Sample Delaware Indemnification Provision
October 2004
ARTICLE VII
Indemnification
SECTION 7.01 Right to Indemnification. Each person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (“Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person of whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, as a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the written request of the Corporation's board of directors, president or their delegate as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, whether the basis of such Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent or in any other capacity, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by law, including but not limited to the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said Law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expenses, liability and loss (including attorney's fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith; provided, however, that the Corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnity in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the board of directors of the Corporation. Such right shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred in defending any such Proceeding in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that the payment of such expenses in advance of the final disposition of such Proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, in which such director or officer agrees to repay all amounts so advanced if it should be ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article or otherwise.
SECTION 7.02 Right of Claimant to Bring Suit.
(a) If a claim under Section 7.01 is not paid in full by the Corporation within thirty days after a written claim therefor has been received by the Corporation, the claimant may any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim and, if successful in whole or in part, the claimant shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting such claim. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for expenses incurred in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition where the required undertaking has been tendered to the Corporation) that the claimant has not met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under the applicable law for the Corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed, but the burden of proving such defense shall be on the Corporation.
(b) Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel, or its shareholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel, or its shareholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct.
SECTION 7.03 Contractual Rights; Applicability. The right to be indemnified or to the reimbursement or advancement of expenses pursuant hereto (i) is a contract right based upon good and valuable consideration, pursuant to which the person entitled thereto may bring suit as if the provisions hereof were set forth in a separate written contract between the Corporation and the director or officer, (ii) is intended to be retroactive and shall be available with respect to events occurring prior to the adoption hereof, and (iii) shall continue to exist after the rescission or restrictive modification hereof with respect to events occurring prior thereto.
SECTION 7.04 Requested Service. Any director or officer of the Corporation serving, in any capacity, (i) another corporation of which a majority of the shares entitled to vote in the election of its directors is held by the Corporation, or (ii) any employee benefit plan of the Corporation or of any corporation referred to in clause (i), shall be deemed to be doing so at the request of the Corporation.
SECTION 7.05 Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on any person by Sections 7.01 and 7.02 shall not be exclusive of and shall be in addition to any other right which such person may have or may hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, Code of Regulations, Bylaws, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
SECTION 7.06 Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against such expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
This premium content is locked for FC&S Coverage Interpretation Subscribers
Enjoy unlimited access to the trusted solution for successful interpretation and analyses of complex insurance policies.
- Quality content from industry experts with over 60 years insurance experience, combined
- Customizable alerts of changes in relevant policies and trends
- Search and navigate Q&As to find answers to your specific questions
- Filter by article, discussion, analysis and more to find the exact information you’re looking for
- Continually updated to bring you the latest reports, trending topics, and coverage analysis
Already have an account? Sign In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate access, please contact our Sales Department at 1-800-543-0874 or email [email protected]