SPECIAL COMMITTEE INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
SPECIAL COMMITTEE INDEMNIFICATION
AGREEMENT (this "
Agreement ") dated as of December 4, 2006, by and between
Direct General Corporation (the " Company "), a Tennessee
corporation, and _______________________ (" Indemnitee
"):
WHEREAS , the Indemnitee is provided indemnification
pursuant to the Tennessee Business Corporation Act and the Charter
and Bylaws of the Company;
WHEREAS , the Board of Directors of the Company (the "
Board ") on June 5, 2006 authorized entering into an
indemnification agreement with each of the members of the Special
Committee first established by the Board on May 19, 2006 (the
" Special Committee "), and Indemnitee has accepted
appointment to the Special Committee in reliance upon the
authorization by the Board; and
WHEREAS , it is reasonable and prudent for the Company
contractually to obligate itself to indemnify each member of the
Special Committee;
NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the premises, the mutual
agreements herein set forth below and other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby
acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
1.
Services by Indemnitee; Notice of
Proceeding.
(a)
Services . Indemnitee may at any time and for
any reason resign from the Board or the Special
Committee.
(b)
Notice of Proceeding
. Indemnitee shall
promptly notify the Company in writing upon being served with any
summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or
other document relating to any Proceeding or matter that may be
subject to indemnification or advancement of Expenses (as defined
below) covered by this Agreement.
(a)
General . The Company shall indemnify and
advance Expenses to Indemnitee in connection with any action, suit,
arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation,
administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed
proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, direct or derivative, other than one initiated
directly by Indemnitee, and which arises out of or is related to
service by Indemnitee as a member of the Special Committee and to
which Indemnitee is or is threatened to be made a party (a "
Proceeding "). " Expenses " shall mean all reasonable
attorneys' fees, retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees of
experts, witness fees, reasonable and necessary travel expenses,
duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges,
postage, delivery service fees, and all other disbursements or
expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with
prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend,
investigating, being or preparing to be a witness in a Proceeding,
for which reasonable and appropriate documentation is presented to
the Company in accordance with the Company's standard policies and
procedures for submission and reimbursement of business
expenses.
(b)
Proceedings
. Subject to the terms
and conditions of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify
Indemnitee against Expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and
amounts paid in settlements actually and reasonably incurred by
Indemnitee or on Indemnitee's behalf in connection with such
Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein. The Company may
through counsel of its choosing participate with Indemnitee in the
defense in a claim in any Proceeding. If the Company elects to
participate with Indemnitee in the defense a claim, the Company
shall be responsible for the costs of its legal counsel. Indemnitee
shall not agree to or enter into any settlement or consent decree
with respect to any claim without providing the Company with prior
written notice.
(c)
Indemnification for Expenses As a
Witness . To
the extent that Indemnitee is a witness in any Proceeding,
Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and
reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on Indemnitee's behalf in
connection therewith.
3.
Advancement of
Expenses .
The Company shall advance all reasonable Expenses which were
incurred by or on behalf of Indemnitee in connection with any
Proceeding within 30 days after the receipt by the Company of a
statement from Indemnitee requesting such advance, provided the
statement is accompanied by appropriate documentation of such
Expenses in accordance with the Company's usual policies for
reimbursement of business expenses. An advance may be requested at
any time prior to, during or after final disposition of such
Proceeding.
4.
Entitlement to
Indemnification .
(a)
Request . To obtain indemnification under
this Agreement, Indemnitee shall submit to the Company a written
request for indemnification, including such information as is
reasonably available to Indemnitee to demonstrate that Indemnitee
is entitled to indemnification, and including invoices or other
appropriate support for the amount claimed in accordance with the
Company's standard policies for of reimbursement of business
expenses.
(b)
Payment . Unless the procedures set forth in
Section 6 of this Agreement are invoked by the Company or
unless Indemnitee shall permit the Company to defer payment,
payment to Indemnitee shall be made within 30 days after receipt of
such written request and invoices or other support as provided in
Section 4(a), above.
5.
Presumptions and Effect of
Certain Proceedings .
(a)
Burden of Proof
. In making a determination
with respect to entitlement to Indemnification hereunder, the
person or persons or entity making such determination shall presume
that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement
if Indemnitee has submitted a request for indemnification in
accordance with Section 4(a) of this Agreement, and the
Company shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption
in connection with the making by any person, persons or entity of
any determination contrary to that presumption.
(b)
Effect of Other
Proceedings .
The termination of any Proceeding or of any claim, issue or matter
therein, by judgment, order, settlement or conviction, or upon a
plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not
(except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, the
Tennessee Business Corporation Act, as such may be amended from
time to time, or by the Charter or Bylaws of the Company in effect
on the date of this Agreement) of itself adversely affect the right
of Indemnitee to indemnification or create a presumption that
Indemnitee did not act in good faith or violated the duty of
loyalty.
(c)
Reliance as Safe
Harbor . For
purposes of any determination of good faith by the Company under
the Tennessee Business Corporation Act, Indemnitee shall be deemed
to have acted in good faith if Indemnitee's action is based on the
records or books of account of the Company, including financial
statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the
officers of the Company in the course of their duties, or on the
advice of legal counsel for the Company, the Board or any permanent
or temporary committee thereof (including, without limitation, the
Special Committee) or on information or records given or reports
made to the Company, the Board or any permanent or temporary
committee thereof (including, without limitation, the Special
Committee) by an independent certified public accountant,
investment banker or other expert selected with reasonable care by
the Company, the Board or any permanent or temporary committee
thereof (including, without limitation, the Special Committee). The
provisions of this Section 5(c) shall not be deemed to be
exclusive or to limit in any way the other circumstances in which
the Indemnitee may be deemed to have met the applicable standard of
conduct set forth under applicable law.
(d) Actions
of Others . The knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of
any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company shall not
be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining the right to
indemnification under this Agreement.
6.
Remedies of Indemnitee
.
(a) Method of Determination. If the Company
determines not to honor a written request for indemnification, it
shall notify Indemnitee within 30 days of receipt of such request
(a "Denial Notice"). Within 30 days of delivery of a Denial Notice
to Indemnitee, Indemnitee may appeal the denial of indemnity by
delivery of written notice (a "Denial Appeal") to the Company
invoking its right to have an Independent Counsel consider its
right to the indemnification requested. "Independent Counsel" shall
mean a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in
matters of Tennessee corporation law and neither presently is, nor
in the past five years has been, retained to represent: (i) the
Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party
or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim
for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
term "Independent Counsel" shall not include any person who, under
the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing,
would have a conflict of interest in representing either the
Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee's
rights