Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Sections 6.5 and 6.6 of the Corporation’s Articles of Organization set forth circumstances under which directors, officers, employees and agents of the Corporation may be insured or indemnified against liability which they incur in their capacities as such:
Section 6.5. Indemnification of Directors and Others.
(a) Right to Indemnification. Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or otherwise (hereinafter a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was (a) a Director of the Corporation, or (b) serving, at the request of the Corporation as evidenced by a resolution of the Board of Directors prior to the occurrence of the event to which the indemnification relates, as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (such persons described in (a) and (b) are sometimes hereinafter referred to as an “Indemnitee”), whether the basis of such Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as such a Director or officer of the Corporation or as such other director, officer, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as such a Director or officer of the Corporation or as such other director, officer, employee or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the Massachusetts Business Corporation Act (the “MBCA”), 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 permitted prior thereto), against all expense, liability and loss (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such Indemnitee in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to be such a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 6.5(c) with respect to Proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify any such Indemnitee in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized or ratified by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The right to indemnification conferred in this Section 6.5 shall be a contract right and shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition (hereinafter an “Advancement of Expenses”); provided, however, that, if the MBCA so requires, an Advancement of Expenses incurred by an Indemnitee shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking made in accordance with the MBCA (hereinafter an “Undertaking”), by or on behalf of such Indemnitee, which shall include, without limitation, an undertaking to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (hereinafter a “Final Adjudication”) that such Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Section 6.5 or otherwise. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any indemnification hereunder shall be provided only to the extent permitted by 12 U.S.C. Section 1828(k) and the regulations issued thereunder.
(b) Indemnification of Employees and Agents of the Corporation. The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to indemnification, and to an Advancement of Expenses, to any officer, employee or agent of the Corporation to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Section 6.5.
(c) Right of Indemnitee to Bring Suit. If a claim under this Section 6.5 is not paid in full by the Corporation within 60 days after a written claim has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an Advancement of Expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be 20 days, the Indemnitee may at any time hereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim. If the Indemnitee is successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an Advancement of Expenses pursuant to the terms of an Undertaking, the Indemnitee shall also be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit. In any suit brought by the Indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification hereunder (but not in a suit brought by the Indemnitee to enforce a right to an Advancement of Expenses) it shall be a defense that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the MBCA. In addition, in any suit by the Corporation to recover an Advancement of Expenses pursuant to the terms of an Undertaking, the Corporation shall be entitled to recover such expenses upon a Final Adjudication that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the MBCA. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel, or Shareholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such suit that indemnification of the Indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because the Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the MBCA, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel or Shareholders) that the Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that the Indemnitee has not met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by the Indemnitee, be a defense to such suit. In any suit brought by the Indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification or to an Advancement of Expenses hereunder, or by the
Corporation to recover an Advancement of Expenses pursuant to the terms of an Undertaking, the burden of proving that the Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such Advancement of Expenses, under this Section 6.5 or otherwise shall be on the Corporation.
(d) Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights to indemnification and to Advancement of Expenses conferred in this Section 6.5 shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under these Bylaws, the Articles of Organization or any statute, agreement, vote of Shareholders or of disinterested Directors or otherwise.
(e) Insurance. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or any director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any 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 MBCA. The Corporation’s obligation to provide indemnification under this Section 6.5 shall be offset to the extent of any other source of indemnification or any otherwise applicable insurance coverage under a policy maintained by the Corporation or any other person.
(f) Amendments. Without the consent of a person entitled to the indemnification and other rights provided in this Section 6.5 (unless otherwise required by the MBCA), no amendment modifying or terminating such rights shall adversely affect such person’s rights under this Section 6.5 with respect to the period prior to such amendment.
(g) Savings Clause. If this Section 6.5 or any portion hereof shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the Corporation shall nevertheless indemnify each Indemnitee as to any liabilities and expenses with respect to any proceeding to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable portion of this Section 6.5 that shall not have been invalidated and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
Section 6.6. Limitation of Liability of Directors.
(a) Limitation of Liability. No Director of the Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a Director notwithstanding any provision of law imposing such liability; provided, however, that this Section 6.6 shall not eliminate or limit any liability of a Director (a) for any breach of the Director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its shareholders, (b) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (c) for improper distributions under Section 6.40 of Chapter 156D of the Massachusetts General Laws or (d) with respect to any transaction from which the Director derived an improper personal benefit.
(b) Amendment. No amendment or repeal of this Section 6.6 shall adversely affect the rights and protection afforded to a Director of this Corporation under this Section 6.6 for acts or omissions occurring prior to such amendment or repeal. If the Massachusetts General Laws is hereafter amended to further eliminate or limit the personal liability of Directors or to authorize corporate action to further eliminate or limit such liability, then the liability of the Directors of this Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Massachusetts General Laws as so amended.
Item 9. Undertakings.
The Corporation hereby undertakes:
1.The undersigned Corporation hereby undertakes:
(a) 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 of 1933;
(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 Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 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)(i) and (a)(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 Commission by the Corporation pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference herein.
(b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c) 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.
2.The undersigned Corporation hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Corporation’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
3.Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Corporation pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Corporation has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Corporation of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Corporation 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 Corporation 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 of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.