SEVERANCE AND NON-COMPETITION
AGREEMENT
This SEVERANCE AND NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT (“
Agreement ”) is made and entered into by and between
Argyle Security, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “
Company ”), and Mr. Matthew A. Kepke, an individual
(the “Employee”), effective as of February 1, 2009 (the
“ Effective Date ”). Capitalized
terms not otherwise defined shall have the meaning ascribed to such
terms in Schedule I.
A. Whereas,
the Company is a corporation organized under the laws of the State
of Delaware and is conducting business in San Antonio, Bexar
County, Texas and New York City, New York County, New
York.
B. Whereas,
the Company and the Employee desire to establish certain terms and
conditions related to their employment relationship on the terms
set forth in this Agreement.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of (i) the mutual covenants herein
contained (ii) Employee’s current and ongoing exposure to
Confidential Information (as defined in Section 2.1 of
this Agreement) of the Company, (iii) employment of Employee upon
the terms, conditions and covenants set forth between Company and
Employee and each act performed pursuant hereto, and (iv) other
good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of
which is hereby acknowledged, the Company and Employee agree as
follows:
I.
Term of
Employment
1.1
Term . The Employee’s employment shall be
“at will,” meaning that either the Employee or the
Company shall be entitled to terminate the employment at any time
and for any reason, with or without Cause (hereinafter
defined). Any contrary representations that may have
been made to the Employee shall be superseded by this
Agreement. This Agreement shall constitute the full and
complete agreement between the Employee and the Company on the
“at-will” nature of the Employee’s employment,
which may only be changed in an express written agreement signed by
the Employee and a duly authorized officer of the
Company.
1.2
Rights Upon Termination. Except as expressly
provided in this Section 1.2, upon the termination of the
Employee’s employment, the Employee shall only be entitled to
the compensation and benefits earned up through the date of
termination. Employee’s right to compensation for
periods after the Employee’s employment with the Company
terminates shall be determined in accordance with the
following:
(a)
Change of Control/Termination Without Cause or for Good
Reason. In the event the Employee’s
employment with the Company is terminated within the two (2) year
period immediately following the occurrence of a Change of Control,
either (i) by the Company without Cause, or (ii) by the Employee
for Good Reason, then the Employee shall, subject to
Employee’s execution of a separation and release agreement
provided by the Company (the “ Separation Agreement
”), and subject further to the applicable requirements of
Section 1.2(i):
(i) receive a lump
sum payment in the amount of (a) 2 times (Employee’s base
salary in effect on the date of termination (“ Salary
”) plus Employee’s target bonus (“ Bonus
”)) plus (b) Employee’s current year bonus earned up
through the date of termination (calculated by taking
Employee’s annual target bonus times a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of days Employee was employed
during the year of termination and the denominator of which is
365), with such target bonus and current year bonus determined in
accordance with the Company’s bonus plan then in
effect which is applicable to Employee. The lump
sum payment to be paid under this clause (i) shall be paid within
thirty (30) days following the date of Employee’s
termination; and
(ii) receive a lump
sum payment equal to 24 times the monthly premium cost (determined
as of the date of termination) for Employee’s medical
insurance under the Company’s benefit plans then in effect,
with such amount to be paid within thirty (30) days following the
date of Employee’s termination;
(b)
Termination Without Cause or for Good Reason. In the
event Employee’s employment with the Company is terminated
before the occurrence of a Change of Control or more than two (2)
years after the occurrence of a Change of Control, either (i) by
the Company without Cause , or (ii) by the Employee for Good Reason
, then the Employee shall, subject to Employee’s execution of
a Separation Agreement:
Kepke Severance
and Non-Competition Agreement - Page 1
(i) receive an
amount of (a) 1 times (Employee’s Salary plus
Employee’s target bonus) plus (b) Employee’s current
year bonus earned up through the date of termination (calculated by
taking Employee’s annual target bonus times a fraction, the
numerator of which is the number of days Employee was employed
during the year of termination and the denominator of which is
365), with such target bonus and current year bonus determined in
accordance with the Company’s bonus plan then
in effect which is applicable to Employee. All such amounts to be
paid hereunder shall be paid in equal monthly installments
beginning on the thirtieth (30 th )
day following the date of Employee’s termination and
continuing on the same day in each subsequent month for a period of
11 months thereafter; and
(ii) receive
monthly payments in the amount necessary to continue
Employee’s medical benefits coverage in effect at the time of
termination with such amounts to be paid out in monthly
installments at the same times as the payments in (b) (i) above for
a period of 12 months following the date of such
termination;
(c)
Death. If Employee dies during the term of
employment, Employee’s employment and this Agreement shall
automatically terminate as of the date of Employee’s death.
Upon such termination, the Company shall have no further obligation
to Employee or his estate, except to pay to the estate any accrued,
but unpaid, Salary up through the date of such termination, plus
Bonus, plus those benefits payable in accordance with (b) (i)
above.
(d)
Disability. If, during the term of employment,
Employee is prevented from performing his duties for Company by
reason of becoming totally disabled, then the Company, on prior
notice to Employee, may terminate Employee’s employment and
this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, Employee
shall be deemed to have become totally disabled when (i) he
receives “total disability benefits” under the
Company’s disability plan (whether funded with insurance or
self-funded by the Company), if such a plan is maintained by the
Company, or (ii) the Company’s Board (exclusive of
Employee if he sits on the Board), upon the written report of a
qualified physician (after complete examination of Employee)
designated by the Board, determines that Employee has become
physically and/or mentally incapable of performing his duties under
this Agreement on a permanent basis. In the event of
termination of Employee under this subsection (d), the Company
shall pay Employee any accrued but unpaid Salary, as of the date on
which such permanent disability is determined, but then remains
unpaid, plus those benefits payable in accordance with (b) (i) and
(ii) above.. The provisions of the preceding sentence shall not
affect Employee’s rights to receive payments under the
Company’s disability insurance plan, if any, or under any
individual disability insurance plan that the Employee may have in
place.
(e) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in this Section 1.2, to the
extent that the Employee is determined to be a "key employee" (as
defined in Section 416(i) of the Code but without regard to
paragraph (5) thereof), the payment or payments under this Section
1.2 which constitute "nonqualified deferred compensation" under
Section 409A of the Code shall be made to the Employee no
earlier than the earlier of the last day of the sixth complete
calendar month following the termination of the Employee's
employment with the Company, or (ii) the date of the Employee's
death, consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the
Code. Any payment or payments delayed by reason of the immediately
preceding sentence shall be paid to the Employee in a single lump
sum on the first day following the last day of the sixth complete
calendar month following the date of the termination of the
Employee's employment with the Company, in order to catch up to the
original payment schedule. Notwithstanding the immediately
preceding 2 sentences, no delay shall be required to the extent
that such payments (i) are payable during the short-term deferral
period set forth in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1(b)(4),
and/or (ii) do not exceed an amount equivalent to 200% of the
lesser of (A) the Employee's annualized compensation from the
Company for the Employee's taxable year immediately preceding his
or her taxable year in which the Employee's termination of
employment with the Company occurs, or (B) the maximum amount of
compensation that may be taken into account under tax-qualified
retirement plans pursuant to Section 401(a)(17) of the Code, for
the calendar year in which the termination of the Employee's
employment with Company occurs.
(f)
Excess Parachute Payments. (i) If it is
determined that any amount, right or benefit paid or payable (or
otherwise provided or to be provided) to the Employee by the
Company or any of its affiliates under this Agreement or any other
plan, program or arrangement under which Employee participates or
is a party, other than amounts payable under this Section 1.2(f)
(collectively, the “ Payments ”), would
constitute an “excess parachute payment” within the
meaning of Section 280G of the Code, subject to the excise tax
imposed by Section 4999 of the Code, as amended from time to time
(the “ Excise Tax ”), and the present value of
such Payments (calculated in a manner consistent with that set
forth in the applicable regulations promulgated under Section 280G
of the Code) is equal to or less than $25,000.00 greater than the
threshold at which such amount becomes an “excess parachute
payment,” then the amount of the Payments payable to the
Employee under this Agreement shall be reduced (a “
Reduction ”) to the extent necessary so that no
portion of such Payments payable to the Employee is subject to the
Excise Tax.
Kepke Severance
and Non-Competition Agreement - Page 2
(ii) In the event it shall be
determined that the amount of the Payments payable to the Employee
is more than $25,000.00 greater than the threshold at which such
amount becomes an “excess parachute payment,” then the
Employee shall be entitled to receive an additional payment from
the Company (a “ Gross-Up Payment ”) in an
amount such that, after payment by the Employee of all taxes
(including any interest or penalties imposed with respect to such
taxes), including, without limitation, any income and employment
taxes (and any interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto)
and Excise Tax imposed upon the Gross-Up Payment (and any interest
and penalties imposed with respect thereto), the Executive retains
an amount of the Gross-Up Payment equal to the Excise Tax
(including any interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto)
imposed upon the Payments.
(iii) All determinations
required to be made under Section 1.2(f), including whether and
when a Gross-Up Payment or a Reduction is required, the amount of
such Gross-Up Payment or Reduction and the assumptions to be
utilized in arriving at such determination, shall be made by an
independent, nationally recognized accounting firm mutually
acceptable to the Company and the Employee (the “
Auditor ”); provided that in the event a Reduction is
determined to be required, the Employee may determine which
Payments shall be reduced in order to comply with the provisions of
Section 1.2 (f). The Auditor shall promptly provide detailed
supporting calculations to both the Company and Employee following
any determination that a Reduction or Gross-Up Payment is
necessary. All fees and expenses of the Auditor shall be paid by
the Company. Any Gross-Up Payment, as determined pursuant to
Section 1.2(f), shall be paid by the Company to the Employee within
five (5) days of the receipt of the Auditor’s determination.
All determinations made by the Auditor shall be binding upon the
Company and the Employee; provided that if, notwithstanding the
Auditor’s initial determination, the Internal Revenue Service
(or other applicable taxing authority) determines that an
additional Excise Tax is due with respect to the Payments, then the
Auditor shall recalculate the amount of the Gross-Up Payment or
Reduction Amount, if applicable, based upon the determinations made
by the Internal Revenue Service (or other applicable taxing
authority)