EXHIBIT
10.2
INDEMNIFICATION
AGREEMENT
This Indemnification Agreement (this “
Agreement ”) is dated as August 1, 2009 between MARANI
BRANDS INC., A NAVADA Corporation (the “ Company
”), and Margrit Eyraud (the “ Indemnitee
”).
Recitals
A. The
Indemnitee is an executive officer of the Company and/or a member
of the Company's Board of Directors (the “ Board
”) and, in such capacity, is performing valuable services for
the Company.
B. The
Company has adopted By-Laws, as amended (the “ By-Laws
”), providing for indemnification of the directors and
officers of the Company to the fullest extent permitted by
corporate laws of the State of Nevada (the “Nevada
Code”). The By-Laws and the Nevada Code
specifically provide that they are not exclusive, and contemplate
that agreements may be entered into between the Company and
directors and officers with respect to indemnification of directors
and officers.
C. In
recognition of the need for corporations to be able to induce
capable and responsible persons to accept positions in corporate
management, Nevada law authorizes (and in some instances requires)
corporations to indemnify their directors and officers and further
authorizes corporations to purchase and maintain insurance for the
benefit of their directors and officers.
D. The
Company and the Indemnitee further recognize that officers and
directors may be exposed to certain risks including the increased
risk of litigation and other claims being asserted against
directors and executive officers of public companies in today's
environment.
E. These
factors with respect to the coverage and cost to the Company of
D&O Insurance and issues concerning the scope of indemnity
under the Nevada Code and By-Laws generally have raised questions
concerning the adequacy and reliability of the protection presently
afforded to directors and executive officers.
F. There
are at this time no threatened, pending or completed Proceedings
(as defined in this Agreement) known to either the Company or the
Indemnitee.
G. In
order to address such issues and to further induce the Indemnitee
to serve and continue to serve as an executive officer and/or a
member of the Board, the Company and the Indemnitee desire to enter
into this Agreement.
Statement of
Agreement
In consideration of the Indemnitee's continued
service as an executive officer and/or a member of the Board after
the date of this Agreement, the Company and the Indemnitee hereby
agree as follows:
1.
Indemnification of the Indemnitee .
(a) Subject only to the limitations set
forth in Section 2 below, the Company shall indemnify the
Indemnitee to the full extent not otherwise prohibited by the
Nevada Code or other applicable law, including without limitation
indemnity,
(i) against any and all costs,
charges and expenses (including legal, expert, and other
professional fees and expenses paid or payable in connection with
investigating, defending, being a witness in or participating in
(including on appeal), or preparing to investigate, defend, be a
witness in or participate in (including on appeal), any Proceeding
(defined below), judgments, damages, fines (including excise taxes
with respect to employee benefit plans), penalties (whether civil,
criminal or other), and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee (collectively, “
Losses ”), in connection with any threatened, pending,
or completed claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding (whether
civil, criminal, administrative, arbitrative or other, whether made
pursuant to federal, state or other law, and including, without
limitation, an action by or in the right of the Company or any of
its subsidiaries and any appeal of or from any judgment or
decision), or any threatened, pending or completed inquiry or
investigation, whether made, instituted or conducted by the Company
or any of its subsidiaries or any other person, including any
federal, state or other governmental entity, that the Indemnitee
determines might lead to the institution of any such claim, demand,
action, suit or other proceeding (each a “ Proceeding
”), in any case to which the Indemnitee is or at any time
becomes a party or witness, or is threatened to be made a party or
witness as a result, directly or indirectly, of (A) serving at any
time: (I) as a director, officer, employee, or agent of the
Company; or (II) at the request of the Company as a director,
officer, employee, trustee, fiduciary, manager, member, or agent of
a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company,
employee benefit plan, or other enterprise or entity, (B) any
actual, alleged or suspected act or failure to act by the
Indemnitee in respect of any business, transaction, communication,
filing, disclosure or other activity of the Company or any other
entity or enterprise referred to in clause (A) of this sentence;
and (ii) otherwise to the fullest extent that the Indemnitee may be
indemnified by the Company under the Certificate of Incorporation
of the Company, as amended (the “ Certificate of
Incorporation ”), the By-Laws and the Nevada Code,
including, without limitation, the non-exclusivity provisions
thereof. In addition to any service at the actual
request of the Company, for purposes of this Agreement, Indemnitee
will be deemed to be serving or to have served at the request of
the Company as a director, officer, employee, member, manager,
trustee or agent of another entity or enterprise if Indemnitee is
or was serving as a director, officer, employee, member, manager,
trustee or agent of such entity or enterprise and (A) such
entity or enterprise is or at the time of such service was a
Controlled Affiliate, (B) such entity or enterprise is or at
the time of such service was an employee benefit plan (or related
trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or a Controlled
Affiliate, or (C) the Company or a Controlled Affiliate
directly or indirectly caused or authorized Indemnitee to be
nominated, elected, appointed, designated, employed, engaged or
selected to serve in such capacity. For purposes hereof,
“ Controlled Affiliate ”
means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership,
joint venture, trust or other entity or enterprise, whether or not
for profit, that is directly or indirectly controlled by the
Company. For purposes of this definition,
“control” means the possession, directly or indirectly,
of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or
policies of an entity or enterprise, whether through the ownership
of voting securities, through other voting rights, by contract or
otherwise; provided that direct or indirect beneficial ownership of
capital stock or other interests in an entity or enterprise
entitling the holder to cast 20% or more of the total number of
votes generally entitled to be cast in the election of directors
(or persons performing comparable functions) of such entity or
enterprise will be deemed to constitute control for purposes of
this definition. If the Indemnitee is entitled under any
provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for
some or a portion of any Loss, but not for all of the total amount
thereof, the Company will nevertheless indemnify the Indemnitee for
the portion thereof to which the Indemnitee is entitled.
2.
Limitations on Indemnity . No indemnity
pursuant to Section 1 will be paid by the Company:
(a) Except
to the extent that the aggregate amount of Losses to be indemnified
exceed the aggregate amount of such Losses for which the Indemnitee
is actually paid or reimbursed pursuant to directors’ and
officers’ liability insurance, if any, which may be purchased
and maintained by the Company or any of its subsidiaries or
pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation, the By-Laws or
otherwise;
(b) To
the extent determined by a court having jurisdiction in the matter,
in a final adjudication from which there is no further right of
appeal, that the Indemnitee actually realized a personal gain or
profit to which the Indemnitee was not legally entitled, including
profit from the purchase and sale by the Indemnitee of equity
securities of the Company which are recoverable by the Company
pursuant to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended;
(c) On
account of the Indemnitee's conduct if it is proven by clear and
convincing evidence in a court of competent jurisdiction that the
Indemnitee's action or failure to act involved an act or omission
undertaken with deliberate intent to cause injury to the Company or
undertaken with reckless disregard for the best interests of the
Company, except to the extent such indemnity is otherwise permitted
under applicable law;
(d) With
respect to any remuneration paid to the Indemnitee determined, by a
court having jurisdiction in the matter in a final adjudication
from which there is no further right of appeal, to have been in
violation of law;
(e) If
it shall have been determined by a court having jurisdiction in the
matter, in a final adjudication from which there is no further
right of appeal, that indemnification is not lawful;
(f) On
account of the Indemnitee's conduct to the extent it relates to any
matter that occurred prior to the time such individual became an
executive officer or a director of the Company; provided ,
however , that this limitation will not apply to the extent
such matter occurred while the Indemnitee was a director, officer,
employee or agent of the Company or its subsidiaries (other than
prior to the time such entity became a subsidiary of the Company);
or
(g) No
indemnity pursuant to Section 1 shall be paid by the Company with
respect to Proceedings initiated or brought voluntarily by the
Indemnitee and not by way of defense, except pursuant to Section 6
with respect to proceedings brought to enforce rights or to collect
money due under this Agreement; provided , however ,
that indemnity may be provided by the Company in specific cases if
(i) authorized by another agreement to which the Company is a
party whether heretofore or hereafter entered, (ii) otherwise
ordered by the court in which the Proceeding is brought, or (iii)
the Board finds it to be appropriate.
In no event will the Company be obligated to
indemnify the Indemnitee pursuant to this Agreement to the extent
such indemnification is prohibited by applicable law. A
determination as to whether the Indemnitee will be entitled to
indemnification under Section 1 will be made in accordance with
Section 4(a) hereof.
3.
Advancement of Losses . Losses reasonably
incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any Proceeding will
be promptly reimbursed or paid by the Company as they become due in
advance of the final disposition of such Proceeding under the
procedures set forth in Section 4(b) below. The
Indemnitee's right to such advancement is not subject to the
satisfaction of any standard of conduct.
4.
Certain Procedures Relating to Indemnification
.
(a) For
purposes of pursuing the Indemnitee's rights to indemnification
under Section 1 hereof, the Indemnitee shall (i) submit to the
Board a sworn statement of request for indemnification
substantially in the form of Exhibit 1 attached hereto and made a
part hereof (the “ Request for Indemnification
”) averring that the Indemnitee is entitled to
indemnification hereunder; and (ii) present to the Company
reasonable evidence of all amounts for which indemnification is
requested. Without limiting Section 3(c), submission of
a Request for Indemnification to the Board shall create a
presumption that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification
hereunder, and the Company shall, within thirty (30) calendar days
after submission of the Request for Indemnification, make the
payments requested in the Request for Indemnification to or for the
benefit of the Indemnitee, unless (A) within such thirty (30)
calendar-day-period the Board shall resolve by vote of a majority
of the Directors at a meeting at which a quorum is present that the
Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnifi
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