exv10w16









Exhibit 10.16




MEDQUIST INC.




2002 STOCK OPTION PLAN



1. Purpose of Plan




          The purpose of this 2002 Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”) is to provide additional incentive to
officers, other key employees, and non-employee directors of MedQuist Inc., a New Jersey
corporation (the “Company”), and each present or future parent or subsidiary corporation, by
encouraging them to invest in shares of the Company’s common stock, no par value (“Common Stock”),
and thereby acquire a proprietary interest in the Company and an increased personal interest in the
Company’s continued success and progress.



2. Aggregate Number of Shares




          1,500,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock shall be the aggregate number of shares which
may be issued under this Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of any change in the
outstanding shares of the Common Stock of the Company by reason of a stock dividend, stock split,
combination of shares, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, transfer of assets, reorganization,
conversion or what the Committee (defined in Section 4 (a)), deems in its sole discretion to be
similar circumstances,





 









 







the aggregate number and kind of shares which may be issued under this Plan shall be
appropriately adjusted in a manner determined in the sole discretion of the Committee. Reacquired
shares of the Company’s Common Stock, as well as unissued shares, may be used for the purpose of
this Plan. Common Stock of the Company subject to options which have terminated unexercised, either
in whole or in part, shall be available for future options granted under this Plan.



3. Class of Persons Eligible to Receive Options




          All officers and key employees of the Company and of any present or future Company parent or
subsidiary corporation are eligible to receive an option or options under this Plan. All
non-employee directors of the Company and of any present or future Company parent or subsidiary
corporation are also eligible to receive an option or options under this Plan. The individuals who
shall, in fact, receive an option or options shall be selected by the Committee, in its sole
discretion, except as otherwise specified in Section 4 hereof. No individual may receive options
under this Plan for more than 80% of the total number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock
authorized for issuance under this Plan.




          Unless otherwise amended by the Committee, each person who is not an employee of the Company
or any Company subsidiary and who is a director of the Company as of June 1 of each year shall
automatically be granted an option to purchase 3,000 shares of the Common Stock. The foregoing
automatic grant may be modified or eliminated from time to time by vote of a majority of the Board
of Directors who are not eligible to receive options pursuant to the foregoing automatic grant.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of any change in the capitalization of the Company,
such as by stock dividend, stock split, or what the Committee of









 









 







the Company deems in its sole discretion to be similar circumstances, the number and kind of shares
which may be issued under this Plan shall be automatically adjusted by the Committee of the
Company.



4. Administration of Plan





     a. This Plan shall be administered by the Company’s Board of Directors or by an
Option Committee (“Committee”) appointed by the Company’s Board of Directors. The Committee shall
consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of five members of the Board of Directors, each of whom
shall be a “Non-Employee Director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 (b) (3) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any future corresponding rule, except that the failure of the
Committee for any reason to be composed solely of Non-Employee Directors shall not prevent an
option from being considered granted under this Plan. The Committee shall, in addition to its other
authority and subject to the provisions of this Plan, determine which individuals shall in fact be
granted an option or options, whether the option shall be an Incentive Stock Option or a
Non-Qualified Stock Option (as such terms are defined in Section 5(a)), the number of shares to be
subject to each of the options, the time or times at which the options shall be granted, the rate
of option exercisability, and, subject to Section 5 hereof, the price at which each of the options
is exercisable and the duration of the option. The term “Committee”, as used in this Plan and the
options granted hereunder, refers to either the Board of Directors or to the Committee, whichever
is then administering this Plan.



     b. The Committee shall adopt such rules for the conduct of its business and
administration of this Plan as it considers desirable. A majority of the members of the Committee
shall constitute a quorum for all purposes. The vote or written consent of a majority of the
members of the Committee on a particular matter shall constitute the act of the Committee on such
matter. The Committee shall have the right to construe the Plan and the options issued pursuant to
it, to correct defects and omissions and to reconcile inconsistencies to the extent necessary to
effectuate the Plan and the options issued pursuant to it, and such action shall be final, binding
and conclusive upon all parties concerned. No member of the Committee or the Board of Directors
shall be liable for any act or omission (whether or not negligent) taken or omitted in good faith,
or for the exercise of an authority or discretion granted in connection with the Plan to a
Committee or the Board of Directors, or for the acts or omissions of any other members of a
Committee or the Board of Directors. Subject to the numerical limitations on Committee membership
set forth in Section 4(a) hereof, the Board of Directors may at any time appoint additional members
of the Committee and may at any time remove any member of the Committee with or without cause.
Vacancies in the Committee, however caused, may be filled by the Board of Directors, if it so
desires.


5. Incentive Stock Options and Non-Qualified Stock Options




     a. Options issued pursuant to this Plan may be either Incentive Stock Options
granted pursuant to Section 5(b) hereof or Non-Qualified Stock Options granted
pursuant to Section 5(c) hereof, as determined by the Committee. An “Incentive Stock Option”
is an option which satisfies all of the requirements of Section 422(b) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and the regulations thereunder, and a “Non-Qualified Stock option”
is an option which either does not satisfy all of those requirements or the terms of the option



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provide that it will not be treated as an Incentive Stock Option. The Committee may grant both an
Incentive Stock Option and a Non-Qualified Stock Option to the same person, or more than one of
each type of option to the same person. The option, price for options issued under this Plan shall
be equal at least to the fair, market value (as defined below) of the Company’s Common Stock on the
date of the grant of the option. The fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock on ally
particular date shall mean the last reported sale price of a share of the Company’s Common Stock on
any stock exchange on which such stock is then listed or admitted to trading, or on the NASDAQ
National Market System or Small Cap NASDAQ, on such date, or if no sale took place on such day, the
last such date on which a sale took place, or if the Common Stock is not then quoted on the NASDAQ
National Market System or Small Cap NASDAQ, or listed or admitted to trading on any stock exchange,
the average of the bid and asked prices in the over-the-counter market on such date, or if none of
the foregoing, a price determined in good faith by the Committee to equal the fair market value per
share of the Common Stock.




     b. Subject to the authority of the Committee set forth in Section 4(a), hereof,
Incentive Stock Options issued pursuant to this Plan shall be issued in such form as the Committee
may determine from time to time, and shall contain substantially the terms and conditions set forth
herein. Incentive Stock Options shall not be exercisable after the expiration of ten years from the
date such. options are granted, unless terminated earlier under the terms of the option, except
that options granted to individuals described in Section 422(b) (6) of the Code shall conform to
the provisions of Section 422(c) (5) of the Code. Each of the options granted pursuant to this
Section 5(b) is intended, if possible, to be an “Incentive Stock Option” as that term is defined in
Section 422(b) of the Code and the regulations thereunder. In the event this Plan or any option
granted pursuant to this Section 5(b) is in any way inconsistent with the applicable legal
requirements of the Code or the regulations thereunder for an Incentive Stock Option, this Plan and
such option shall be deemed automatically amended as of the date hereof to conform to such legal
requirements, if such conformity may be achieved by amendment.



     c. Subject to the authority of the Committee set forth in Section 4(a) hereof,
Non-Qualified Stock Options issued to non-employee directors, officers and other key employees
pursuant to this Plan shall be issued in such form as the Committee may determine from time to
time, and shall contain substantially the terms and conditions set forth herein. Non-Qualified
Stock Options shall expire ten years after the date they are granted, unless terminated earlier
under the option terms.



     d. Neither the Company nor any of its current or future parent, subsidiaries or
affiliates, nor their officers, directors, shareholders, stock option plan committees, employees or
agents shall have any liability to any optionee in the event (i) an option granted pursuant to
Section 5(b) hereof does not qualify as an “Incentive Stock Option” as that term is used in Section
422(b) of the Code and the regulations thereunder; (ii) any optionee does not obtain the tax
treatment pertaining to an Incentive Stock Option; or (iii) any option granted pursuant to Section
5(c) hereof is an “Incentive Stock Option.”



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6. Amendment, Supplement, Suspension and Termination




          Options shall not be granted pursuant to this Plan after the expiration of ten years from the
date the Plan is adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company. The Board of Directors reserves
the right at any time, and from time to time, to amend or supplement this Plan in any way, or to
suspend or terminate it, effective as of such date, which date may be either before or after the
taking of such action, as may be specified by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that such
action shall not, without the consent of the optionee, affect options granted under the Plan prior
to the actual date on which such action occurred. If an amendment or supplement of this Plan is
required by the Code or the regulations thereunder to be approved by the shareholders of the
Company in order to permit the granting of “Incentive Stock Options” (as that term is defined in
Section 422 (b) of the Code and regulations thereunder) pursuant to the amended or supplemented
Plan, such amendment or supplement shall also be approved by the shareholders of the Company in
such manner as is prescribed by the Code and the regulations thereunder. If the Board of Directors
voluntarily submits a proposed amendment, supplement, suspension or termination for shareholder
approval, such submission shall not require any future amendments, supplements, suspensions or
terminations (whether or not relating to the same provision or subject matter) to be similarly
submitted for shareholder approval.



7. Effectiveness of Plan




          This Plan shill become effective on the date of its adoption by the Company’s Board of
Directors, subject however to approval by the holders of the Company’s Common Stock in the manner
as prescribed in the Code and the regulations thereunder. Options may be granted under this Plan
prior to obtaining shareholder approval, provided such options shall not be exercisable until
shareholder approval is obtained.



8. General Conditions




     a. Nothing contained in this Plan or any option granted pursuant to this Plan
shall confer upon any employee the right to continue in the employ of the Company or any affiliated
or subsidiary corporation or interfere in any way with the rights of the Company or any affiliated
or subsidiary corporation to terminate his employment in any way.



     b. Nothing contained in this Plan or any option granted pursuant to this Plan
shall confer upon any director the right to continue as a director of the Company or any affiliated
or subsidiary corporation or interfere in any way with the rights of the Company or any affiliated
or subsidiary corporation, or their respective shareholders, to terminate the directorship of any
such director.



     c. Corporate action constituting an offer of stock for sale to any person under
the terms of the options to be granted hereunder shall be deemed complete as of the
date when the Committee authorizes the grant of the option to the such person, regardless of
when the option is actually delivered to such person or acknowledged or agreed to by him.



     d. The terms “parent corporation” and “subsidiary corporation” as used throughout
this Plan, and the options granted pursuant to this Plan, shall (except as otherwise provided in
the option form) have the meaning that is ascribed to that term when contained in Section 422(b) of



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the Code and the regulations thereunder, and the Company shall be deemed to be the grantor
corporation for purposes of applying such meaning.




     e. References in this Plan to the Code shall be deemed to also refer to the
corresponding provisions of any future United States revenue law.



     f. The use of the masculine pronoun shall include the feminine gender whenever
appropriate.




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