EXHIBIT 10.1
INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT
THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (this "Agreement") is made and entered
into this __th day of August, 2000, by and between Computer Access Technology
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and ______ ("Indemnitee").
WHEREAS, Indemnitee, a member of the Board of Directors or an officer,
employee or agent of the Company, performs a valuable service in such capacity
for the Company;
WHEREAS, the stockholders of the Company have adopted Bylaws (the
"Bylaws") providing for the indemnification of the officers, directors,
employees and agents of the Company to the maximum extent authorized by Section
145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the "Code");
WHEREAS, the Bylaws and the Code, by their non-exclusive nature,
permit contracts between the Company and the members of its Board of Directors,
officers, employees or agents with respect to indemnification of such directors,
officers, employees or agents;
WHEREAS, in accordance with the authorization as provided by the Code,
the Company either has purchased and presently maintains or intends to purchase
and maintain a policy or policies of Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
("D&O Insurance") covering certain liabilities which may be incurred by its
directors and officers in the performance of their duties as directors and
officers of the Company;
WHEREAS, as a result of developments affecting the terms, scope and
availability of D&O Insurance there exists general uncertainty as to the extent
of protection afforded members of the Board of Directors or officers, employees
or agents by such D&O Insurance and by statutory and bylaw indemnification
provisions; and
WHEREAS, in order to induce Indemnitee to continue to serve as a
member of the Board of Directors, officer, employee or agent of the Company, the
Company has determined and agreed to enter into this contract with Indemnitee.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of Indemnitee's continued service as
a director, officer, employee or agent after the date hereof, and for other good
and valid consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby
acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Indemnification of Indemnitee. The Company hereby agrees to hold
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harmless and indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent authorized or permitted
by the provisions of the Code, as may be amended from time to time.
2. Additional Indemnity. Subject only to the exclusions set forth in
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Sections 3 and 6(c) hereof, the Company hereby further agrees to hold harmless
and indemnify Indemnitee:
(a) against any and all expenses (including attorneys' fees),
witness fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative (including an action by or in the right of the Company) to which
Indemnitee is, was or at any time becomes a party, or is threatened to be made a
party, by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is, was or at any time becomes a
director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or any subsidiary of the
Company, or is or was serving or at any time serves at the request of the
Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise;
and
(b) otherwise to the fullest extent as may be provided to
Indemnitee by the Company under the non-exclusivity provisions of Article __,
Section __ of the Bylaws of the Company and the Code.
3. Limitations on Additional Indemnity.
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(a) No indemnity pursuant to Section 2 hereof shall be paid by
the Company:
(i) in respect to remuneration paid to Indemnitee if it
shall be determined by a final judgment or other final adjudication that such
remuneration was in violation of law;
(ii) on account of any suit in which judgment is rendered
against Indemnitee for an accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale
by Indemnitee of securities of the Company pursuant to the provisions of Section
16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") or
similar provisions of any federal, state or local statutory law;
(iii) on account of Indemnitee's conduct which is finally
adjudged to have been knowingly fraudulent or deliberately dishonest or to
constitute willful misconduct;
(iv) on account of Indemnitee's conduct which is the
subject of an action, suit or proceeding described in Section 6(c)(ii) hereof;
(v) on account of any action, claim or proceeding (other
than a proceeding referred to in Section 7(b) hereof) initiated by the
Indemnitee unless such action, claim or proceeding was authorized in the
specific case by action of the Board of Directors;
(vi) if a final decision by a court having jurisdiction in
the matter shall determine that such indemnification is not lawful (and, in this
respect, both the Company and Indemnitee have been advised that the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") believes that indemnification for
liabilities arising under the federal securities laws is against public policy
and is, therefore, unenforceable and that claims for indemnification should be
submitted to appropriate courts for adjudication); and
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(vii) except to the extent the aggregate of losses to be
indemnified thereunder exceeds the sum of (a) such losses for which the
Indemnitee is indemnified pursuant to Section 1 hereof and (b) any additional
amount paid to the Indemnitee pursuant to any D&O Insurance purchased and
maintained by the Company.
(b) No indemnity pursuant to Section 1 or 2 hereof shall be paid
by the Company if the action, suit or proceeding with respect to which a claim
for indemnity hereunder is made arose from or is based upon any of the
following:
(i) Any solicitation of proxies by Indemnitee, or by a
group of which he was or became a member consisting of two or more persons that
had agreed (whether formally or informally and whether or not in writing) to act
together for the purpose of soliciting proxies, in opposition to any
solicitation of proxies approved by the Board of Directors.
(ii) Any activities by Indemnitee that constitute a breach
of or default under any agreement between Indemnitee and the Company.
4. Contribution. If the indemnification provided in Sections 1
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and 2 hereof is unavailable by reason of a court decision described in Section
3(a)(vi) hereof based on grounds other than any of those set forth in paragraphs
(i) through (v) of Section 3(a) hereof, then in respect of any threatened,
pending or completed action, suit or proceeding in which the Company is jointly
liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such action, suit or
proceeding), the Company shall contribute to the amount of expenses (including
attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and
reasonably incurred and paid or payable by Indemnitee in such proportion as is
appropriate to reflect (a) the relative benefits received by the Company on the
one hand and Indemnitee on the other hand from the transaction from which such
action, suit or proceeding arose, and (b) the relative fault of the Company, on
the one hand, and of Indemnitee, on the other, in connection with the events
which resulted in such expenses, judgments, fines or settlement amounts, as well
as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative fault of the
Company, on the one hand, and of Indemnitee, on the other, shall be determined
by reference to, among other things, the parties' relative intent, knowledge,
access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent the circumstances
resulting in such expenses, judgments, fines or settlement amounts. The Company
agrees that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this
Section 4 were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of
allocation which does not take account of the foregoing equitable
considerations.
5. Notification and Defense of Claim. Not later than thirty
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(30) days after receipt by Indemnitee of notice of the commencement of any
action, suit or proceeding, Indemnitee shall, if a claim in respect thereof is
to be made against the Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the
commencement thereof; but Indemnitee's omission so to notify the Company will
not relieve the Company from any liability which it may have to Indemnitee
otherwise than under this Agreement. With respect to any such action, suit or
proceeding as to which Indemnitee notifies the Company of the commencement
thereof:
(a) The Company will be entitled to participate therein at
its own expense.
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(b) Except as otherwise provided below, to the extent that
it may wish, the Company shall, jointly with any other indemnifying party
similarly notified, be entitled to assume the defense thereof, with counsel
reasonably satisfactory to Indemnitee. After notice from the Company to
Indemnitee of its election to assume the defense thereof, the Company will not
be liable to Indemnitee under this Agreement for any legal or other expenses
subsequently incurred by Indemnitee in connection with the defense thereof,
other than reasonable costs of investigation or as otherwise provided below.
Indemnitee shall have the right to employ its own counsel in such action, suit
or proceeding, but the fees and expenses of such counsel incurred after notice
from the Company of the Company's assumption of the defense thereof shall be at
the expense of Indemnitee unless (i) the employment of counsel by Indemnitee has
been authorized by the Company, (ii) Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded
that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee in
the conduct of the defense of such action, or (iii) the Company shall not in
fact have employed counsel to assume the defense of such action; in each of
which cases the fees and expenses of Indemnitee's separate counsel shall be paid
by the Company. The Company shall not be entitled to assume the defense of any
action, suit or proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Company or as to which
Indemnitee shall have made the conclusion provided for in clause (ii) above.
(c) The Company shall not be liable to indemnify Indemnitee
under this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of any action or claim
effected without its written consent. The Company shall be permitted to settle
any action except that it shall not settle any action or claim in any manner
which would impose any penalty or limitation on Indemnitee without Indemnitee's
written consent. Neither the Company nor Indemnitee will unreasonably withhold
its consent to any proposed settlement.
6. Advancement and Repayment of Expenses.
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(a) In the event that Indemnitee employs his or her own
counsel pursuant to Sections 5(b)(i) through (iii) above, the Company shall
advance to Indemnitee, prior to any final disposition of any threatened or
pending action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative, any and all reasonable expenses (including legal fees and
expenses) incurred in investigating or defending any such action, suit or
proceeding within ten (10) days after receiving from Indemnitee copies of
invoices presented to Indemnitee for such expenses.
(b) Indemnitee agrees that Indemnitee will reimburse the
Company for all reasonable expenses paid by the Company in investigating or
defending any civil or criminal action, suit or proceeding against Indemnitee in
the event and only to the extent it shall be ultimately determined by a final
judicial decision (from which there is no right of appeal) that Indemnitee is
not entitled, under the provisions of the Code, the Bylaws, this Agreement or
otherwise, to be indemnified by the Company for such expenses.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be
required to advance such expenses to Indemnitee in respect of any action arising
from or based upon any of the matters set forth in subsection (b) of Section 3
or if Indemnitee (i) commences any action, suit or proceeding as a plaintiff
unless such advance is specifically approved by a majority of the Board of
Directors or (ii) is a party to an action, suit or proceeding brought by the
Company and
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approved by a majority of the Board of Directors which alleges willful
misappropriation of corporate assets by Indemnitee, disclosure of confidential
information in violation of Indemnitee's fiduciary or contractual obligations to
the Company, or any other willful and deliberate breach in bad faith of
Indemnitee's duty to the Company or its shareholders.
7. Enforcement.
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(a) The Company expressly confirms and agrees that it has
entered into this Agreement and assumed the obligations imposed on the Company
hereby in order to induce Indemnitee to continue as a director, officer,
employee or other agent of the Company, and acknowledges that Indemnitee is
relying upon this Agreement in continuing in such capacity.
(b) In the event Indemnitee is required to bring any action
to enforce rights or to collect moneys due under this Agreement and is
successful in such action, the Company shall reimburse Indemnitee for all
Indemnitee's reasonable fees and expenses, including attorney's fees, in
bringing and pursuing such action.
8. Subrogation. In the event of payment under this agreement,
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the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the
rights of recovery of Indemnitee, who shall execute all documents required and
shall do all acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the
Company effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights.
9. Continuation of Obligations. All agreements and obligations
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of the Company contained herein shall commence upon the date that Indemnitee
first became a member of the Board of Directors or an officer, employee or agent
of the Company, as the case may be, and shall continue during the period
Indemnitee is a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company (or is or
was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or
agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee
benefit plan or other enterprise) and shall continue thereafter so long as
Indemnitee shall be subject to any possible claim or threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal or investigative,
by reason of the fact that Indemnitee was a director, officer, employee or agent
of the Company or serving in any other capacity referred to herein.
10. Survival of Rights. The rights conferred on Indemnitee by
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this Agreement shall continue after Indemnitee has ceased to be a director,
officer, employee or other agent of the Company and shall inure to the benefit
of Indemnitee's heirs, executors and administrators.
11. Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on Indemnitee
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by this Agreement shall not be exclusive of any other right which Indemnitee may
have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Company's
Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or
directors, or otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to
action in another capacity while holding office; provided, however, that this
Agreement shall supersede and replace any prior indemnification agreements
entered into by and between the Company and Indemnitee and that any such prior
indemnification agreement shall be terminated upon the execution of this
Agreement.
12. Separability. Each of the provisions of this Agreement is a
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separate and distinct agreement and independent of the others, so that if any or
all of the provisions hereof
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shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, such invalidity or
unenforceability shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other
provisions hereof or the obligation of the Company to indemnify the Indemnitee
to the full extent provided by the Bylaws or the Code.
13. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be interpreted and
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enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.
14. Binding Effect. This Agreement shall be binding upon
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Indemnitee and upon the Company, its successors and assigns, and shall inure to
the benefit of Indemnitee, his or her heirs, personal representatives and
assigns and to the benefit of the Company, its successors and assigns.
15. Amendment and Termination. No amendment, modification,
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termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be effective unless it is in
writing and is signed by both parties hereto.
(This space intentionally left blank)
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on
date set forth above.
"Company" "Indemnitee"
COMPUTER ACCESS TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a [____________]
Delaware corporation
By: _______________________________________ ____________________________
Name: _____________________________________
Title:_____________________________________ Address: ___________________
___________________
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