(a) A corporation may indemnify a person who was, is, or is threatened to be made a party to a completed, pending, or threatened action or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise. Indemnification may include reimbursement of expenses, attorney fees, judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, the person had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful. The termination of an action or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, does not create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to a criminal action or proceeding, the person had reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful.
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 10.06.490

  • action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • approval of the outstanding shares: means approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
  • board: means the board of directors of a domestic or foreign corporation. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • director: means a natural person designated in the articles of incorporation or elected by the incorporators as a director and includes a natural person and successor of that person designated, elected, or appointed by any other name or title to act as a director. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, an estate, a trust if the interests of the beneficiaries are evidenced by a security, an unincorporated association, a government, a political subdivision of a government, or a combination of these entities. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • vote: includes authorization by written consent subject to the provisions of Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 10.06.990
(b) A corporation may indemnify a person who was, is, or is threatened to be made a party to a completed, pending, or threatened action by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise. Indemnification may include reimbursement for expenses and attorney fees actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of the action if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation. Indemnification may not be made in respect of any claim, issue, or matter as to which the person has been adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of the person’s duty to the corporation except to the extent that the court in which the action was brought determines upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability, in view of all the circumstances of the case, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for expenses that the court considers proper.
(c) To the extent that a director, officer, employee, or agent of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of an action or proceeding referred to in (a) or (b) of this section, or in defense of a claim, issue, or matter in the action or proceeding, the director, officer, employee, or agent shall be indemnified against expenses and attorney fees actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the defense.
(d) Unless otherwise ordered by a court, indemnification under (a) or (b) of this section may only be made by a corporation upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, employee, or agent is proper in the circumstances because the director, officer, employee, or agent has met the applicable standard of conduct set out in (a) and (b) of this section. The determination shall be made by

(1) the board by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not parties to the action or proceeding;
(2) independent legal counsel in a written opinion if a quorum under (1) of this subsection is

(A) not obtainable; or
(B) obtainable but a majority of disinterested directors so directs; or
(3) approval of the outstanding shares.
(e) The corporation may pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses incurred in defending a civil or criminal action or proceeding in advance of the final disposition in the manner provided in (d) of this section if

(1) in the case of a director or officer, the director or officer furnishes the corporation with a written affirmation of a good faith belief that the standard of conduct described in Alaska Stat. § 10.06.450(b) or 10.06.483(e) has been met;
(2) the director, officer, employee, or agent furnishes the corporation a written unlimited general undertaking, executed personally or on behalf of the individual, to repay the advance if it is ultimately determined that an applicable standard of conduct was not met; and
(3) a determination is made that the facts then known to those making the determination would not preclude indemnification under this chapter.
(f) The indemnification provided by this section is not exclusive of any other rights to which a person seeking indemnification may be entitled under a bylaw, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise, both as to action in the official capacity of the person and as to action in another capacity while holding the office. The right to indemnification continues as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee, or agent, and inures to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of the person.
(g) A corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise against any liability asserted against the person and incurred by the person in that capacity, or arising out of that status, whether or not the corporation has the power to indemnify the person against the liability under the provisions of this section.
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