Exhibit 10.1
INDEMNITY
AGREEMENT
This Indemnity Agreement (“
Agreement ”) is made as of
,
2009 by and between STR Holdings, Inc. a Delaware corporation
(the “ Company ”), and
[ ]
(“ Indemnitee ”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, highly competent persons
have become more reluctant to serve publicly-held corporations as
directors, officers or in other capacities unless they are provided
with adequate protection through insurance or adequate
indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions
against them arising out of their service to and activities on
behalf of the corporation.
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of
the Company (the “ Board ”) has determined that,
in order to attract and retain qualified individuals, the Company
will maintain on an ongoing basis, at its sole expense, liability
insurance to protect persons serving the Company and its
subsidiaries from certain liabilities. The Certificate of
Incorporation (the “ Charter ”) of the Company
and the Bylaws (the “ Bylaws ”) of the Company
provide for indemnification of the officers and directors of the
Company. Indemnitee may also be entitled to indemnification
pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law (“
DGCL ”). The Charter, Bylaws and the DGCL
expressly provide that the indemnification provisions set forth
therein are not exclusive, and thereby contemplate that contracts
may be entered into between the Company and members of the board of
directors, officers and other persons with respect to
indemnification.
WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating
to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the
difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons.
WHEREAS, the Board has determined
that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such
persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s
stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons
that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the
future.
WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent
and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to
indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to
the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will
serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that
they will not be so indemnified.
WHEREAS, this Agreement is a
supplement to and in furtherance of the Charter and Bylaws and any
resolutions adopted pursuant thereto, and shall not be deemed a
substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of
Indemnitee thereunder.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the premises and the covenants contained herein, the Company and
Indemnitee do hereby covenant and agree as follows:
1.
Services to the
Company .
Indemnitee will serve as a director and/or officer of the Company
or Enterprise for so long as Indemnitee is duly elected or
appointed or until Indemnitee tenders his resignation or is
terminated.
2.
Definitions.
For purposes of this
Agreement, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
(a)
“Corporate Status”
describes the status of a person who is or was a director, officer,
trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent of
the Company or of any other Enterprise which such person is or was
serving at the request of the Company.
(b)
“Disinterested Director”
shall mean a director of the Company who is not and was not a party
to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by
Indemnitee.
(c)
“Enterprise” shall mean
the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company and any other
corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited
partnership, limited liability partnership, joint venture, trust,
employee benefit plan or other Enterprise of which Indemnitee is or
was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer,
employee, trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or
agent.
(d)
“Exchange Act” shall
mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(e)
“Expenses” shall include
attorneys’ fees and costs, retainers, court costs, transcript
costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating
costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage,
delivery service fees, and all other disbursements or expenses in
connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or
defend, investigating, being or preparing to be a witness in, or
otherwise participating in, a Proceeding. Expenses also shall
include Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting
from any Proceeding, including without limitation, the premium,
security for, and other costs relating to any cost bond,
supersedeas bond, or other appeal bond or its
equivalent.
(f)
“Independent Counsel”
shall mean a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is
experienced in matters of corporation law and neither presently is,
nor in the past five years has been, retained to represent:
(i) the Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either
such party (other than with respect to matters concerning the
Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under
similar indemnification agreements), or (ii) any other party
to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification
hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term
“Independent Counsel” shall not include any person who,
under the applicable standards of professional conduct then
prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing
either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine
Indemnitee’s rights under this Agreement.
(g)
“Person” shall have the
meaning as set forth in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the
Exchange Act; provided, however, that Person shall exclude
(i) the Company, (ii) any trustee or other fiduciary
holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company,
and (iii)
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any corporation owned, directly or indirectly,
by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same
proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company.
(h)
The term “Proceeding”
shall include any threatened, pending or completed action, suit,
claim, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism,
investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual,
threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought in the right of
the Company or otherwise and whether of a civil (including
intentional or unintentional tort claims), criminal, administrative
or investigative nature, in which Indemnitee was, is or will be
involved as a party or otherwise by reason of the fact that
Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, by
reason of any action taken by him or of any inaction on his part
while acting as director or officer of the Company, or by reason of
the fact that he is or was serving at the request of the Company as
a director, officer, trustee, general partner, managing member,
fiduciary, employee or agent of any other Enterprise, in each case
whether or not serving in such capacity at the time any liability
or expense is incurred for which indemnification, reimbursement, or
advancement of expenses can be provided under this
Agreement.
(i)
“Subsidiary” shall mean,
in respect of any Person, any corporation, association, limited
liability company, partnership or other business entity of which
more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of capital stock
or other interests (including partnership or membership interests)
entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to
vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is
at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by
(i) such Person, (ii) such Person and one or more
Subsidiaries of such Person or (iii) one or more Subsidiaries
of such Person.
(j)
References to “fines”
shall include any excise tax assessed with respect to any employee
benefit plan; references to “serving at the request of the
Company” shall include any service as a director, officer,
trustee, partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent of
the Company or which imposes duties on, or involves services by,
such director, officer, trustee, partner, managing member,
fiduciary, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit
plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in
good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best
interests of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee
benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not
opposed to the best interests of the Company” as such terms
are referred to in this Agreement and used in the DGCL.
3.
Indemnity in Third-Party
Proceedings. The
Company shall indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee in accordance
with the provisions of this Section 3 if Indemnitee is
made, or is threatened to be made, a party to or a participant in
(as a witness or otherwise) any Proceeding, other than a Proceeding
by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its
favor. Pursuant to this Section 3 , Indemnitee
shall be indemnified against all Expenses, judgments, liabilities,
fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement (including, without
limitation, all interest, assessments and other charges paid or
payable in connection with or in respect of any of the foregoing)
(collectively, “ Losses ”) actually and
reasonably incurred by Indemnitee or on his or her behalf in
connection with such Proceeding or any action, discovery event,
claim, issue or matter therein or related thereto, if Indemnitee
acted in good faith, for a purpose which he reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, in
the case of a criminal Proceeding, in addition, had no reasonable
cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
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4.
Indemnity in Proceedings by or in
the Right of the Company. The Company shall indemnify and hold
harmless Indemnitee in accordance with the provisions of this
Section 4 if Indemnitee was, is, or is threatened to be
made, a party to or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in
any Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a
judgment in its favor. Pursuant to this Section 4
, Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses actually and
reasonably incurred by him or on his behalf in connection with such
Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if Indemnitee
acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in
or not opposed to the best interests of the Company. No
indemnification for Expenses shall be made under this
Section 4 in respect of any claim, issue or matter as
to which Indemnitee shall have been finally adjudged by a court in
a non-appealable decision to be liable to the Company, unless and
only to the extent that any court in which the Proceeding was
brought or the Delaware Court (as defined below) shall determine
upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in
view of all the circumstances of the case, Indemnitee is fairly and
reasonably entitled to indemnification.
5.
Indemnification for Expenses of a
Party Who is Wholly or Partly Successful. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee is a party to (or a
participant in) and is successful, on the merits or otherwise, in
any Proceeding or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein,
in whole or in part, the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless
Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by
him in connection therewith. If Indemnitee is not wholly
successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on the merits or
otherwise, as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or
matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify and hold
harmless Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably
incurred by him or on his behalf in connection with each
successfully resolved claim, issue or matter. If the
Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding, the Company
also shall indemnify and hold harmless Indemnitee against all
Expenses reasonably incurred in connection with a claim, issue or
matter related to any claim, issue, or matter on which the
Indemnitee was successful. For purposes of this
Section 5 and without limitation, the ter