Indemnification of Directors, Officers, Employees, Agents, National Adjudicatory Council and Committee Members
Sec. 10.1 (a) FINRA Regulation shall indemnify, and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law as it presently exists or may thereafter be amended, any person (and the heirs, executors, and administrators of such person) who, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a Director, officer, or employee of FINRA Regulation or a National Adjudicatory Council or committee member, or is or was a Director, officer, or employee of FINRA Regulation who is or was serving at the request of FINRA Regulation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise, or non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, is or was a party, or is threatened to be made a party to:
(i) any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of FINRA Regulation) against expenses (including attorneys' fees and disbursements), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such action, suit, or proceeding; or
(ii) any threatened, pending, or completed action or suit by or in the right of FINRA Regulation to procure a judgment in its favor against expenses (including attorneys' fees and disbursements) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit.
(b) FINRA Regulation shall advance expenses (including attorneys' fees and disbursements) to persons described in subsection (a); provided, however, that the payment of expenses incurred by such person in advance of the final disposition of the matter shall be conditioned upon receipt of a written undertaking by that person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Section or otherwise.
(c) FINRA Regulation may, in its discretion, indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law as it presently exists or may thereafter be amended, any person (and the heirs, executors, and administrators of such persons) who, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was an agent of FINRA Regulation or is or was an agent of FINRA Regulation who is or was serving at the request of FINRA Regulation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, trust, enterprise, or non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, was or is a party, or is threatened to be made a party to any action or proceeding described in subsection (a).
(d) FINRA Regulation may, in its discretion, pay the expenses (including attorneys' fees and disbursements) reasonably and actually incurred by an agent in defending any action, suit, or proceeding in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that the payment of expenses incurred by such person in advance of the final disposition of the matter shall be conditioned upon receipt of a written undertaking by that person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Section or otherwise.
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing or any other provision of these By-Laws, no advance shall be made by FINRA Regulation to an agent or non-officer employee if a determination is reasonably and promptly made by the Board by a majority vote of those Directors who have not been named parties to the action, even though less than a quorum, or, if there are no such Directors or if such Directors so direct, by independent legal counsel, that, based upon the facts known to the Board or such counsel at the time such determination is made: (1) the person seeking advancement of expenses (i) acted in bad faith, or (ii) did not act in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of FINRA Regulation; (2) with respect to any criminal proceeding, such person believed or had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful; or (3) such person deliberately breached his or her duty to FINRA Regulation.
(f) The indemnification provided by this Section in a specific case shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification may be entitled, both as to action in his or her official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a Director, officer, National Adjudicatory Council or committee member, employee, or agent and shall inure to the benefit of such person's heirs, executors, and administrators.
(g) Notwithstanding the foregoing, but subject to subsection (j), FINRA Regulation shall be required to indemnify any person identified in subsection (a) in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if the initiation of such proceeding (or part thereof) by such person was authorized by the Board.
(h) FINRA Regulation's obligation, if any, to indemnify or advance expenses to any person who is or was serving at its request as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise, or non-profit entity shall be reduced by any amount such person may collect as indemnification or advancement from such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise, or non-profit entity.
(i) Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Section shall not adversely affect any right or protection hereunder of any person respecting any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or modification.
(j) If a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Article is not paid in full within 60 days after a written claim therefor by an indemnified person has been received by FINRA Regulation, the indemnified person may file suit to recover the unpaid amount of such claim and, if successful in whole or in part, shall be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such claim. In any such action, FINRA Regulation shall have the burden of proving that the indemnified person is not entitled to the requested indemnification or advancement of expenses under Delaware law.
Amended by SR-FINRA-2008-046 eff. Nov. 6, 2008. Amended by SR-NASD-97-71 eff. Jan. 15, 1998. |