1
INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
This Indemnity Agreement, dated as of ___________________________, by
and between Aureal Semiconductor Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
and ____________________, an officer, director, or key employee of the Company
or its subsidiaries (the "Indemnitee").
RECITALS
A. The Company is aware that competent and experienced persons are
increasingly reluctant to serve as directors or officers of corporations unless
they are protected by comprehensive liability insurance or indemnification, due
to increased exposure to litigation costs and risks resulting from their service
to such corporations, and due to the fact that the exposure frequently bears no
reasonable relationship to the compensation of such directors and officers;
B. The statutes and judicial decisions regarding the duties of
directors and officers are often difficult to apply, ambiguous, or conflicting,
and therefore fail to provide such directors and officers with adequate,
reliable knowledge of legal risks to which they are exposed or information
regarding the proper course of action to take;
C. Plaintiffs often seek damages in such large amounts and the costs of
litigation may be so enormous (whether or not the case is meritorious), that the
defense and/or settlement of such litigation is often beyond the personal
resources of officers and directors;
D. The Company believes that it is unfair for its directors and
officers and the directors and officers of its subsidiaries to assume the risk
of huge judgments and other expenses which may occur in cases in which the
director or officer received no personal profit and in cases where the director
or officer was not culpable;
E. Based upon their experience, the Board of Directors of the Company
(the "Board") has concluded that, to retain and attract talented and experienced
individuals to serve as officers and directors of the Company and its
subsidiaries and to encourage such individuals to take the business risks
necessary for the success of the Company and its subsidiaries, it is necessary
for the Company to contractually indemnify its officers and directors and the
officers and directors of its subsidiaries, and to assume for itself maximum
liability for expenses and damages in connection with claims against such
officers and directors in connection with their service to the Company and its
subsidiaries, and has further concluded that the failure to provide such
contractual indemnification could result in great harm to the Company and its
subsidiaries and the Company's shareholders;
F. Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, under which
the Company is organized ("Section 145"), empowers the Company to indemnify its
officers, directors, employees and agents by agreement and to indemnify persons
who serve, at the request of the Company, as the directors, officers, employees
or agents of other corporations or enterprises, and expressly provides that the
indemnification provided by Section 145 is not exclusive;
G. The Company, after reasonable investigation prior to the date
hereof, has determined that the liability insurance coverage available to the
Company and its subsidiaries as of the date hereof may be inadequate. The
Company believes, therefore, that the interests of the Company's shareholders
would best be served by a combination of such insurance and the indemnification
by the Company of the directors and officers of the Company and its
subsidiaries;
1
2
H. The Company desires and has requested the Indemnitee to serve or
continue to serve as a director or officer of the Company and/or one or more
subsidiaries of the Company free from undue concern for claims for damages
arising out of or related to such services to the Company and/or one or more
subsidiaries of the Company; and
I. The Indemnitee is willing to serve, or to continue to serve, the
Company and/or one or more subsidiaries of the Company, provided that he is
furnished the indemnity provided for herein.
AGREEMENT
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound,
hereby agree as follows:
1. Definitions.
(a) Agent. For the purposes of this Agreement, "agent" of the
Company means any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or other
agent of the Company or a subsidiary of the Company; or is or was serving at the
request of, for the convenience of, or to represent the interests of the Company
or a subsidiary of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of
another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
other enterprise; or was a director, officer, employee or agent of a foreign or
domestic corporation which was a predecessor corporation of the Company or a
subsidiary of the Company, or was a director, officer, employee or agent of
another enterprise at the request of, for the convenience of, or to represent
the interests of such predecessor corporation.
(b) Expenses. For purposes of this Agreement, "expenses"
includes all direct and indirect costs of any type or nature whatsoever
(including, without limitation, all attorneys' fees and related disbursements,
other out-of-pocket costs) actually and reasonably incurred by the Indemnitee in
connection with either the investigation, defense or appeal of a proceeding or
establishing or enforcing a right to indemnification under this Agreement,
Section 145 or otherwise; provided, however, that unless otherwise expressly
provided below, expenses shall not include any judgments, fines, ERISA excise
taxes or penalties or amounts paid in settlement of a proceeding.
(c) Proceeding. For the purposes of this Agreement,
"proceeding" means any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit or other
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or any other
type whatsoever.
(d) Subsidiary. For purposes of this Agreement, "subsidiary"
means any corporation of which more than 50% of the outstanding voting
securities is owned directly or indirectly by the Company, by the Company and
one or more other subsidiaries, or by one or more other subsidiaries.
2. Agreement to Serve. The Indemnitee agrees to serve and/or continue
to serve as an agent of the Company, at the will of the Company (or under
separate agreement, if such agreement exists), in the capacity Indemnitee
currently serves as an agent of the Company, so long as he is duly appointed or
elected and qualified in accordance with the applicable provisions of the
by-laws of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or until such time as he
tenders his resignation in writing, provided, however, that nothing contained in
this Agreement is intended to create any right to continued employment by
Indemnitee.
2
3
3. Maintenance of Liability Insurance.
(a) The Company hereby covenants and agrees that, so long as
the Indemnitee shall continue to serve as an agent of the Company and thereafter
so long as the Indemnitee shall be subject to any possible proceeding by reason
of the fact that the Indemnitee was an agent of the Company, the Company,
subject to Section 3(c), shall promptly obtain and maintain in full force and
effect directors' and officers' liability insurance ("D&O Insurance") in
reasonable amounts from established and reputable insurers.
(b) In all policies of D&O Insurance, the Indemnitee shall be
named as an insured in such a manner as to provide the Indemnitee the same
rights and benefits as are accorded to the most favorably insured of the
Company's directors, if the Indemnitee is a director; or of the Company's
officers, if the Indemnitee is not a director of the Company but is an officer;
or of the Company's key employees, if the Indemnitee is not an officer or
director but is a key employee.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no
obligation to obtain or maintain D&O Insurance if the Company determines in good
faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, the premium costs for
such insurance are disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided, the
coverage provided by such insurance is limited by exclusions so as to provide an
insufficient benefit, or the Indemnitee is covered by similar insurance
maintained by a subsidiary of the Company.
4. Mandatory Indemnification. The Company shall indemnify the
Indemnitee:
(a) Third Party Actions. If the Indemnitee is a person who was
or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding (other than
an action by or in the right of the Company) by reason of the fact that he is or
was an agent of the Company, or by reason of anything done or not done by him in
any such capacity, against any and all expenses and liabilities of any type
whatsoever (including, but not limited to, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes
or penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred
by him in connection with the investigation, defense, settlement or appeal of
such proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed
to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and, with respect
to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his
conduct was unlawful; and
(b) Derivative Actions. If the Indemnitee is a person who was
or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by or in the
right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact
that he is or was an agent of the Company, or by reason of anything done or not
done by him in any such capacity, against any and all expenses actually and
reasonably incurred by him in connection with the investigation, defense,
settlement, or appeal of such proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a
manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of
the Company; except that no indemnification under this subsection shall be made
in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been
finally adjudged to be liable to the Company by a court of competent
jurisdiction due to willful misconduct of a culpable nature in the performance
of his duty to the Company unless and only to the extent that the Court of
Chancery or the court in which such proceeding was brought shall determine upon
application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the
circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to
indemnity for such amounts which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall
deem proper; and
(c) Actions where Indemnitee is Deceased. If the Indemnitee is
a person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any
proceeding by reason of the fact that he is or was an agent of the Company, or
by reason of anything done or not done by him in any such capacity, against any
and all expenses and liabilities of any type whatsoever (including, but not
limited to, judgments, fines,
3
4
ERISA excise taxes and penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) actually and
reasonably incurred by or for him in connection with the investigation, defense,
settlement or appeal of such proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a
manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of
the Company, and, prior to, during the pendency of, or after completion of such
proceeding Indemnitee is deceased, except that in a proceeding by or in the
right of the Company no indemnification shall be due under the provisions of
this subsection in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person
shall have been finally adjudged to be liable to the Company, by a court of
competent jurisdiction, due to willful misconduct of a culpable nature in the
performance of his duty to the Company, unless and only to the extent that the
Court of Chancery or the court in which such proceeding was brought shall
determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in
view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably
entitled to indemnity for such amounts which the Court of Chancery or such other
court shall deem proper; and
(d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be
obligated to indemnify the Indemnitee for expenses or liabilities of any type
whatsoever (including, but not limited to, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes
or penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) which have been paid directly to
Indemnitee by D&O Insurance.
5. Partial Indemnification. If the Indemnitee is entitled under any
provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for some or a
portion of any expenses or liabilities of any type whatsoever (including, but
not limited to, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, and amounts
paid in settlement) incurred by him in the investigation, defense, settlement or
appeal of a proceeding but not entitled, however, to indemnification for all of
the total amount thereof, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify the
Indemnitee for such total amount except as to the portion thereof to which the
Indemnitee is not entitled.
6. Mandatory Advancement of Expenses. Subject to Section 8(a) below,
the Company shall advance all expenses incurred by the Indemnitee in connection
with the investigation, defense, settlement or appeal of any proceeding to which
the Indemnitee is a party or is threatened to be made a party by reason of the
fact that the Indemnitee is or was an agent of the Company. Indemnitee hereby
undertakes to repay such amounts advanced only if, and to the extent that, it
shall ultimately be determined pursuant to Section 8 hereof that the Indemnitee
is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company as authorized hereby. The
advances to be made hereunder shall be paid by the Company to the Indemnitee
within twenty (20) days following delivery of a written request therefor by the
Indemnitee to the Company.
7. Notice and Other Indemnification Procedures.
(a) Promptly after receipt by the Indemnitee of notice of the
commencement of or the threat of commencement of any proceeding, the Indemnitee
shall, if the Indemnitee believes that indemnification with respect thereto may
be sought from the Company under this Agreement, notify the Company of the
commencement or threat of commencement thereof.
(b) If, at the time of the receipt of a notice of the
commencement of a proceeding pursuant to Section 7(a) hereof, the Company has
D&O Insurance in effect, the Company shall give prompt notice of the
commencement of such proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the
procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter
take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf
of the Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such proceeding in
accordance with the terms of such policies.
(c) In the event the Company shall be obligated to pay the
expenses of any proceeding against the Indemnitee, the Company, if appropriate,
shall be entitled to assume the defense of such
4
5
proceeding, with counsel approved by the Indemnitee, upon the delivery to the
Indemnitee of written notice of its election so to do. After delivery of such
notice, approval of such counsel by the Indemnitee and the retention of such
counsel by the Company, the Company will not be liable to the Indemnitee under
this Agreement for any fees of counsel subsequently incurred by the Indemnitee
with respect to the same proceeding, provided that (i) the Indemnitee shall have
the right to employ his counsel in any such proceeding at the Indemnitee's
expense; and (ii) if (A) the employment of counsel by the Indemnitee has been
previously authorized by the Company, (B) the Indemnitee shall have reasonably
concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and the
Indemnitee in the conduct of any such defense or (C) the Company shall not, in
fact, have employed counsel to assume the defense of such proceeding, the fees
and expenses of Indemnitee's counsel shall be at the expense of the Company.
8. Determination of Right to Indemnification.
(a) To the extent the Indemnitee has been successful on the
merits or otherwise in defense of any proceeding referred to in subsections
4(a), 4(b), or 4(c) of this Agreement or in the defense of any claim, issue or
matter described therein, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against
expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the
investigation, defense, or appeal of such proceeding.
(b) The Indemnitee shall be entitled to select the forum in
which the validity of the Company's claim that the Indemnitee is not entitled to
indemnification will be heard from among the following, which forums shall
determine that the Indemnitee is entitled to such indemnification unless the
Company shall prove by clear and convincing evidence that: (i) the Indemnitee
has not met the applicable standard of conduct required to entitle the
Indemnitee to such indemnification or that indemnification is otherwise not
required pursuant to Section 9 hereof, and (ii) the requirements of Section 8(a)
have not been met:
(1) A quorum of the Board consisting of directors who
are not parties to the proceeding for which indemnification is being sought;
(2) The shareholders of the Company;
(3) Legal counsel selected by the Indemnitee, and
reasonably approved by the Board, which counsel shall make such determination in
a written opinion; or
(4) A panel of three arbitrators, one of whom is
selected by the Company, another of whom is selected by the Indemnitee and the
last of whom is selected by the first two arbitrators so selected.
(c) As soon as practicable, and in no event later than 30 days
after written notice of the Indemnitee's choice of forum pursuant to Section
8(b) above, the Company shall, at its own expense, submit to the selected forum
in such manner as the Indemnitee or the Indemnitee's counsel may reasonably
request, its claim that the Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification, and
the Company shall act in the utmost good faith to assure the Indemnitee a
complete opportunity to defend against such claim.
(d) Notwithstanding a determination by any forum listed in
Section 8(b) hereof that Indemnitee is not entitled to indemnification with
respect to a specific proceeding, the Indemnitee shall have the right to apply
to the Court of Chancery of Delaware, the court in which that proceeding is or
was pending, or any other court of competent jurisdiction, for the purpose of
enforcing the Indemnitee's right to indemnification pursuant to this Agreement.
Such court shall find that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification if the
Indemnitee proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she has met the
applicable standard of conduct required to entitle the Indemnitee to such
indemnification unless
5
6
indemnification is otherwise not required pursuant to Section 9 hereof, and if
the requirements of Section 8(a) have been met.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement to
the contrary, the Company shall indemnify the Indemnitee against all expenses
incurred by the Indemnitee in connection with any hearing or proceeding under
this Section 8 involving the Indemnitee and against all expenses incurred by the
Indemnitee in connection with any other proceeding between the Company and the
Indemnitee involving the interpretation or enforcement of the rights of the
Indemnitee under this Agreement unless a court of competent jurisdiction finds
that each of the claims and/or defenses of the Indemnitee in any such proceeding
was frivolous or made in bad faith.
9. Exceptions. Any other provision herein to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Company shall not be obligated pursuant to the terms of
this Agreement:
(a) Claims Initiated by Indemnitee. To indemnify or advance
expenses to the Indemnitee with respect to proceedings or claims initiated or
brought voluntarily by the Indemnitee and not by way of defense, except with
respect to proceedings brought to establish or enforce a right to
indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law or otherwise as
required under Section 145, but such indemnification or advancement of expenses
may be provided by the Company in specific cases if the Board of Directors finds
it to be appropriate; or
(b) Lack of Good Faith. To indemnify the Indemnitee for any
expenses incurred by the Indemnitee with respect to any proceeding instituted by
the Indemnitee to enforce or interpret this Agreement, if a court of competent
jurisdiction determines that each of the material assertions made by the
Indemnitee in such proceeding was not made in good faith or was frivolous; or
(c) Unauthorized Settlements. To indemnify the Indemnitee
under this Agreement for any amounts paid in settlement of a proceeding unless
the Company consents to such settlement, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld.
10. Non-exclusivity. The provisions for indemnification and advancement
of expenses set forth in this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any
other rights which the Indemnitee may have under any provision of law, the
Company's certificate of incorporation or bylaws, the vote of the Company's
shareholders or disinterested directors, other agreements, or otherwise, both as
to action in his official capacity and to action in another capacity while
occupying his position as an agent of the Company, and the Indemnitee's rights
hereunder shall continue after the Indemnitee has ceased acting as an agent of
the Company and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and
administrators of the Indemnitee.
11. Interpretation of Agreement. It is understood that the parties
hereto intend this Agreement to be interpreted and enforced so as to provide
indemnification to the Indemnitee to the fullest extent now or hereafter
permitted by law.
12. Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Agreement
shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever,
(i) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of the
Agreement (including without limitation, all portions of any paragraphs of this
Agreement containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable, that are not themselves invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall
not in any way be affected or impaired thereby, and (ii) to the fullest extent
possible, the provisions of this Agreement (including, without limitation, all
portions of any paragraph of this Agreement containing any such provision held
to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable,
6
7
that are not themselves invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so
as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid,
illegal or unenforceable and to give effect to Section 12 hereof.
13. Modification and Waiver. No supplement, modification or amendment
of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the
parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be
deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision hereof (whether or
not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver.
14. Successors and Assigns. The terms of this agreement shall bind, and
shall inure to the benefit of, the successors and assigns of the parties hereto.
15. Notice. All notices, requests, demands and other communications
under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given (i) if
delivered by hand and receipted for by the party addressee or (ii) if mailed by
certified or registered mail with postage prepaid, on the third business day
after the mailing date. Addresses for notice to either party are as shown on the
signature page of this Agreement, or as subsequently modified by written notice.
16. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed exclusively by and
construed according to the laws of the State of Delaware, as applied to
contracts between Delaware residents entered into and to be performed entirely
within Delaware.
17. Consent to Jurisdiction. The Company and the Indemnitee each hereby
irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Delaware
for all purposes in connection with any action or proceeding which arises out of
or relates to this Agreement and agree that any action instituted under this
Agreement shall be brought only in the state courts of the State of Delaware.
The parties hereto have entered into this Indemnity Agreement effective
as of the date first above written.
AUREAL SEMICONDUCTOR INC.
Address: ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
By: _______________________________
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇'▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
INDEMNITEE: _______________________________
Address: _______________________________
_______________________________
7