Exhibit 10.21
AGREEMENT AND GENERAL
RELEASE
AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE ("Agreement and
Release") made as of this 6th day of February, 2009, by and between
Nancy Corsiglia ("Corsiglia") and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage
Corporation ("Farmer Mac").
WHEREAS, Corsiglia and Farmer Mac (herein after
collectively, the "Parties") desire to resolve and settle in full
any and all claims in respect of her employment with Farmer Mac, or
otherwise, that Corsiglia or Farmer Mac have raised or which they
could have raised prior to the date Corsiglia or Farmer Mac execute
this Agreement and Release or hereafter; and
WHEREAS, the Parties are entering into this
Agreement and Release for the mutual purposes of avoiding the
burdens and expense of litigation and for terminating any and all
relationships between Farmer Mac and Corsiglia;
NOW, THEREFORE, in exchange for and in
consideration of the mutual promises, warranties and
representations under taken herein, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the
Parties agree as follows:
1. Corsiglia's
Employment Agreement with Farmer Mac, dated as of May 11, 1989, as
amended from time-to-time, is hereby amended as set forth in
Exhibit A hereto, effective as of February 1, 2009 (as so amended,
the "Employment Contract"). The provisions of the
Employment Contract as hereby amended are incorporated by reference
into this Agreement and Release as if they were set forth herein in
their entirety.
2. In
full satisfaction of all cash payments owed by Farmer Mac to
Corsiglia hereunder, under the Employment Contract, or in
connection with Corsiglia's employment at Farmer Mac, Farmer Mac
shall pay the following amounts:
(a) Corsiglia's
current annual base salary through January 31, 2009, less all
applicable withholding taxes and deductions, to be paid by Farmer
Mac to Corsiglia pursuant to Farmer Mac's normal payroll
procedures;
(b) $1,068,520.53
(the "Cash Payment"), to be paid by Farmer Mac within five (5)
calendar days after the Effective Date (as defined in Section 28
below) by delivering to Corsiglia's attorney, Debra Katz of Katz,
Marshall & Banks, LLP:
(i) a check payable to the order of Nancy E.
Corsiglia in the amount of $958,520.53, less all applicable
withholding taxes and deductions, and shall issue a Form W-2 to
Corsiglia in connection with such payment (unless such payment is
returned pursuant to the claw back provision below); and
(ii) a check payable to the order of Katz,
Marshall & Banks, LLP in the amount of $110,000.00, and shall
issue a Form 1099 to Katz, Marshall & Banks and to Corsiglia in
connection with such payment (unless such payment is returned
pursuant to the claw back provision below).
If, on or before the date that Farmer Mac files
its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2008, Farmer Mac has determined that Farmer Mac is not in
compliance with either its minimum capital requirement or
risk-based capital requirement as set forth in the Agricultural
Credit Act of 1987 (12 U.S.C. §§ 2279aa et seq.), as
amended, as of December 31, 2008, Farmer Mac shall provide notice
thereof to Corsiglia. Within ten (10) calendar days
after receipt of such notice, Corsiglia shall pay to Farmer Mac, in
cash or immediately available funds, an amount equal to the Cash
Payment and Corsiglia shall forfeit all rights to the Cash
Payment.
If Corsiglia returns to Farmer Mac an amount
equal to the Cash Payment as provided in the preceding paragraph,
Corsiglia may, in her sole discretion, upon written notice to
Farmer Mac, rescind this entire Agreement and Release, rendering it
void and without effect ab initio. Should Corsiglia
exercise this right of rescission, Farmer Mac agrees not to assert
in any legal proceeding hereafter commenced by or on behalf of
Corsiglia the running of the statute of limitations or any other
time-related defense with respect to the period from the date of
Corsiglia’s execution of this Agreement and Release through
and including the date Corsiglia exercises this right of
rescission, and Farmer Mac further agrees that, for purposes of
claim accrual only, Farmer Mac will not assert that
Corsiglia’s employment was terminated any earlier than the
date of rescission, nor will it offer this Agreement in evidence or
reference its terms for any purpose in subsequent legal
proceedings.
Corsiglia acknowledges and agrees that she is
not entitled to any payment from Farmer Mac in excess of the Cash
Payment. Nothing contained herein shall affect
Corsiglia's vested account in the Farmer Mac Money Purchase Plan or
the Farmer Mac 401(k) Plan.
3. Farmer
Mac also agrees to pay the cost of an outplacement service of
Corsiglia's choosing, up to a maximum of $6,000, to be paid
directly to such service within ten (10) business days of request
by Corsiglia; and to pay the full cost of all mediation services
provided by JAMS in this matter, to be paid directly to
JAMS.
4. Corsiglia
acknowledges that, as of the date of her execution of this
Agreement and Release, Corsiglia has sustained no injury or illness
related in any way to Corsiglia's employment with Farmer Mac for
which a workers compensation claim has not already been
filed.
5. Upon
execution of this Agreement and Release, Corsiglia expressly agrees
that she will not act on behalf of Farmer Mac or hold herself out
as authorized to conduct business on behalf of Farmer Mac or its
affiliates or their employees.
6. Corsiglia
represents and warrants that she has returned to Farmer Mac all of
Farmer Mac's physical or intellectual property known by Corsiglia
to be in her possession or under her control, including, without
limitation, any physical or electronic documents, memoranda, files,
faxes, equipment, books, notes and the like and any and all copies
thereof, and any company identification cards, credit cards, keys,
card keys, computers, cell phones or the like, to the extent
located after a good faith, diligent search. Corsiglia
represents and warrants that she has made a good faith, diligent
search for any such items and agrees that, should Corsiglia locate
such items in the future, she will promptly return them to Farmer
Mac.
7. (a) Effective
as of the Effective Date, Corsiglia shall remit and relinquish to
Farmer Mac all interests and rights in and under the following
options to purchase shares of Farmer Mac Class C Non-Voting Common
Stock and stock appreciation rights granted to Corsiglia with
respect to shares of Farmer Mac Class C Non-Voting Common Stock
(collectively, the "Cancelled Options") and shall have no further
rights with respect thereto:
|
Number of Options
|
|
Grant Date
|
|
Exercise Price
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
57,055 (38,036
vested and 19,019 unvested)
|
|
June 1,
2006
|
|
$
|
26.36
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
69,661 (23,220
vested and 46,441 unvested)
|
|
June 7,
2007
|
|
$
|
29.33
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
48,305 (all
unvested)
|
|
June 5,
2008
|
|
$
|
28.94
|
|
The Cancelled Options automatically shall be
cancelled effective as of the Effective Date without any further
action by any party. Corsiglia acknowledges and agrees
that, upon cancellation of the Cancelled Options, Corsiglia will
not possess, nor will Corsiglia be entitled to, any unvested stock
options or stock appreciation rights for equity of Farmer
Mac.
(b) Corsiglia
acknowledges and agrees that:
(i) all
of Corsiglia's other outstanding stock options to purchase shares
of Farmer Mac Class C Non-Voting Common Stock and stock
appreciation rights granted to Corsiglia with respect to shares of
Farmer Mac Class C Non-Voting Common Stock (collectively, the
"Remaining Options") are as set forth in the table
below;
(ii) all
of the Remaining Options are currently vested and exercisable
;
(iii) all
of the Remaining Options expire in accordance with the terms of the
related option grants or stock appreciation right grant and the
Employment Contract at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on
February 28, 2011 (or on the tenth anniversary of the grant date of
the applicable Remaining Options, if earlier); and
(iv) as
of the Effective Date, Corsiglia will not possess, nor will
Corsiglia be entitled to, any stock options or stock appreciation
rights for equity of Farmer Mac other than the Remaining
Options.
|
Number of
Remaining
Options
|
|
Grant Date
|
|
Exercise Price
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33,378
|
|
June 3,
1999
|
|
$
|
22.08
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
40,220
|
|
June 7,
2001
|
|
$
|
31.24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
35,769
|
|
June 6,
2002
|
|
$
|
29.10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
50,356
|
|
June 5,
2003
|
|
$
|
22.40
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22,505
|
|
August 11,
2004
|
|
$
|
19.86
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
71,529
|
|
June 16,
2005
|
|
$
|
20.61
|
|
(c) After
the Effective Date, as a consequence of this Agreement, Corsiglia
shall not be entitled to receive any other shares, options, grants,
or other awards, and shall have no rights with respect to any
equity awards other than the Remaining Options as specified in this
Section 7. Nothing contained herein shall affect
Corsiglia's vested account in the Farmer Mac Money Purchase Plan;
no additional contributions with respect to the plan year beginning
January 1, 2008 shall be owed or made by Farmer Mac, and no
contributions with respect to any plan year beginning after
January 1, 2008 shall be owed or made by Farmer Mac to the
Farmer Mac Money Purchase Plan on Corsiglia's behalf.
8. Corsiglia
agrees and acknowledges that the payments and benefits provided to
her by Farmer Mac pursuant to this Agreement and Release are
adequate consideration for the release and her other promises
herein and that she is entitled to no other payment, benefit or
other thing of value under any policy, plan or procedure of Farmer
Mac or under any prior agreement or contract (whether written or
oral) between Corsiglia and Farmer Mac or its affiliates or their
employees, except, as set forth in Section 9, this section is not
meant to limit Corsiglia’s right to recover for any alleged
breaches of this Agreement and Release or Corsiglia’s right
to indemnity for any action, suit or proceeding to which Corsiglia
might be entitled, if at all, under Farmer Mac’s by-laws or
applicable law.
9. For
and in consideration of the payments to be made and for other
valuable consideration to be provided to Corsiglia pursuant to this
Agreement and Release, Corsiglia for herself, her family members,
her heirs, executors, administrators, trustees, legal
representatives, successors and assigns (hereinafter, collectively
referred to as "Corsiglia Releasors"), hereby forever releases and
discharges Farmer Mac and any of its past, present or future parent
entities, partners, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, business
units, employee benefit and/or pension plans or funds, successors
and assigns or each and all of its or their past and present or
future directors, officers, attorneys, agents, trustees,
administrators, employees, insurers, reinsurers, successors, or
assigns (whether acting as agents for Farmer Mac or in their
individual capacities) (hereinafter collectively referred to as
"Farmer Mac Releasees"), from any and all claims, demands, causes
of action, debt or liabilities of any kind (upon any legal or
equitable theory, whether contractual, common-law, statutory,
federal, state, local, or otherwise), whether known or unknown,
asserted or unasserted, which Corsiglia Releasors ever had, now
have, or may hereafter have, against Farmer Mac Releasees arising
by reason of any act, omission, transaction, practice, plan,
policy, procedure, conduct, occurrence or other matter, from the
beginning of time up to and including the date of Corsiglia's
execution of this Agreement and Release. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, Corsiglia Releasors hereby release and
discharge Farmer Mac Releasees from:
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any and all
claims relating to Corsiglia's employment with Farmer Mac, the
terms and conditions of such employment and the termination of such
employment;
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any and all
claims of employment discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation
under any federal, state or local statute or ordinance, including
without limitation, any and all claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002, including, but not limited to, the whistle blowing and
retaliation provisions of that Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964; the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act; the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act; the Family and Medical Leave Act;
the Americans with Disabilities Act; 42 U.S.C. § 1981; the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (excluding claims
for accrued, vested benefits, if any, under any employee benefit or
pension plan of Farmer Mac subject to the terms and conditions of
such plan and applicab
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