Company: DERM
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001104659-25-036338
Chunk: 41

Company: Journey Medical Corp
Filing Date: 2025-04-18
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 41
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 Annex A to this proxy statement is a form of the proposed Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would be adopted should this Proposal No. 3 be approved by stockholders at the Annual Meeting. Officer Exculpation Article VIII of our Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation currently includes a provision, authorized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), that eliminates the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. Prior to 2022, the DGCL did not allow for similar elimination or limitation of officers’ personal liability. As a result, stockholder plaintiffs employed tactics of bringing certain claims against individual officers when such claims would otherwise be exculpated and dismissed if brought against directors. However, the State of Delaware, which is the Company’s state of incorporation, amended Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL to enable Delaware corporations to limit the personal liability of certain of their officers in limited circumstances (the “Section 102(b)(7) Amendment”). The Section 102(b)(7) Amendment was adopted to address inconsistent treatment between officers and directors and address rising litigation and insurance costs for stockholders. The Board believes that there is a need for directors and officers to remain free of the risk of financial ruin as a result of an unintentional misstep. The nature of the role of directors and officers often requires them to make decisions on crucial matters. Frequently, directors and officers must make decisions in response to time-sensitive opportunities and challenges in an evolving macroeconomic and regulatory environment, without the benefit of hindsight. The board of directors believes that exculpation provisions empower both directors and officers to exercise their best judgment in furtherance of stockholder interests. In addition, adopting an exculpation provision that aligns with Delaware law could prevent costly and protracted litigation that distracts our officers from important operational and strategic matters. The Board also expects that exculpation clauses applicable to officers could become widely used by public corporations, including our peers, and that failing to adopt the Officer Exculpation Provisions could negatively impact our ability to recruit and retain exceptional officer candidates who value the protection from potential exposure to liabilities, costs of defense and other risks of proceedings that would be afforded by protection similar to that afforded by the Officer Exculpation Provisions. Additionally, the Officer Exculpation Provisions will align the protections for our officers with those protections already afforded