel Systems
Solutions, Inc., the resulting corporation, any constituent
corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed
in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had
continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its
directors, officers, employees or agents, so that if Indemnitee is
or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent
corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such
constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent
of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise, Indemnitee shall stand in the same position under the
provisions of this Agreement with respect to the resulting or
surviving corporation as Indemnitee would have with respect to such
constituent corporation if its separate existence had
continued.
(c) Expenses . For purposes
of this Agreement, “ expense(s) ” means costs of
any type or nature whatsoever (including, without limitation,
attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, out-of-pocket
costs and reasonable compensation for time spent by the Indemnitee
for which he is not otherwise compensated by the Corporation or any
third party) actually and reasonably paid or 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 or otherwise.
(d) Independent Legal
Counsel . For purposes of this Agreement, “
Independent Legal Counsel ” means an attorney or firm
of attorneys who shall not have otherwise performed services for
the Corporation or Indemnitee within the last three years (other
than with respect to matters concerning the rights of Indemnitee
under this Agreement, or of other indemnities under similar
indemnity agreements). The Independent Legal Counsel shall be
selected by the Board and approved by the Indemnitee (which
approval shall not be unreasonably withheld). Such counsel, among
other things, shall render its written opinion to the Corporation
and Indemnitee as to whether and to what extent Indemnitee would be
entitled to be indemnified hereunder under this Agreement and
Delaware law and the Corporation agrees to abide by such opinion.
The Corporation agrees to pay the reasonable fees and disbursements
of the Independent Legal Counsel referred to above. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement, the Corporation shall not be
required to pay for more than one Independent Legal Counsel in
connection with all matters concerning the Indemnitee, and such
Independent Legal Counsel shall be the Independent Legal Counsel
for any or all other indemnitees unless (i) the Corporation
otherwise determines or (ii) any indemnitee shall provide a written
statement setting forth in detail a reasonable objection to such
Independent Legal Counsel representing other indemnitees.
(e) Other Enterprises . For
purposes of this Agreement, “ other enterprises
” includes the Corporation’s or a subsidiary’s
employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall
include, without limitation, any excise taxes assessed or imposed
on Indemnitee under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974, as amended (“ ERISA ”) with respect to
an employee benefit plan covered by ERISA, or under similar laws of
the United States or any foreign country; and references to
“serving at the request of the Corporation” shall
include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of
the Corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by,
such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an
employee benefit plan, its participants, or beneficiaries.
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(f)
Proceeding . For purposes of this Agreement, “
proceeding ” means any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal,
administrative or investigative, including, except where expressly
excluded, a proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation.
(g) Proceeding by or in the right
of the Corporation. For purposes of this Agreement, “
proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation ”
means a proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation to procure
a judgment in the Corporation’s favor.
(h) Subsidiary . For
purposes of this Agreement, “ subsidiary ” means
any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint
venture or other enterprise, a majority of whose equity interests
are owned by the Corporation, directly or through one or more other
subsidiaries.
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2.
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Indemnification and Expense Advancement
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(a) Proceedings Other than by Right of the
Corporation . The Corporation
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shall indemnify Indemnitee if Indemnitee was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party to any proceeding (other than a
proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the
fact that Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or
Agent of the Corporation, against expenses, judgments, fines, and
amounts paid (or to be paid) in settlement actually and reasonably
incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with such proceeding, if
Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee
reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests
of the Corporation and, with respect to any criminal proceeding,
had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct of Indemnitee was
unlawful. The termination of any proceeding by judgment, order,
settlement, conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or
its equivalent shall not, of itself, create a presumption that
Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which
Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the
Corporation or that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that
Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) Proceedings By or in the
Right of the Corporation . The Corporation shall indemnify
Indemnitee if Indemnitee was or is a party or is threatened to be
made a party to any proceeding by or in the right of the
Corporation by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was a
director, officer, employee or Agent of the Corporation, against
expenses incurred by Indemnitee in connection with the defense or
settlement of such proceeding, if Indemnitee acted in good faith
and in a manner Indemnitee believed to be in or not opposed to the
best interests of the Corporation, except that no indemnification
shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which
Indemnitee shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation
unless and only to the extent that the court in which such
proceeding is or was pending or the Delaware Court of Chancery
shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of
liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case,
Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for the
expenses which such court shall deem proper.
(c) Determination of Right of
Indemnification . Any indemnification under Sections 2(a) and
(b) shall be made by the Corporation only if authorized in the
specific case, upon a determination that indemnification of
Indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because
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Indemnitee has met the applicable standard
of conduct set forth above in Sections 2(a) and (b) by any of the
following:
(i) a majority vote of the
Corporation’s board of directors consisting of directors who
are not parties to such proceeding (“ Disinterested
Directors ”), even if less than a quorum; or
(ii) a committee of the
Disinterested Directors designated by a majority vote of the
Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum; or
(iii) if there are no such
Disinterested Directors, or if such Disinterested Directors so
direct, by Independent Legal Counsel in a written opinion; or
(iv) approval of the stockholders
by the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to
vote represented at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is
present, with the shares owned by the person to be indemnified not
being entitled to vote thereon; or
(v) by the court in which such
proceeding is or was pending upon application made by the
Corporation or the Indemnitee or an attorney or other person
rendering services in connection with the proceeding, whether or
not such application is opposed by the Corporation or the
Indemnitee.
(d) Advances of Expenses .
The Corporation shall pay or advance all expenses incurred by or on
behalf of Indemnitee in any proceeding, in advance of the final
disposition of the proceeding, if the Indemnitee was or is a party,
or is threatened to be made a party, to the proceeding by reason of
the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or
Agent of the Corporation, subject to the receipt by the Corporation
of a written undertaking by or on behalf of Indemnitee to repay
such amounts if it shall ultimately be determined that Indemnitee
is not entitled to be indemnified against such expenses under
Section 2(a) or 2(b) hereof or otherwise. Any payments or advances
by the Corporation hereunder and any undertakings to repay pursuant
to this Section 2(d) shall be unsecured and interest free. The form
of such undertaking shall be substantially similar to Exhibit
A hereto. The Corporation shall pay or advance amounts for
expenses within ten days of the later of (i) the receipt of the
required undertaking and (ii) a statement or statements from the
Indemnitee requesting such advance or advances and providing
reasonable evidence of the expenses. In connection with any
criminal proceeding, the obligation to pay or advance expenses
under this Section 2(d) shall cease if the Indemnitee is convicted
in the criminal proceeding, regardless of any right to appeal.
(e) Indemnification Against
Expenses of Successful Party . Notwithstanding the other
provisions of this Section 2, to the extent that Indemnitee has
been successful on the merits or otherwise in a defense of any
proceeding, or of any claim, issue or matter in a proceeding,
referred to in Sections 2(a) and (b), Indemnitee shall be
indemnified against all expenses incurred by Indemnitee in
connection therewith.
(f) Right of Indemnitee to
Indemnification Upon Application; Procedure Upon Application .
Any indemnification provided for in Sections 2(a), (b) or (e) shall
be made no later than thirty (30) days after the Corporation is
given notice of request by Indemnitee, provided that any
indemnification under Sections 2(a) and (b) is authorized pursuant
to Section
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2(c). Any such request for indemnification
must be made within thirty (30) da