Item 6.
Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Florida law permits, under certain circumstances, the indemnification of any person with respect to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, to which such person was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party, by reason of his or her being an officer, director, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against liability incurred in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The termination of any such third-party action by judgment, order, settlement, or conviction or upon a plea of
nolo contendere
or its equivalent does not, of itself, create a presumption that the person (i) did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation or (ii) with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
In the case of proceedings by or in the right of the corporation, Florida law permits indemnification of any person by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against liability incurred in connection with such proceeding, including appeals thereof; provided, however, that the officer, director, employee or agent acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification is made where such person is adjudged liable, unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.
To the extent that such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defending against any such proceeding, Florida law provides that he or she shall be indemnified against expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection therewith.
Also, under Florida law, expenses incurred by an officer or director in defending a civil or criminal proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if he or she is ultimately found not to be entitled to indemnification by the corporation pursuant to this section. Expenses incurred by other employees and agents may be paid in advance upon such terms or conditions that the board of directors deems appropriate.
Our Bylaws provides that we shall indemnify our officers, directors, and employees, and agents unless specifically approved in writing by the board of directors, to the fullest extent authorized by Section 607.0850 of the Florida Business Corporation Act, or the FBCA, as it existed when the Bylaws were adopted or as it may hereafter be amended, but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits us to provide broader indemnification rights than were permitted prior to such amendment. Such indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee, or agent;
provided, however
, that we shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnity in connection with an action, suit, or proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such action, suit, or proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the our board of directors.
The Bylaws also provide that such rights of indemnification shall be a contract right and shall include the right to be paid by us for all reasonable expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of final disposition;
provided, however
, that the payment of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his or her capacity as a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay amounts so advanced if it should be determined ultimately that such director or officer is not entitled to be indemnified under the Bylaws or otherwise.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act, as amended, may be permitted to our directors and officers, or to persons controlling us, pursuant to our Bylaws or Florida law, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
In addition to the authority granted to us by Florida law to indemnify our directors, certain other provisions of the Florida Act have the effect of further limiting the personal liability of our directors. Pursuant to Florida law, a director of a Florida corporation cannot be held personally liable for monetary damages to the corporation or any other person for any act or failure to act regarding corporate management or policy except in the case of certain qualifying breaches of the director’s duties.
The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and officers. These agreements provide that the Company will indemnify each of its directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The Company also maintains a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy that insures the Company’s directors and officers against such liabilities as are customarily covered by such policies.
Item 9.
Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;
Provided, however
, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
bona fide
offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
bona fide
offering thereof.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.