Exhibit
10.7.1
Execution Copy
LETTER OF CREDIT FACILITY
AGREEMENT
[Midland Mortgage Investment
Corporation]
This LETTER OF CREDIT FACILITY
AGREEMENT is entered into as of October 18, 2002, between
Midland Mortgage Investment Corporation, a Florida corporation (the
“ Company ”), and Bank of America, N.A. (the
“ Bank ”).
WITNESSETH
:
WHEREAS, Fannie Mae, a corporation
organized under the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter
Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1716 et seq. (“ Fannie
Mae ”) is prepared to provide standby credit enhancement
instruments pursuant to its DUS Bond Credit Enhancement Mortgage
Loan Program (the “ Bond Enhancement Program
”);
WHEREAS, it is a condition to the
issuance of credit enhancement instruments under the Bond
Enhancement Program that a standby letter of credit (“
Construction Letter of Credit ”) be issued by a
national, federally insured, financial institution in favor of
Fannie Mae with respect to each credit enhancement instrument
issued by Fannie Mae;
WHEREAS, the Fannie Mae Commitment
issued by Fannie Mae in connection with the Bond Enhancement
Program and the Construction Advance Loan Program requires that the
Company pay a Forward Commitment Deposit Fee which may be posted in
the form of a standby letter of credit (“ Deposit Fee
Letter of Credit ”) in the amount of such fee;
WHEREAS, the Company, in its
capacity as Construction Lender and Servicer under the Bond
Enhancement Program, wishes to apply from time to time to Bank for
the issuance of such letters of credit; and
WHEREAS, the Bank is prepared to
issue such letters of credit in favor of Fannie Mae on the terms
and conditions set forth herein:
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the mutual agreements, provisions and covenants contained herein,
the parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITIONS
1.01 Certain Defined Terms . The following
terms have the following meanings:
“ Affiliate ”
means, as to any Person, any other Person which, directly or
indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is under common
control with, such Person. A Person shall be deemed to control
another Person if the controlling Person possesses, directly or
indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the
management and policies of the other Person, whether through the
ownership of voting securities, membership interests, by contract,
or otherwise.
“ Agreement ”
means this Letter of Credit Facility Agreement.
“ Amendment Application
” means the Bank’s standard form of application for
amendment of outstanding letters of credit that is in use at the
time any such amendment of the Letter of Credit is requested by the
Company.
“ Application ”
means a Bank of America Letter of Credit Application attached
hereto as Exhibit A .
“ Attorney Costs
” means and includes all reasonable fees and disbursements of
any law firm or other external counsel, the allocated cost of
internal legal services and all disbursements of internal
counsel.
“ Availability Date
” means October 18, 2004, or, if the Availability Date
is extended pursuant to Section 2.11 , the Availability
Date as so extended.
“ Bank-Related Persons
” means the Bank, together with its Affiliates and the
officers, directors, employees, agents and attorneys-in-fact of
such Persons and Affiliates.
“ Bond Enhancement Facility
Amount ” means the amount equal to $100,000,000 minus the
L/C Obligations outstanding under the Construction Advance Loan
Facility.
“ Business Day ”
means any day other than (a) a Saturday or Sunday, or
(b) any other day on which commercial banks in New York, New
York, or Dallas, Texas are authorized or required by law to
close.
“ Capital Adequacy
Regulation ” means any guideline, request or directive of
any central bank or other Governmental Authority, or any other law,
rule or regulation, whether or not having the force of law, in each
case, regarding capital adequacy of any bank or of any corporation
controlling a bank.
A “ Change of Control
” shall be deemed to have occurred if (a) any person or
group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5 of the Securities and
Exchange Commission as in effect on the date hereof) shall own
directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, shares
representing more than 20% of the aggregate ordinary voting power
represented by the issued and outstanding capital stock of the
Parents or the Company or any
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corporation directly or indirectly Controlling
the Parents or the Company; or (b) a majority of the seats
(other than vacant seats) on the board of directors of the Parents
or the Company or any corporation directly or indirectly
Controlling the Parents or the Company shall at any time be
occupied by persons who were neither (i) nominated by the
management of the Parents or the Company or by persons who were
members of the board of directors as of the Effective Date or
members elected by two thirds of such members, nor
(ii) appointed by directors so nominated; provided ,
however , that an event described in clause (a) above
shall not constitute a “Change in Control” if the
acquisition of shares resulting in ownership of in excess of the
20% threshold referred to in such clause (a) shall have been
approved, prior to the acquisition of such shares or the
commencement by the person or group referred to in such clause
(a) of a tender offer for shares of the Parents or the Company
that would result, if successful, in such person or group owning in
excess of such 20% threshold, by a majority of the members of the
board of directors of the Parents or the Company who were either
members of the board of directors as of the date of this Agreement
or nominated or appointed as provided in clauses (b)(i) or
(ii) above.
“ Closing Date ”
means the date on which all conditions precedent set forth in
Article IV are satisfied or waived by the Bank.
“ Code ” means
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
“ Construction Advance Loan
Facility ” means the Letter of Credit Facility Agreement
between the Bank and MMCF pursuant to which the Bank has agreed to
issue letters of credit in favor of Fannie Mae with respect to
loans to developers of multi-family residential properties under
the Construction Advance Loan Program.
“ Construction Phase
Financing Agreement ” means any of those certain
Construction Phase Financing Agreements between the Company and
Fannie Mae pursuant to which the Company agrees to cause to be
issued letters of credit in favor of Fannie Mae under the Bond
Enhancement Program.
“ Control ” means
the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or
cause the direction of the management or policies of a person,
whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or
otherwise, and “Controlling” and
“Controlled” shall have meanings correlative
thereto.
“ Date of Issuance
” means, with respect to any Letter of Credit, the date of
issuance of such Letter of Credit.
“ Default ” means
any event or circumstance which, with the giving of notice, the
lapse of time, or both, would (if not cured or otherwise remedied
during any applicable notice or cure period) constitute an Event of
Default.
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“ Detroit Pension Fund
” means the Policemen & Firemen Retirement System of
the City of Detroit.
“ Dollars ”,
“ dollars ” and “ $ ” each
mean lawful money of the United States.
“ Event of Default
” means any of the events or circumstances specified in
Section 7.01 .
“ Expiry Date ”
means the last day a drawing may be made under a Letter of Credit,
which such date shall be approved by Fannie Mae but in no event
shall be later than two (2) years after the date of issuance
of such Letter of Credit.
“ Fannie Mae ”
means Fannie Mae, a corporation organized and existing under the
Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act, 12 U.S.C.
§ 1716 et seq.
“ GAAP ” means
generally accepted accounting principles, applied on a consistent
basis.
“ Governmental
Authority ” means any nation or government, any state or
other political subdivision thereof, any central bank (or similar
monetary or regulatory authority) thereof, any entity exercising
executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative
functions of or pertaining to government, and any corporation or
other entity owned or controlled, through stock or capital
ownership or otherwise, by any of the foregoing.
“ Guarantee ” of
or by any person shall mean any obligation, contingent or
otherwise, of such person guaranteeing or having the economic
effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness of any other person (the
“primary obligor”) in any manner, whether directly or
indirectly, and including any obligation of such person, direct or
indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds
for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or to purchase
(or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security
for the payment of such Indebtedness, (b) to purchase
property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the
owner of such Indebtedness of the payment of such Indebtedness or
(c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or other
financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor
so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness;
provided , however , that the term Guarantee shall
not include endorsements for collection or deposit, in either case
in the ordinary course of business.
“ Incorporation
Documents ” means the certificate or articles of
incorporation, the bylaws, any certificate of determination or
instrument relating to the rights of shareholders of such
incorporation, and all applicable resolutions of the board of
directors (or any committee thereof), of such
incorporation.
“ Indebtedness ”
of any Person means, without duplication, (i) all obligations
of such Person for borrowed money, (ii) all obligations of
such Person evidenced by a
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note, bond, debenture or similar instrument,
(iii) all obligations of such Person upon which interest
charges are customarily paid, (iv) all obligations of such
Person under conditional sale or other title retention agreements
relating to property purchased by such Person, (v) all
obligations of such Person issued or assumed as the deferred
purchase price of property or services (other than accounts payable
to suppliers incurred in the ordinary course of business and not
overdue), (vi) all indebtedness of any other Person secured by
any Lien on any property owned by the Company, whether or not such
indebtedness has been assumed, (vii) the principal component
of all Capitalized Lease Obligations of such Person, and
(viii) all Guarantees of such Person.
“ Indemnified
Liabilities ” has the meaning specified in
Section 8.05 .
“ Indemnified Person
” has the meaning specified in Section 8.05
.
“ Insolvency Proceeding
” means, with respect to any Person, (a) any case,
action or proceeding with respect to such Person before any court
or other Governmental Authority relating to bankruptcy,
reorganization, insolvency, liquidation, receivership, dissolution,
winding-up or relief of debtors, or (b) any general assignment
for the benefit of creditors, composition, marshalling of assets
for creditors, or other, similar arrangement in respect of its
creditors generally or any substantial portion of its creditors;
undertaken under U.S. Federal, state or foreign law, including the
Federal Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 (11 U.S.C. § 101,
et seq. ).
“ L/C Obligations
” means at any time the sum of (a) the aggregate undrawn
amount of all Letters of Credit then outstanding, plus (b) the
amount of all unreimbursed drawings under all Letters of
Credit.
“ Letter of Credit
” means either a Construction Letter of Credit or a Deposit
Fee Letter of Credit (each as defined in the Recitals) issued by
the Bank for the account of the Company in favor of Fannie Mae
substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B , as
provided for hereunder.
“ Lien ” means
any mortgage, pledge, security interest, encumbrance, lien
(statutory or other) or charge of any kind or nature whatsoever in
respect of any property (including those created by, arising under
or evidenced by any conditional sale or other title retention
agreement, the interest of a lessor under a capital lease, any
financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as
any of the foregoing, or the filing of any financing statement
naming the owner of the asset to which such lien relates as debtor,
under the Uniform Commercial Code or any comparable
law).
“ Margin Stock ”
means “margin stock” as such term is defined in
Regulation T, U or X of the Federal Reserve Board.
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“ Material Adverse
Effect ” means a materially adverse effect on the
business, assets, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of
operations of (a) the Parents, (b) the Company,
(c) the Parents, the Company and their Subsidiaries taken as a
whole, or (d) either of the Pension Funds.
“ MMCF ” means
MuniMae Midland Construction Finance, LLC, a Maryland limited
liability company.
“ Obligations ”
means all reimbursement obligations, advances, debts, liabilities,
obligations, covenants and duties arising under any Related
Document owing by the Company to the Bank or any Indemnified
Person, whether direct or indirect (including those acquired by
assignment), absolute or contingent, due or to become due, now
existing or hereafter arising.
“ Parents ”
means, collectively and individually, Municipal Mortgage &
Equity, LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws
of the State of Delaware; MuniMae Midland, LLC, a limited liability
company organized under the laws of the state of Maryland, and
MuniMae Investment Service Corporation, a Maryland
corporation.
“ Participant ”
has the meaning specified in Section 8.08 .
“ Pension Fund
Certificate ” means a certificate, substantially in the
form of Exhibit C to this Agreement.
“ Pension Funds ”
means the Detroit Pension Fund and the Wayne County Pension
Fund.
“ Pension Fund L/C
” means any standby letter of credit issued by the Detroit
Pension Fund or the Wayne County Pension Fund, as security for the
Letters of Credit issued hereunder, each of which shall:
(a) be an irrevocable letter of
credit, effective as of the date of the issuance of the Letter of
Credit which such Pension Fund L/C secures, that is in the form of
Exhibit D to this Agreement, or in such other form as may be
approved by the Bank;
(b) be in an initial stated amount
equal to the amount of the Letter of Credit which such Pension Fund
L/C secures;
(c) accompanied, on delivery to the
Bank, by a Pension Fund Certificate;
(d) be issued for the sole benefit
of the Bank;
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(e) have an expiration date at least
15 days after the Expiry Date of the Letter of Credit which such
Pension Fund L/C secures; and
(f) provide that it may be drawn, in
whole and not in part, by presentation to the applicable Pension
Fund of a clean sight draft.
“ Person ” means
an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company,
business trust, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated
association, joint venture or Governmental Authority.
“ Prime Rate ”
means the rate of interest per annum publicly announced by the Bank
from time to time as its prime rate.
“ Property ”
means all assets and properties of any nature whatsoever, whether
real or personal, tangible or intangible, including without
limitation intellectual property.
“ Related Documents
” means this Agreement, the Letter of Credit, the
Application, the Amendment Application and any other agreement or
instrument relating thereto and to the transactions contemplated
hereby.
“ Requirement of Law
” means, as to any Person, any law (statutory or common),
treaty, rule or regulation or determination of an arbitrator or of
a Governmental Authority, in each case applicable to or binding
upon the Person or any of its property or to which the Person or
any of its property is subject.
“ Responsible Officer
” means the chief executive officer, the president, treasurer
or senior vice president of the Company, or any other officer
having substantially the same authority and
responsibility.
“ SEC ” means the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority
succeeding to any of its principal functions.
“ Subsidiary ” of
a Person means any corporation, association, partnership, limited
liability company, joint venture or other business entity of which
more than 50% of the voting stock, membership interests or other
equity interests (in the case of Persons other than corporations),
is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the Person, or one
or more of the Subsidiaries of the Person, or a combination
thereof. Unless the context otherwise clearly requires, references
herein to a “Subsidiary” refer to a Subsidiary of the
Company.
“ UCP ” has the
meaning specified in Section 2.10 hereof.
“ United States ”
and “ U.S. ” each means the United States of
America.
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“ Wayne County Pension
Fund ” means the Wayne County Employees’ Retirement
System.
1.02 Other Interpretive Provisions
.
(a) The meanings of defined terms are equally
applicable to the singular and plural forms of the defined
terms.
(b) The words “hereof”,
“herein”, “hereunder” and similar words
refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular
provision of this Agreement; and subsection, Section, Schedule and
Appendix references are to this Agreement unless otherwise
specified. The term “documents” includes any and all
instruments, documents, agreements, certificates, indentures,
notices and other writings, however evidenced. The term
“including” is not limiting and means “including
without limitation.” In the computation of periods of time
from a specified date to a later specified date, the word
“from” means “from and including”; the
words “to” and “until” each mean “to
but excluding”, and the word “through” means
“to and including.”
(c) Unless otherwise expressly provided herein,
(i) references to agreements (including this Agreement) and
other contractual instruments shall be deemed to include all
subsequent amendments and other modifications thereto, but only to
the extent such amendments and other modifications are not
prohibited by the terms of any Related Document, and
(ii) references to any statute or regulation are to be
construed as including all statutory and regulatory provisions
consolidating, amending, replacing, supplementing or interpreting
the statute or regulation.
(d) The captions and headings of this Agreement are
for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the
interpretation of this Agreement. Unless otherwise expressly
provided, any reference to any action of the Bank by way of
consent, approval or waiver shall be deemed modified by the phrase
“in its sole discretion.”
(e) This Agreement and the other Related Documents
to which the Company and the Bank are parties are the result of
negotiations between, and have been reviewed by counsel to, the
Bank and the Company, and are the products of both parties.
Accordingly, they shall not be construed against the Bank merely
because of the Bank’s involvement in their
preparation.
1.03 Accounting Principles . Unless the context otherwise clearly requires,
all accounting terms not expressly defined herein shall be
construed, and all financial computations required under this
Agreement shall be made, in accordance with GAAP, consistently
applied. References herein to “fiscal year” and
“fiscal quarter” refer to such fiscal periods of the
Company.
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ARTICLE II
THE LETTERS OF
CREDIT
2.01 The Letters of Credit .
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement, the Bank agrees, from time to time on any Business Day
during the period from the Closing Date to the Availability Date,
to issue Letters of Credit, and to amend Letters of Credit
previously issued by it, in accordance with
Section 2.02(b) , provided , however ,
that after giving effect to the issuance of any Letter of Credit,
the aggregate amount of all L/C Obligations hereunder shall not
exceed the Bond Enhancement Facility Amount. The Company’s
ability to request that the Bank issue Letters of Credit shall be
fully revolving, that is, the Company may, during the foregoing
period, and within the foregoing limits, request that the Bank
issue Letters of Credit to replace Letters of Credit which have
been returned to the Bank for cancellation or which have been drawn
upon and reimbursed.
(b) The Bank is under no obligation to issue any
Letter of Credit if:
(i) any order, judgment or decree of any
Governmental Authority or arbitrator shall by its terms purport to
enjoin or restrain the Bank from issuing such Letter of Credit, or
any Requirement of Law applicable to Bank or any request or
directive (whether or not having the force of law) from any
Governmental Authority with jurisdiction over the Bank shall
prohibit, or request that the Bank refrain from, the issuance of
letters of credit generally or such Letter of Credit in particular,
or shall impose upon the Bank with respect to such Letter of Credit
any restriction, reserve or capital requirement (for which the Bank
is not otherwise compensated hereunder) not in effect on the
Closing Date, or shall impose upon the Bank any unreimbursed loss,
cost or expense which was not applicable on the Closing Date and
which Bank in good faith deems material to it;
(ii) one or more of the applicable conditions
contained in Article IV is not then satisfied;
(iii) the requested Expiry Date of such Letter of
Credit is more than two (2) years after the date such Letter
of Credit issued; or
(iv) such Letter of Credit is not secured, as of the
date of its issuance, by a Pension Fund L/C having an expiry date
of at least fifteen (15) days following the Expiry Date of
such Letter of Credit.
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2.02 Issuance of Letters of Credit
.
(a) Each Letter of Credit shall be issued upon the
delivery to Bank of (i) the irrevocable written
request of the Company, in the form of a completed Application
executed by the Company, and (ii) the Pension Fund L/C
which will secure such Letter of Credit, which Application shall be
received by the Bank at least five (5) Business Days prior to
the proposed date of issuance of the Letter of Credit, and which
Pension Fund L/C shall be received by the Bank at least two
(2) Business Days prior to the proposed date of the issuance
of the Letter of Credit. Such request for issuance of a Letter of
Credit shall (i) be by facsimile, confirmed
immediately in an original writing, (ii) accompanied
by a Pension Fund Certificate, and (iii) shall specify
in form and detail satisfactory to the Bank: (A) the
proposed date of issuance of such Letter of Credit (which shall be
a Business Day); (B) the face amount of such Letter of
Credit; (C) the Expiry Date of such Letter of Credit;
and (D) the name and address of the beneficiary
(Fannie Mae) thereof. Wherever there is an inconsistency between
the provisions of this Agreement and the terms and conditions of
the Application, the provisions of this Agreement shall
prevail.
(b) From time to time while a Letter of Credit is
outstanding and prior to the Expiry Date, the Bank will, upon the
irrevocable written request of the Company, which shall be received
by the Bank at least five (5) Business Days prior to the
proposed date of amendment, consider an amendment of such Letter of
Credit (other than an extension of the Expiry Date which is covered
by Section 2.12 hereof). Such request for amendment of
a Letter of Credit shall be by facsimile, confirmed immediately in
an original writing, and shall specify in form and detail
satisfactory to the Bank: (i) the Letter of Credit to be
amended; (ii) the proposed date of amendment of the Letter of
Credit (which shall be a Business Day); (iii) the nature of
the proposed amendment; (iv) evidence that the Pension Fund
L/C shall be amended so as to be in the same amount and to have the
same terms as such amended Letter of Credit; and (v) such
other matters as the Bank may require.
2.03 Drawings on Letters of Credit
. Fannie Mae is authorized to make
drawings under the Letters of Credit in accordance with the terms
of the Letter of Credit. The Company hereby directs the Bank to
make payments under each Letter of Credit in the manner provided in
such Letter of Credit. The Company hereby irrevocably approves
reductions and reinstatements of the amount of each Letter of
Credit in accordance with the terms of such Letter of
Credit.
2.04 Reimbursement and Other Payments
.
(a) If (i) the Bank is required to draw
under a Pension Fund L/C pursuant to subsection (c) below
prior to requesting payment from the Company and is not paid in
full under such Pension Fund L/C or (ii) the Bank is
not required to so draw
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under a Pension Fund L/C pursuant to
subsection (c) below, the Company shall pay to the
Bank:
(1) immediately after (and on the same Business Day
as) any amount is drawn under any Letter of Credit, a sum (and
interest on such amount as provided in subsection (b) below)
equal to the amount so drawn and paid;
(2) promptly upon notice from the Bank of the amount
thereof, any and all reasonable charges and expenses, including
transaction fees in connection with drawings under any Letter of
Credit, which the Bank may pay or incur relative to such Letter of
Credit (together with the amount described in clause
(1) above, the “ Amount Owing
”).
(b) The Company shall pay to the Bank interest on
any and all amounts owed and unpaid by the Company when due
hereunder for each day from the date such amounts become due until
payment in full, payable on demand, at a fluctuating interest rate
per annum equal to the Prime Rate plus three percent (3%) (the
“ Interest Owing ”); provided ,
however , that such fluctuating interest rate shall in no
event be higher (with respect to each such amount due and payable
hereunder, from the date such amount is due and payable until the
date such amount is paid in full) than the maximum rate permitted
by applicable law.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this
Section 2.04 , if at any time an amount is drawn under
any Letter of Credit (for whatever reason), the Bank shall, with
the exceptions noted below, prior to requesting payment from the
Company, draw under the Pension Fund L/C which secures such Letter
of Credit, in an amount equal to the Amount Owing. The Bank is not
required to draw under the Pension Fund L/C prior to requesting
payment from the Company if (i) an injunction, restraining
order, or other court order prevents the Bank from drawing under
the Pension Fund L/C, or (ii) an event described in
Section 7.01(b) or (c) has occurred with
respect to the Pension Fund that has issued the Pension Fund L/C
which secures the Letter of Credit which has been drawn on. In any
event, the Company shall remain at all times liable for the Amount
Owing and the Interest Owing with respect to each Letter of Credit,
and will pay such amount to the Bank if the Bank so
requests.
(d) If Fannie Mae makes a drawing under the Letter
of Credit because a “Letter of Credit Issuer Rating
Event” (as defined in any Construction Phase Financing
Agreement) has occurred, the Bank shall draw under the Pension Fund
L/C which secures such Letter of Credit, unless, prior to the draw
by Fannie Mae, the Company has deposited with the Bank as cash
collateral an amount equal to such drawing.
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2.05 Role of the Bank .
(a) The Company agrees that, in paying any drawing
under any Letter of Credit, the Bank shall not have any
responsibility to obtain any document (other than any sight draft
and certificates expressly required by the Letter of Credit) or to
ascertain or inquire as to the validity or accuracy of any such
document or the authority of the Person executing or delivering any
such document.
(b) The Bank shall not be liable for: (i) any
action taken or omitted in the absence of breach of this Agreement,
gross negligence or willful misconduct; or (ii) the due
execution, effectiveness, validity or enforceability of any Letter
of Credit, any Application or any other document relating to any
Letter of Credit.
(c) The Company hereby assumes all risks of the acts
or omissions of any beneficiary or transferee with respect to its
use of any Letter of Credit; provided , however ,
that this assumption is not intended to, and shall not, preclude
the Company from pursuing such rights and remedies as it may have
against the beneficiary or transferee at law or under any other
agreement. No Bank-Related Person, nor any of the correspondents,
participants or assignees of the Bank, shall be liable or
responsible for any of the matters described in clauses (a)
through (f) of Section 2.06 ;
provided , however , that, anything in such clauses
or elsewhere herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Company
may have a claim against the Bank, and the Bank may be liable to
the Company, to the extent, but only to the extent, of any direct,
as opposed to consequential or exemplary, damages suffered by the
Company which the Company proves were caused by the Bank’s
willful misconduct or gross negligence or the Bank’s breach
of this Agreement, willful failure to pay under any Letter of
Credit after the presentation to it by the beneficiary of a sight
draft and certificate(s) strictly complying with the terms and
conditions of such Letter of Credit. In furtherance and not in
limitation of the foregoing: (i) the Bank may accept documents
that appear on their face to be in order, without responsibility
for further investigation, regardless of any notice or information
to the contrary; and (ii) the Bank shall not be responsible
for the validity or sufficiency of any instrument transferring or
assigning or purporting to transfer or assign a Letter of Credit or
the rights or benefits thereunder or proceeds thereof, in whole or
in part, which may prove to be invalid or ineffective for any
reason.
2.06 Obligations Absolute . The obligations of the Company under this
Agreement and any other Related Document to reimburse the Bank for
a drawing under a Letter of Credit shall be unconditional and
irrevocable, and shall be paid strictly in accordance with the
terms of this Agreement and each such other Related Document under
all circumstances, including the following:
(a) any lack of validity or enforceability of this
Agreement or any other Related Document;
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(b) any change in the time, manner or place of
payment of, or in any other term of, all or any of the obligations
of the Company in respect of such Letter of Credit or any other
amendment or waiver of or any consent to departure from all or any
of the Related Documents;
(c) the existence of any claim, set-off, defense or
other right that the Company may have at any time against any
beneficiary or any transferee of such Letter of Credit (or any
Person for whom any such beneficiary or any such transferee may be
acting), the Bank or any other Person, whether in connection with
this Agreement, the transactions contemplated hereby or by the
Related Documents or any unrelated transaction;
(d) any draft, demand, certificate or other document
presented under the Letter of Credit proving to be forged,
fraudulent, invalid or insufficient in any respect or any statement
therein being untrue or inaccurate in any material respect; or any
loss or delay in the transmission or otherwise of any document
required in order to make a drawing under the Letter of
Credit;
(e) any payment made by the Bank under the Letter of
Credit to any Person purporting to be a trustee in bankruptcy,
debtor-in-possession, assignee for the benefit of creditors,
liquidator, receiver or other representative of or successor to any
beneficiary or any transferee of the Letter of Credit, including
any arising in connection with any Insolvency
Proceeding;
(f) the existence, validity or invalidity,
enforceability or unenforceability of any Pension Fund L