Duties of Escrow Agent Acceptance by the Escrow Agent of its duties under this Escrow Agreement is subject to the following terms and conditions, which all parties to this Escrow Agreement agree shall govern and control with respect to the rights, duties, liabilities and immunities of the Escrow Agent.
(a) The duties and responsibilities of the Escrow Agent shall be limited to those expressly set forth in this Escrow Agreement and the Escrow Agent shall not be subject to, nor obligated to recognize, any other agreements between the Corporation, Underwriter and any Subscriber.
(b) The duties of the Escrow Agent are only such as are herein specifically provided and such duties are purely ministerial in nature. The Escrow Agent's primary duty shall be to keep custody of and safeguard the Escrow Fund during the period of the escrow, to invest monies held in the Escrow Fund in accordance with Section 2 hereof and to make disbursements from the Escrow Fund in accordance with Section 4 hereof.
(c) The Escrow Agent shall be under no obligations in respect of the Escrow Fund other than to faithfully follow the instructions herein contained or delivered to the Escrow Agent in accordance with this Escrow Agreement. The Escrow Agent may rely and act upon any written notice, instruction, direction, request, waiver, consent, receipt or other paper or document which it in good faith believes to be genuine and what it purports to be and the Escrow Agent shall be subject to no liability with respect to the form, execution or validity thereof. If, in the opinion of the Escrow Agent, the instructions it receives are ambiguous, uncertain or in conflict with any previous instructions or this Escrow Agreement, then the Escrow Agent is authorized to hold and preserve intact the Escrow Fund pending the settlement of any such controversy by final adjudication of a court or courts of proper jurisdiction.
(d) The Escrow Agent shall not be liable for any error of judgment or for any act done or step taken or omitted by it, in good faith, or for any mistake of fact or law, or for anything which it may in good faith do or refrain from doing in connection herewith, unless caused by its willful misconduct or gross negligence. The Corporation shall indemnify and hold the Escrow Agent harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, which may be imposed upon the Escrow Agent or incurred by the Escrow Agent in connection with its acceptance of the appointment as Escrow Agent hereunder or the performance of its duties hereunder, unless the Escrow Agent is determined to have committed an intentional wrongful act or to have been grossly negligent with respect to its duties under this Escrow Agreement.
(e) The Escrow Agent shall return to the Corporation any sums delivered to the Escrow Agent pursuant to this Escrow Agreement for which the Escrow Agent has not received release instructions pursuant to Section 4 hereof, and as to which four years have passed since delivery.
(f) The Escrow Agent may consult with, and obtain advice from, legal counsel (which may not be counsel to the Corporation) in the event of any dispute or questions as to the construction of any of the provisions hereof or its duties hereunder, and it shall incur no liability in acting in good faith in accordance with the written opinion and instructions of such counsel. The fees for consultation with such counsel shall be paid by the Corporation.
(g) Reference in this Escrow Agreement to the Registration Statement is for identification purposes only, and its terms and conditions are not thereby incorporated herein.
Indemnification of Escrow Agent From and at all times after the date of this Agreement, the parties jointly and severally, shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law and to the extent provided herein, indemnify and hold harmless Escrow Agent and each director, officer, employee, attorney, agent and affiliate of Escrow Agent (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") against any and all actions, claims (whether or not valid), losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses of any kind or nature whatsoever (including without limitation reasonable attorney's fees, costs and expenses) incurred by or asserted against any of the Indemnified Parties from and after the date hereof, whether direct, indirect or consequential, as a result of or arising from or in any way relating to any claim, demand, suit, action, or proceeding (including any inquiry or investigation) by any person, including without limitation the parties to this Agreement, whether threatened or initiated, asserting a claim for any legal or equitable remedy against any person under any statute or regulation, including, but not limited to, any federal or state securities laws, or under any common law or equitable cause or otherwise, arising from or in connection with the negotiation, preparation, execution, performance or failure of performance of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated herein, whether or not any such Indemnified Party is a party to any such action or proceeding, suit or the target of any such inquiry or investigation; provided, however, that no Indemnified Party shall have the right to be indemnified hereunder for liability finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, subject to no further appeal, to have resulted solely from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnified Party. If any such action or claim shall be brought or asserted against any Indemnified Party, such Indemnified Party shall promptly notify the Company and the Investor hereunder in writing, and the and the Company shall assume the defense thereof, including the employment of counsel and the payment of all expenses. Such Indemnified Party shall, in its sole discretion, have the right to employ separate counsel (who may be selected by such Indemnified Party in its sole discretion) in any such action and to participate and to participate in the defense thereof, and the fees and expenses of such counsel shall be paid by such Indemnified Party, except that the Investor and/or the Company shall be required to pay such fees and expense if (a) the Investor or the Company agree to pay such fees and expenses, or (b) the Investor and/or the Company shall fail to assume the defense of such action or proceeding or shall fail, in the sole discretion of such Indemnified Party, to employ counsel reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Party in any such action or proceeding, (c) the Investor and the Company are the plaintiff in any such action or proceeding or (d) the named or potential parties to any such action or proceeding (including any potentially impleaded parties) include both Indemnified Party the Company and/or the Investor and Indemnified Party shall have been advised by counsel that there may be one or more legal defenses available to it which are different from or additional to those available to the Company or the Investor. The Investor and the Company shall be jointly and severally liable to pay fees and expenses of counsel pursuant to the preceding sentence, except that any obligation to pay under clause (a) shall apply only to the party so agreeing. All such fees and expenses payable by the Company and/or the Investor pursuant to the foregoing sentence shall be paid from time to time as incurred, both in advance of and after the final disposition of such action or claim. The obligations of the parties under this section shall survive any termination of this Agreement, and resignation or removal of the Escrow Agent shall be independent of any obligation of Escrow Agent.
Disbursement of Escrow Funds (a) Subject to Section 3(b) and Section 10, NCPS shall promptly disburse in accordance with the Instruction Letter the liquidated value of the Escrow Funds from the Escrow Account to Issuer by wire transfer no later than one Business Day following receipt of the following documents:
(i) Minimum Offering Notice;
(ii) Subscription Accounting substantiating the fulfillment of the Minimum Offering;
(iii) Instruction Letter; and
(iv) such other certificates, notices or other documents as NCPS may reasonably require; provided that NCPS shall not be obligated to disburse the liquidated value of the Escrow Funds to Issuer if NCPS has reason to believe that (A) Cash Investment Instruments in full payment for that number of Securities equal to or greater than the Minimum Offering have not been received, deposited with and collected by NCPS, or (B) any of the information or the certifications, representations, warranties or opinions set forth in the Minimum Offering Notice, Subscription Accounting, Instruction Letter or other certificates, notices or other documents are incorrect or incomplete. After the initial disbursement of Escrow Funds to Issuer pursuant to this Section 4(a), NCPS shall promptly disburse any additional funds received with respect to the Securities to Issuer by wire transfer no later than one Business Day after NCPS receives from or on behalf of Issuer (1) Issuer’s request for closing via NCPS’s online portal and (2) Issuer’s written verification that the subscriptions therefor are in good order. Any ACH transaction must comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, codes and orders of applicable governmental, regulatory, judicial and law enforcement authorities and self-regulatory authorities (collectively, “Law”), including, without limitation, NACHA’s operating rules that apply to the ACH network as in effect from time to time. NCPS is not responsible for errors in the completion, accuracy or timeliness of any transfer properly initiated by NCPS in accordance with joint written instructions occasioned by the acts or omissions of any third party financial institution or a party to the transaction, or the insufficiency or lack of availability of funds on deposit in any account.
(b) No later than three Business Days after receipt from Subscriber of any required payment instructions and receipt by NCPS of written notice: (i) from Issuer Party that Issuer Party intends to reject a Subscriber’s subscription; (ii) from Issuer Party that there will be no closing of the sale of Securities to Subscribers; (iii) from any federal or state regulatory authority that any application by Issuer to conduct a banking business has been denied; or (iv) from the SEC or any other federal or state regulatory authority that a stop or similar order has been issued with respect to the Offering Document and has remained in effect for at least 20 days, NCPS shall pay to each Subscriber by the same method the amount of the Cash Investment received by NCPS from such Subscriber or promptly return to Subscriber such Subscriber’s Cash Investment Instrument; provided that amounts in excess of $25,000 will be returned via wire transfer upon confirmation by NCPS of Subscriber’s account information.
(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if NCPS shall not have received an Instruction Letter on or before the Expiration Date or the Termination Date (as defined below), subject to Section 5, NCPS shall, within three Business Days after such Expiration Date or Termination Date and receipt from Subscriber of any required payment instructions, and without any further instruction or direction from Issuer Party, pay to each Subscriber by the same method the amount of the Cash Investment received by NCPS from such Subscriber or promptly return to Subscriber such Subscriber’s Cash Investment Instrument; provided that amounts in excess of $25,000 will be returned via wire transfer upon confirmation by NCPS of Subscriber’s account information.
(d) Issuer Party shall, or cause Subscriber to, provide NCPS with information sufficient to effect such payment or return to Subscriber as outlined in this Section 4, including, without limitation, updated payment information in the event a payment or return to Subscriber for any reason cannot be made by the same method as received by NCPS.
Exculpation and Indemnification of Escrow Agent 9.1. The Escrow Agent shall have no duties or responsibilities other than those expressly set forth herein. The Escrow Agent shall have no duty to enforce any obligation of any person to make any payment or delivery, or to direct or cause any payment or delivery to be made, or to enforce any obligation of any person to perform any other act. The Escrow Agent shall be under no liability to the other parties hereto or to anyone else by reason of any failure on the part of any party hereto or any maker, guarantor, endorser or other signatory of any document or any other person to perform such person's obligations under such document. Except for amendments to this Agreement referred to below, and except for instructions given to the Escrow Agent by the Company and the subscribers relating to the Escrow Account, the Escrow Agent, as applicable, shall not be obligated to recognize any agreement between any and all of the persons referred to herein, notwithstanding that references thereto may be made herein and whether or not it has knowledge thereof.
9.2. The Escrow Agent shall not be liable to the Company or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted by it, or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the exercise of its own best judgment. The Escrow Agent may rely conclusively and shall be protected in acting upon any order, notice, demand, certificate, opinion or advice of counsel (including counsel chosen by the Escrow Agent), statement, instrument, report or other paper or document (not only as to its due execution and the validity and effectiveness of its provisions, but also as to the truth and acceptability of any information therein contained), which is believed by the Escrow Agent, as applicable, to be genuine and to be signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Escrow Agent shall not be bound by any notice or demand, or any waiver, modification, termination or rescission of this Escrow Agreement or any of the terms thereof, unless evidenced by a writing delivered to the Escrow Agent, as applicable, signed by the proper party or parties and, if the duties or rights of the Escrow Agent, as applicable, are affected, unless it shall give its prior written consent thereto.
9.3. The Escrow Agent shall not be responsible for the sufficiency or accuracy of the form of, or the execution, validity, value or genuineness of, any document or property received, held or delivered by it hereunder, or of any signature or endorsement thereon, or for any lack of endorsement thereon, or for any description therein, nor shall the Escrow Agent be responsible or liable to the other parties hereto or to anyone else in any respect on account of the identity, authority or rights of the persons executing or delivering or purporting to execute or deliver any document or property pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement. Except as specifically provided for herein, the Escrow Agent shall have no responsibility with respect to the use or application of any funds or other property paid or delivered by the Escrow Agent pursuant to the provisions hereof. The Escrow Agent shall not be liable to the Company or to anyone else for any loss which may be incurred by reason of any investment of any monies which it holds hereunder provided the Escrow Agent, as applicable, has complied with the provisions of Section 2 hereunder.
9.4. The Escrow Agent shall have the right to assume in the absence of written notice to the contrary from the proper person or persons that a fact or an event by reason of which an action would or might be taken by the Escrow Agent, as applicable, does not exist or has not occurred, without incurring liability to the other parties hereto or to anyone else for any action taken or omitted, or any action suffered by it to be taken or omitted, in good faith and in the exercise of its own best judgment, in reliance upon such assumption.
9.5. To the extent that the Escrow Agent becomes liable for the payment of taxes, including withholding taxes, in respect of income derived from the investment of funds held hereunder or any payment made hereunder, the Escrow Agent, as applicable, may pay such taxes. The Escrow Agent, as applicable, may withhold from any payment of monies held by it hereunder such amount as the Escrow Agent, as applicable, estimates to be sufficient to provide for the payment of such taxes not yet paid, and may use the sum withheld for that purpose. The Escrow Agent shall be indemnified and held harmless against any liability for taxes and for any penalties or interest in respect of taxes, on such investment income or payments in the manner provided in Section 9.6.
9.6. The Escrow Agent will be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from and against any and all expenses, including reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, or loss suffered by the Escrow Agent, as applicable, in connection with any action, suit or other proceeding involving any claim, or in connection with any claim or demand, which in any way, directly or indirectly, arises out of or relates to this Escrow Agreement, the services of the Escrow Agent, as applicable, hereunder, the monies or other property held by it hereunder or any income earned from investment of such monies; provided, that such expenses or loss are not as a result of the Escrow Agent, as applicable, acting, or omitting to take action, in bad faith or with willful misconduct or gross negligence promptly after the receipt by the Escrow Agent, as applicable, of notice of any demand or claim or the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, the Escrow Agent, as applicable, shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the Company, notify the Company thereof in writing, but the failure by the Escrow Agent, as applicable, to give such notice shall not relieve the Company from any liability which the Company may have to the Escrow Agent hereunder. For the purposes hereof, the term "expense or loss" shall include all amounts paid or payable to satisfy any claim, demand or liability, or in settlement of any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding settled with the express written consent of the Escrow Agent, and all costs and expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, paid or incurred in investigating or defending against any such claims, demand, action, suit or proceeding.
Expenses of Escrow Agent Except as set forth in Section 11 the Company shall reimburse Escrow Agent for all of its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, including attorneys' fees, travel expenses, telephone and facsimile transmission costs, postage (including express mail and overnight delivery charges), copying charges and the like. All of the compensation and reimbursement obligations set forth in this Section shall be payable by the Company, upon demand by Escrow Agent. The obligations of the Company under this Section shall survive any termination of this Agreement and the resignation or removal of Escrow Agent.