Document:

Exhibit 10.11

 

	
Smith   Executive Employment Agreement
    	
 
    	

    

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of this 1st day of November, 2009 (the “Effective Date”), by and between Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation (the “Company”) and Kevin Kelly an individual (“Employee”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Company is in the business manufacturing and distributing electric delivery vehicles; and

 

WHEREAS, the Company recognizes that the Employee commenced his employment on October 6, 2009 (“Date of Employment”) and now desires to establish employment of the Employee by written contract and Employee desires to contractually establish the employment by Company on the terms and conditions provided herein.

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, the mutual promises contained herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt, and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.                               Employment, Duties and Term.

 

(a)                                  Company hereby employs Employee as the Chief Financial Officer, and Employee hereby accepts such employment with Company on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.  In such capacity, Employee shall perform the duties appropriate to such office or position, and such other duties and responsibilities as are assigned to him from time to time by the Board of Directors of Company.  During the term of his employment with Company, Employee shall devote his full working time and best efforts to the performance of his duties under this Agreement for and on behalf of Company, and shall not work for anyone else without the express written consent of Company or engage in any activity in competition with or detrimental to Company or any affiliate of Company.  Employee shall follow all compliance rules and programs in all material respects adopted by Company from time to time.

 

(b)                                 This Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and end when it is terminated in accordance with Paragraph 3 of this Agreement (the “Termination Date”).  The period from the Effective Date to the Termination Date shall be referred to in this Agreement as the “Term.”

 

(c)                                  Employee’s services shall be performed primarily at a place of business of Company in the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area.

 

2.                               Compensation.

 

(a)                                  Base Compensation.  In consideration of the services rendered by Employee, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, Company will pay Employee during the Term of this Agreement a base salary of One Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($175,000.00) per year (the “Base Compensation”).  The Base Compensation shall be 

 

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payable in accordance with Company’s regular payroll practices.  Company will withhold from all compensation payable to Employee all applicable federal, state, and local withholding taxes.

 

(b)                                 Bonus.  Subject to the terms and conditions hereof and based on Employee’s performance during a calendar year, Employee shall be eligible to earn on a yearly basis beginning in the current calendar year and thereafter during the Term of this Agreement a performance bonus equal to up to one (1) times his Base Compensation (the “Performance Bonus”).  In the initial calendar year of this Agreement, the minimum requirements for consideration of a Performance Bonus shall be based on the following criteria: establishment of the US corporation and foundational documents and agreements, executing initial sales and marketing action plans(with minimum of $10,000,000.00 in orders), opening production facility, and securing initial financing (minimum of $10,000,000.00).  In subsequent calendar years, eligibility for consideration for a the Performance Bonus shall be based on specific requirements as outlined by the Board prior to year beginning.  Any Performance Bonus shall be at the discretion of the CEO and subject to all taxes and standard payroll withholdings and shall be paid within thirty (30) days of the end of the calendar year in which the Performance Bonus was earned.

 

If Employee is terminated by the Company under subsections (ii), (iv), or (vi), of Paragraph 3, and Employee up until termination was on track to receive a Performance Bonus, Employee shall be entitled to a prorated Performance Bonus for the calendar year in which the termination occurs, payable to Employee as and when such Performance Bonus would have been paid had Employee remained employed with the Company.

 

(c)                                  Equity Interests.  Employee will be issued stock options in a separate stock option or incentive plan which will provide stock options in the Company in the amount of one percent (1%) of the Company’s total equity as further defined in said Plan (Employee Options).   Employee shall also be entitled to stock options as defined in a separate stock option retention plan (Stock Option Retention Plan).  Employee may participate in additional stock, stock option, or stock incentive programs offered by the Company (Programs), as permitted by law.  In the event Employee is entitled to participate in such Programs, the Employee shall comply with all laws and regulations governing said program. With respect to said Programs, the Employee agrees to execute any instruments or documents governing the repurchase of the stock upon termination of this Agreement and take all other actions reasonably requested by the Company in order to affect the issuance of Employee’s shares.

 

In regard to said Employee Options, commencing on the Employee’s date of hire there shall be a two (2) year period wherein the options shall not be vested or exercisable by the Employee (“Two-Year Restriction”).  Following said Two-Year Restriction, the Employee shall have full right to exercise said options at will.  If during said Two-Year Restriction the Employee voluntarily terminates his or her employment with the Company or is terminated pursuant to Paragraph 3(a)(1), the Employee shall forfeit all of the Employee Options.  The Two-Year Restriction shall cease and become void in the event of (i) the Company going public or (ii) a change of control.

 

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(d)                                 Vacation.  Employee will be entitled to four (4) weeks vacation per year; provided, however, except as otherwise provided by applicable law: (1) Company shall not pay Employee any additional compensation for any vacation time which is not used prior to the end of a calendar year or any earlier termination of employment, and (2) any vacation time which is not used prior to the end of a calendar year may not be used in any subsequent year.  If during the Term, Employee is employed by Company for only part of a calendar year, Employee shall be entitled to a pro rata amount of vacation days during such partial calendar year.

 

(e)                                  Benefits.  During the Term, Employee shall be entitled to participate in any employee benefit plans (including retirement, insurance, fringe benefit and other executive benefit plans) generally provided by Company to full-time employees of Company, but only to the extent provided in such employee benefit plans and subject to eligibility requirements of such plans, and for so long as Company provides or offers such benefit plans.  Company reserves the right to modify, amend, or terminate such benefit plans at any time without prior notice.  Company will pay 100% of the cost of employee family health insurance coverage, AD&D, executive level Short and Long Term Disability and term life insurance (up to one (1) times salary or up to a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars, whichever is greater).    Company will provide a car allowance of seven hundred and fifty dollars per month for Employee and such car will be titled in the name of the Employee, and may be used as his or her own personal automobile.  Employee will be responsible for any income taxes resulting from the use of said car.  Company will provide to Employee memberships in professional associations.  Company will provide to Employee memberships in social or business clubs as may be deemed to be appropriate by the Company’s CEO.

 

(f)                                    Expense Reimbursement.  During the Term, Employee shall be entitled to be reimbursed in accordance with the policies of Company, as adopted from time to time, for all reasonable, ordinary, and necessary expenses incurred by Employee in connection with the performance of Employee’s duties of employment hereunder, including, but not limited to travel, entertainment, professional dues, professional associations, professional education, and subscriptions.

 

3.                               Termination.

 

(a)                                  This Agreement may be terminated as follows:

 

(i)                                     by Company for Cause;

 

(ii)                                  by Company, upon the death or Disability of Employee;

 

(iii)                               by Company, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to Employee without Cause;

 

(iv)                              by Employee, immediately without advance notice, for good reason; or

 

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(v)                                 by Employee, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to Company without good reason;

 

(vi)                              by Employee due to a change in majority ownership of Company; or

 

(vii)                           as may be expressly agreed in writing and signed by both parties.

 

(b)                                 Within thirty (30) days of termination of this Agreement under subsections (ii), (iii), (iv), (vi), or vii of this Paragraph 3, Company will pay Employee separation pay equal to the combined total of six (6) months of Employee’s Base Compensation.   Employee shall also receive, at Company expense, health insurance coverage for a period of six (6) months following the date of such termination.  Employee shall also receive all other accrued benefits, securities (stock), and outstanding expenses due as of the date of Termination.

 

(c)                                  For purposes of this Agreement, the following capitalized terms shall have the meaning set forth below:

 

(i)                                     “Cause” means the good faith and reasonable determination of the Board that the Employee has

 

(A)                              Materially breached any fiduciary duty or legal or contractual obligation to Company including a material breach of this Agreement;

 

(B)                                unreasonably failed to use his best efforts to promote the interests of Company or materially failed to perform his duties as reasonably directed by Company which is detrimental to the business, reputation, character or standing of the Company;

 

(C)                                been grossly negligent or engaged in willful misconduct, fraud, embezzlement, acts of dishonesty or a conflict of interest relating to the affairs of the Company;

 

(D)                               been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to (1) any crime relating to the business affairs of the Company; or

 

(E)                                 engaged in a willful violation of any federal or state securities laws.

 

(ii)                                  For the purposes of subsections (A) and (B) of this Paragraph 3(c)(i), Employee shall be given reasonable notice and opportunity to cure any deficiencies prior to being determined to have engaged in Cause.

 

(iii)  “Disability” means illness (mental or physical) or injury which, in the good faith and reasonable determination of Company, results in 

 

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Employee being unable to perform Employee’s duties for an aggregate of 120 days (whether or not consecutive) during any twelve-month period.

 

(iv)                              “Good Reason” shall be defined as a

 

(A) a material change in Employee’s title or responsibilities;

 

(B) Company’s failure to pay any payment obligation under this Agreement (taking into account any such grace periods and any right Company may have to withhold or delay any such payment);

 

(C) Company’s material breach of this Agreement; or

 

4.                               Confidential Relationship and Confidential Information.

 

(a)                                  Confidential Information.  Employee acknowledges that, during the course of his employment, he will have access to information relating to Company’s business that provides Company with a competitive advantage, that is not generally known by persons not employed by or providing services for Company and that could not easily be determined or learned by someone outside Company (“Confidential Information”).  Such Confidential Information includes both written information and information not reduced to writing and includes, without limitation:  (i) the identity of Company’s clients and prospective clients, including names, addresses and phone numbers, the characteristics, preferences and investment strategies of those clients, the types of services provided to and ordered by those clients; (ii) Company’s internal corporate policies related to those services, price lists, fee arrangements and terms of dealings with clients; (iii) the identity of Company’s sources in the field and off-site consultants and the terms and conditions on which Company transacts business with those sources and consultants; (iv) financial and sales information, including Company’s financial condition and performance and the compensation paid to other employees of Company; (v) information relating to inventions, discoveries and formulas, records, research and development data, trade secrets, processes, other methods of doing business, forecasts and business and marketing plans of Company and (vi) all Company Intellectual Property (as hereinafter defined).  Employee acknowledges that the Company has gathered such information at great cost and over time and that such information is not generally known and cannot easily be obtained from publicly available sources.  Confidential Information does not, however, include information that is or becomes known outside the Company through no act or failure to act by Employee.

 

(b)                                 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Confidential Information” shall not include, and the receiving Party shall not have any obligations under this Section 3 with respect to, such portion of any information which (i) is or becomes publicly known through no unlawful or other wrongful act or omission by receiving Party, any of its Representatives (defined in Section 5 below) or any other person or entity, but in such event limited solely to that part of the subject matter which is publicly known; (ii) becomes known to the receiving Party from a third party having the legal right to make an unrestricted 

 

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disclosure without a breach of any agreement by the receiving Party or such third party; (iii) is already known to the receiving Party on a non-confidential basis prior to the time of the disclosure of the Confidential Information by the Disclosing Party (iv) is expressly approved for use or release by the prior written authorization of the Disclosing Party, which shall be within said Disclosing Party’s discretion; or (v) is required to be disclosed by court order, governmental action, legal process or by applicable law, provided, however, that in such event the receiving Party shall first give written notice thereof to the Disclosing Party and shall fully cooperate (but at the Disclosing Party’s cost and expense) in the Disclosing Party’s attempt to obtain a protective order or other waiver or exclusion from the court or other applicable governmental or other authority.

 

(c)          Restriction on Use of Confidential Information.  Employee shall, both during and after his employment by Company, hold all Confidential Information in a fiduciary capacity.  Employee shall not directly or indirectly use or disclose such information except as may be necessary for the good faith performance of his services for Company or as reasonably necessary, in the opinion of counsel, to respond to or defend any claim(s) against Employee or Company.

 

(d)         Ownership of Confidential Information.  Employee acknowledges that any documents received or created by him during the course of his employment with Company that contains or pertains to Confidential Information are and will remain the sole property of Company.  Such documents include, without limitation, files, memoranda, correspondence, reports, client records, contact lists and compilations of information, however such information may be recorded and whether on hard copy or on a computer disk or magnetic disk or CD-ROM.  Employee shall return all such documents (including all copies) promptly upon the termination of his employment and shall not, during and after his employment, disclose those documents to anyone outside Company or use those documents for any purpose other than the advancement of Company’s interests, or as reasonably necessary, in the opinion of counsel, to respond to or defend any claim(s) against Employee or Company.

 

(e)          Legal Requirement.  No provision of this Paragraph 4 shall prohibit Employee from disclosing any Confidential Information as required by applicable law or pursuant to any court rule or order or as reasonably necessary, in the opinion of counsel, to respond to or defend any claim(s) against Employee or Company.

 

5.                               Restrictive Covenants.

 

(a)                                  Noncompetition; Non-solicitation.

 

(i)                                     Employee acknowledges that Company is engaged in a highly competitive business on a world-wide scale and that, by virtue of the position in which Employee is employed, his engaging in or working for or with any business which is directly competitive with Company would cause Company great and irreparable harm.  Employee also acknowledges that, by virtue of his employment, he has gained or will gain knowledge of the identity, characteristics, and preferences of Company’s clients, among other Confidential Information, and that Employee would inevitably have to draw 

 

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on such Confidential Information if he were to solicit or service Company’s clients on behalf of a competing business enterprise.

 

(ii)                                  Employee agrees that “Restricted Business” at any date means the goods, products and/or services of the type provided, marketed, sold, produced and/or developed by the Company during the 12 month period ending on that date.  The “Territory” for the purposes of this Paragraph 5 shall be anywhere in (x) the World, (y) North America and (z) the United States.  The parties acknowledge that the geographical limitations contained in (x), (y) and (z) are separate  covenants and are reasonable based on the world-wide nature of the Company’s business.

 

(iii)                               Accordingly, Employee agrees that during Employee’s employment with Company, whether or not under this Agreement, and thereafter for a period of twelve (12) months (the “Noncompetition Period”) he will not within the Territory:

 

(A)                              directly or indirectly, engage or invest in, own, manage, operate, finance, control or participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing, or control of or be employed by, associated with or in any manner connected with any entity or organization doing Restricted Business;

 

(B)                                directly or indirectly approach, advise, solicit or deal with, in competition with the Company, any entity or organization engaged in Restricted Business;

 

(C)                                directly or indirectly, for the purpose of competing with the Company:

 

(1)                                  induce or procure or attempt to induce or procure any person who is on the Relevant Date or was during the period of 12 months preceding the Relevant Date, a key employee or consultant of or under contract of services to the Company to leave his/her employment or service with the Company (whether or not that person would commit any breach of his or her employment or appointment by reason of leaving the service of the Company);

 

(2)                                  accept into employment or otherwise engage or use the services of any person who is on the Relevant Date, or during the period of 12 months preceding the Relevant Date, an employee  or consultant of or under contract of services to the Company;

 

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(D)                               provide technical, commercial or professional advice to any business or concern engaged in Restricted Business,

 

(E)                                 interfere or seek to interfere with the continuance of supplies to the Company (or terms relating to supplies) of any components, materials, goods or services.

 

(b)                                            Intellectual Property.

 

(i)                                     Employee shall disclose promptly to Company all ideas, inventions, discoveries, improvements, designs, formulae, processes, production methods and technological innovations (which, together with all intellectual property rights that might be available therein including, without limitation, patents, copyrights and trade secrets, shall hereinafter be referred to as “Intellectual Property”), whether or not patentable, which Employee may conceive or make, alone or with others, in connection with his employment with the Company from and after the date of this Agreement, whether or not during working hours, and which: (A) relate specifically to the business of Company; (B) are based on or derived from Employee’s knowledge of the actual or planned business activities of Company; or (C) are developed using existing Intellectual Property belonging to Company.

 

(ii)                                  Employee shall assign, and does hereby assign, to Company (and to bind his heirs, executors and administrators, to assign to the Company) all Intellectual Property covered by Paragraph 5(b)(i) hereof (collectively, “Company Intellectual Property”).

 

(iii)                               Without further compensation but at Company’s expense, Employee agrees to give all testimony and execute all patent applications, rights of priority, assignments and other documents, and in general do all lawful things reasonably requested of Employee by Company to enable Company to obtain, maintain and enforce its rights to such Company Intellectual Property.

 

(iv)                              All of Employee’s work product during his employment hereunder and all parts thereof shall be “work made for hire” for Company within the meaning of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, as amended from time to time, and for all other purposes, and Employee hereby quitclaims and assigns to Company any and all other rights he may have or acquire therein.  Accordingly, all right, title and interest in any and all materials, or other property, including, without limitation, trademarks, service marks and related rights, whether or not copyrightable, created, developed, adapted, formulated or improved by Employee (whether alone or in conjunction with any other person or employee), constituting Company Intellectual Property shall be owned exclusively by Company.  Employee will not have or claim to have under this Agreement, or otherwise, any right title

 

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or interest of any kind or nature whatsoever in any Company Intellectual Property.

 

(b)                                 Presentation of Corporate Opportunities to Board.  Any opportunity to use or to exploit any of the Intellectual Property of the type described in Section 5(b)(i) shall be deemed to be a “corporate opportunity” (as if Company were a corporation governed by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware) that must be offered to Company before being pursued by Employee outside of the scope of his employment hereunder.  If Employee wishes to pursue any such opportunity outside the scope of his employment hereunder, Employee shall present such Intellectual Property to the Board of Managers of Company (the “Board”), which shall consider the relevance and appropriateness of such Intellectual Property to Company and determine reasonably and in good faith whether such Intellectual Property should be deemed to be Company Intellectual Property within the meaning of this Paragraph 5.

 

6.                               Release.  Employee acknowledges that Company may provide the image, likeness, voice, or other characteristics of Employee in the services, materials, computer programs and other deliverables that Employee provides as a part of this Agreement (“Deliverables”).  Employee hereby consents to the use of such characteristics of Employee by Company in the products or services of Company and releases the Company, its agents, contractors, licensees and assigns from any claims which Employee has or may have for invasion of privacy, right of publicity, defamation, copyright infringement, or any other causes of action arising out of the use, adaptation, reproduction, distribution, broadcast, or exhibition of such characteristics (“Release”).

 

7.                               Enforcement.  Employee acknowledges that the restrictions contained in Sections 4 and 5 are fair, reasonable, and necessary for the protection of the legitimate business interests of Company and that Company will suffer irreparable harm in the event of an actual or threatened breach of any such provision by Employee.  Employee therefore consents to the entry of a restraining order, preliminary injunction, or other court order to enforce such provisions and expressly waives any security that might otherwise be required in connection with such relief.  Employee also agrees that any request for such relief by Company shall be in addition and without prejudice to any claim for monetary damages which Company might elect to assert.  Employee agrees that the terms of Sections 4 and 5 are in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other restrictive covenants agreed to by Employee with respect to Company.  For all purposes of Sections 4 and 5 the term “Company” means Company and each of its now existing or hereafter created or acquired  affiliated companies (including each Related Company), subsidiaries and parent companies, and their respective successors and assigns.

 

8.                               No Conflicting Obligations.  Employee represents and warrants to Company that he is not now under any obligation of a contractual or other nature to any person or entity which is inconsistent or in conflict with this Agreement, or which would prevent, limit or impair in any way the performance by him of his obligations hereunder.

 

9.                               Governing Law and Forum Selection.  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Missouri, without 

 

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respect to its principles of conflicts of laws, and the venue for any legal dispute related to this Agreement shall be Platte County, Missouri.  The provisions of this Agreement do not in any way limit or abridge any rights of Company, Related Company or any of their subsidiaries or other affiliates under the law of unfair competition, trade secret, copyright, patent, trademark or any other applicable law(s), all of which are in addition to and cumulative of Company’s rights under this Agreement.

 

10.                         Severability.  If any provision of this Agreement or the application of any such provision to any party or circumstances shall be determined by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement, or the application of such provision to such person or circumstances other than those to which it is so determined to be invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby, and each provision hereof shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law.  If the final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction declares that any provision of this Agreement, including, without limitation, any provision of Sections 4, 5 or 6 hereof, is invalid or unenforceable, the parties hereto agree that the court making the determination of invalidity or unenforceability shall have the power, and is hereby directed, to reduce the scope, duration or area of the provision, to delete specific words or phrases and to replace any invalid or unenforceable provision with a provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable provision, and this Agreement shall be enforced as so modified.

 

11.                         Survivability.  The provisions of this Agreement which by their terms call for performance subsequent to termination of Employee’s employment, or of this Agreement, shall so survive such termination.

 

12.                         No Defense.  The existence of any claim, demand, action or cause of action of Employee against Company, whether or not based upon this Agreement, will not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company of any covenant or agreement of Employee contained in Sections 4, and 5 herein.

 

13.                         No Attachment.  Except as required by law, no right to receive payments under this Agreement shall be subject to anticipation, commutation, alienation, sale, assignment, encumbrance, charge, pledge or hypothecation, or to execution, attachment, levy or similar process or assignment by operation of law, and any attempt, voluntary or involuntary, to effect any such action shall be null, void and of no effect.

 

14.                         Source of Payments.  All payments provided under this Agreement shall be paid in cash from the general funds of Company, and no special or separate fund shall be established and no other segregation of assets shall be made to assure payment.

 

15.                         Tax Withholding.  Company may withhold from any benefits payable under this Agreement (including with respect to the Performance Bonus whether in cash or in stock shares) all federal, state, city or other taxes as shall be required pursuant to any law or governmental regulation or ruling.

 

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16.                         Notices.  Any notices, demands and communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and received (a) if delivered personally or actually received, (b) three (3) business days after being mailed, certified mail, return receipt requested, (c) one (1) business day after being sent by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service, or (d) if sent via facsimile or similar electronic transmission during normal business hours, as evidenced by mechanical confirmation of such fax or other electronic transmission, to the parties as set forth below or at such other address as may have been furnished by a party to the other party in accordance with the foregoing:

 

If to the Company:  Legal Department, Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp., 12200 N.W. Ambassador Drive, Kansas City Missouri 64163

 

If to Employee:  Kevin Kelly, *****.

 

17.                         Assignability.  This Agreement is a personal contract requiring the provision of unique services by Employee, and Employee’s rights and obligations hereunder may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated by Employee.  In the event of any attempted assignment or transfer of rights hereunder by Employee contrary to the provisions hereof (other than as may be required by law), Company will have no further liability for payments hereunder.  The rights and obligations of Company hereunder will be binding upon and run in favor of the successors and assigns of Company.

 

18.                         Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.  Counterpart signature pages to this Agreement transmitted by facsimile transmission, by electronic mail in portable document format (“.pdf”) form, or by any other electronic means intended to preserve the original graphic and pictorial appearance of a document, will have the same effect as physical delivery of the paper document bearing an original signature.

 

19.                         Complete Understanding; Amendments; Waiver.  This Agreement  and the documents referenced herein constitute the complete understanding between the parties with respect to the employment of Employee and supersedes all other prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and no statement, representation, warranty or covenant has been made by any party with respect thereto except as expressly set forth herein, and all prior employment agreements between Company and Employee with respect to the performance of any services by Employee are hereby terminated.  This Agreement shall not be altered, modified or amended (except as provided in Section 10 hereof) or terminated except by a written instrument signed by each of the parties hereto.  No waiver of any term or provision hereof, or of the application of any such term or provision to any circumstances, shall be effective or binding on any party unless it is in writing signed by the party charged with giving such waiver.  A waiver by either party hereto of any breach hereunder by the other party shall not operate as a waiver of any other breach, whether similar to or different from the breach waived, and no waiver by any party hereto of a breach hereunder by the other party on any occasion shall constitute a waiver of the same breach on any subsequent 

 

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occasion.  No delay on the part of Company or Employee in the exercise of any of their respective rights or remedies shall operate as a waiver thereof, no single or partial exercise by Company or Employee of any such right or remedy shall preclude other or further exercise thereof and all remedies hereunder or by operation of law or equity shall be cumulative and not exclusive.

 

20.                         Titles and Captions; Construction.  All section titles or captions in this Agreement are for convenience only and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope, meaning or intent of any provision hereof.  When used in this Agreement, (a) words denoting the singular include the plural and vice versa, (b) his, her or its shall include all genders, (c) when calculating the period of time within or following which any act is to be done or notice given or other steps taken, the date which is the reference day in calculating such period shall be excluded and if the last day of such period is not a “business day” in Kansas City, Missouri, then the period shall end on the next day which is a business day in Kansas City, Missouri, and (d) any reference to “herein,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “hereunder” or words of similar import shall mean and refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular part hereof.

 

21.                         Notification of New Employer.  In the event that Employee is no longer an employee of Company, Employee consents to notification by Company to Employee’s new employer or its agents regarding Employee’s rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Employee has hereunder set his hand, and Company has caused this Agreement to be executed as of the day and year first above written.

 

	
 
    	
KEVIN   KELLY “EMPLOYEE”
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
/s/   Kevin Kelly
    	
 
    

 

 

	
 
    	
SMITH   ELECTRIC VEHICLES US CORP. “COMPANY”
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
/s/   Bryan Hansel
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Bryan Hansel, CEO
    	
 
    

 

12Exhibit 10.12

 

	
Smith   Executive Employment Agreement
    	
 
    	

    

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

 

THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is made and entered into as of this 14th day of September, 2011 (the “Effective Date”), by and between Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation (the “Company”) and Kevin Neal, an individual (“Employee”).

 

W I T N E S S E T H:

 

WHEREAS, the Company is in the business manufacturing and distributing electric delivery vehicles; and

 

WHEREAS, the Company and Employee desire to enter into this Agreement to establish certain terms of Employee’s employment with the Company.

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, the mutual promises contained herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt, and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1.                                       Employment, Duties and Term.

 

(a)                                  Company hereby employs Employee as the Vice President of Administration and Human Relations, and Employee hereby accepts such employment with Company on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.  In such capacity, Employee shall perform the duties appropriate to such office or position, and such other duties and responsibilities as are assigned to him from time to time by the Board of Directors of Company (the “Board”) or the President and CEO of the Company.  During the term of his/her employment with Company, Employee shall devote his/her full working time and best efforts to the performance of his/her duties under this Agreement for and on behalf of Company, and shall not work for anyone else without the express written consent of Company or engage in any activity in competition with or detrimental to Company or any affiliate of Company.  Employee shall follow in all material respects all rules, policies and programs adopted from time to time by the Company and applicable to Employee.

 

(b)                                 This Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and end when it is terminated in accordance with Paragraph 3 of this Agreement (the “Termination Date”).  The period from the Effective Date to the Termination Date shall be referred to in this Agreement as the “Term.”

 

(c)                                  Employee’s services shall be performed primarily at a place of business of Company in the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area.

 

2.                                       Compensation.

 

(a)                                  Base Compensation.  In consideration of the services rendered by Employee, and subject to the terms and conditions hereof, Company will pay Employee during the Term of this

 

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Agreement a base salary of $175,000.00 per year (the “Base Compensation”).  The Base Compensation shall be payable in accordance with Company’s regular payroll practices.  Company will withhold from all compensation payable to Employee all applicable federal, state, and local withholding taxes.

 

(b)                                 Bonus.  Subject to the terms and conditions hereof and based on Employee’s performance during a fiscal year, during the Term, Employee shall be eligible to earn an annual performance bonus of up to an amount determined by the President and Chief Executive Officer’s and/or Board (or a Board committee), as applicable (the “Performance Bonus”).  Eligibility for consideration for a Performance Bonus and the criteria applicable to Employee’s Performance Bonus opportunity for any given fiscal year (including the fiscal year in which the Effective Date occurs) shall be determined by the Board (or a committee thereof) not later than the end of the first quarter of the relevant performance year (except to the extent Employee’s employment commences after the first quarter of such year).  Payment of any Performance Bonus shall be made based on the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer’s and/or Board’s (or a Board committee’s), as applicable, determination regarding Employee’s satisfaction of the criteria applicable to such Performance Bonus opportunity.  Any payment in respect of a Performance Bonus shall be subject to tax and other standard payroll withholdings and shall be paid within thirty (30) days following the final determination of the amount of the Performance Bonus to be paid.

 

(c)                                  Equity Interests.  Employee has been issued an option to purchase 128,344 shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to (and which shall be subject to) the terms and conditions of the applicable Company equity compensation plan and an award agreement to be entered into by Employee and the Company.  Employee shall be eligible to participate in the equity incentive programs offered by the Company as permitted by law and the applicable program documents.  In the event Employee is entitled to participate in such programs, Employee shall comply with the applicable program documents and all laws and regulations governing said programs, and agrees to execute any instruments or documents and take all other actions reasonably requested by the Company in order to affect the issuance and, as applicable, repurchase or cancellation, of securities issued to Employee thereunder.

 

(d)                                 Vacation.  Employee will be entitled to 30 days vacation per year; provided, however, except as otherwise provided by applicable law: (1) the Company shall not pay Employee any additional compensation for any vacation time which is not used prior to the end of a calendar year or any earlier termination of employment, and (2) any vacation time which is not used prior to the end of a calendar year may not be used in any subsequent year.  If during the Term, Employee is employed by the Company for only part of a calendar year, Employee shall be entitled to a pro rata number of vacation days during such partial calendar year.

 

(e)                                  Benefits.  During the Term, Employee shall be entitled to participate in any employee benefit plans (including retirement, insurance, fringe benefit and other executive benefit plans) generally provided by the Company to full-time employees of the Company, but only to the extent provided in such employee benefit plans and subject to eligibility requirements

 

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of such plans, and for so long as Company provides or offers such benefit plans.  Company reserves the right to modify, amend, or terminate such benefit plans at any time without prior notice.  Company will pay 100%, of the cost of employee family health insurance coverage, AD&D, executive level Short and Long Term Disability and term life insurance (up to one (1) times Base Compensation or up to a maximum of $500,00.00, whichever is greater); provided, however, that, if the Company determines that its payment of 100% of the cost of any such coverage might cause the applicable plan to provide an impermissibly discriminatory benefit, then, in lieu of paying 100% of the cost of such coverage, the Company will pay the maximum amount that it can pay for the coverage without causing the impermissible discrimination and pay the Executive a cash payment equal to the sum of (1) the difference between the amount that the Company pays for coverage and the actual cost of such coverage and (2) the amount of income and employment taxes that it reasonably anticipates the Executive will owe on the amount paid under this sentence. The Company will provide Employee a vehicle allowance of $750.00 per month.  The Company will pay for (or reimburse Employee the costs of) Employee’s memberships in social or business clubs, professional associations, and continuing education costs required to maintain professional certifications, to the extent deemed appropriate by the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer.  The Employee will be responsible for all income taxes levied against Employee as a result of the Company’s provision of any benefits to Employee.

 

(f)                                    Expense Reimbursement.  During the Term, Employee shall be entitled to be reimbursed in accordance with Company policies, as adopted from time to time, for all reasonable, ordinary, and necessary expenses incurred by Employee in connection with the performance of Employee’s duties of employment hereunder, including, but not limited to travel, entertainment, professional dues, professional associations, professional education, and subscriptions.  If necessary to avoid adverse tax consequences for Employee, these reimbursements shall be made in a fashion that satisfies the requirements of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Section 409A”).

 

3.                                       Termination.

 

(a)                                  Termination Events.  This Agreement and Employee’s employment with the Company may be terminated as follows:

 

(i)                                     by the Company, immediately and without advance notice, for Cause;

 

(ii)                                  by the Company, immediately and without advance notice, upon the death or Disability of Employee;

 

(iii)                               by the Company, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to Employee, without Cause;

 

(iv)                              by Employee, immediately and without advance notice, for Good Reason;

 

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(v)                                 by Employee, upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to the Company without Good Reason; or

 

(vi)                              by Employee, immediately and without advance notice, following a Change in Control.

 

(b)                                 Termination Benefits.

 

(i)                                     Subject to Paragraph 3(c) below, within sixty (60) days of termination of this Agreement, the Company will pay to Employee a lump sum payment equal to the sum of:

 

(A)                              all accrued but unpaid benefits, reimbursements and Base Compensation owed to Employee as of the date of termination; and

 

(B)                                if this Agreement is terminated under clause (ii), (iii), (iv) or (vi) of Paragraph 3(a) above, (x) the amount of Employee’s then current Base Compensation and (y) the cost associated with COBRA family coverage for Employee  for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of termination; provided, however, that the Company may substitute a cash payment as described in Paragraph 2(e) for the cost of COBRA coverage to the extent required to prevent impermissible discrimination under the applicable medical plan, and (z) the amount of any Performance Bonus that has been earned in a prior year but remains unpaid as of the date of termination.

 

(ii)                                  If this Agreement is terminated under clause (ii), (iii), (iv) or (vi) of Paragraph 3(a), subject to Paragraph 3(c) below, Employee shall be entitled to a pro rated portion of the Performance Bonus, if any, Employee would have received for the fiscal year in which this Agreement is terminated had Employee remained employed with the Company.  Such payment, if any, shall be paid as and when Performance Bonuses are paid by the Company for such fiscal year.

 

(iii)                               Notwithstanding the foregoing, no payments under clause (i)(B) or (ii) of this Paragraph 3(b) shall be payable in connection with a termination of this Agreement as a result of Employee’s Disability unless such Disability also satisfies the definition of “disability” under Section 409A.

 

(iv)                              If this Agreement is terminated for any reason, the Company shall continue to provide D&O tail insurance coverage to the Employee for the proscribed period provided in the D&O insurance policy in force as of the date of such Agreement termination.

 

(c)                                  Release.  All payments and benefits provided to Employee under Paragraph 3(b) (other than the payments and benefits provided under Paragraph 3(b)(i)(A)) above are conditioned on Employee executing and not revoking a release of claims against the Company,

 

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in substantially the form set forth as Exhibit A hereto, which release must be executed, not be revoked and have become irrevocable within sixty (60) days of Employee’s termination or resignation.  All payments and benefits provided under Paragraph 3(b) (other than the payments and benefits provided under Paragraph 3(b)(i)(A)) above shall be forfeited if the Employee does not timely execute (or subsequently revokes) the release.

 

(d)                                 Certain Defined Terms.                      For purposes of this Agreement, the following capitalized terms shall have the meaning set forth below:

 

(i)                                     “Cause” means the good faith and reasonable determination of the Board that the Employee has

 

(A)                              been grossly negligent or engaged in willful misconduct, fraud, embezzlement, acts of dishonesty or a conflict of interest (to the extent such conflict of interest materially harms the Company), in each case, relating to the affairs of the Company; provided, that “Cause” shall not be deemed to exist under this clause (A) unless Employee has been given written notice specifying the act or omission constituting Cause and Employee has failed to cure such act or omission within thirty (30) days after receiving such notice; provided further, that such notice and cure right shall not be required to be given if the act or omission giving rise to the determination that Cause exists is not, in the reasonable determination of the Board, susceptible of cure;

 

(B)                                been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to any felony crime; or

 

(C)                                engaged in a willful violation of any federal or state securities laws.

 

(ii)                                  “Change in Control” shall be deemed to have occurred upon any of the following events:

 

(A) individuals who, on the Effective Date, constitute the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Incumbent Directors”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of such Board; provided, however, that any person becoming a director after the Effective Date and whose appointment, election or nomination for election was approved by a vote of at least a majority of the Incumbent Directors then on the Board shall be an Incumbent Director; or

 

(B) any “person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) or any successors thereto is or becomes a “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) or any successor thereto, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding voting securities; or

 

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(C) the consummation of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation (A) which would result in all or a portion of the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation or (B) by which the corporate existence of the Company is not affected and following which the Company’s chief executive officer and directors retain their positions with the Company (and constitute at least a majority of the Board of Directors of the Company); or

 

(D) approval by the stockholders of the Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

 

(iii)                               “Disability” has the meaning set forth in the Company’s long-term disability plan as in effect as of the date on which a “Disability” is claimed hereunder.

 

(iv)                              “Good Reason” means:

 

(A)                              a material diminution in Employee’s title or responsibilities not otherwise agreed to in writing by Employee;

 

(B)                                a material reduction in Employee’s Base Compensation not otherwise agreed to in writing by Employee;

 

(C)                                a move of the Company’s corporate office of more than 100 miles from its location on the Effective Date, or a move of more than 100 miles of any Company facility at which the Employee is regularly required to provide substantial services;

 

(D)                               the Company’s failure to satisfy any payment obligation under this Agreement; or

 

(E)                                 a material breach by the Company of this Agreement (other than a failure to satisfy any payment obligation).

 

A termination for Good Reason hereunder shall not be effective until Employee has first given the Company written notice specifying such act or omission giving rise to the alleged Good Reason event and the Company has failed to cure such act or omission within thirty (30) days after receiving such notice. Employee shall provide the Company with such written notice detailing the specific circumstances alleged to constitute Good Reason within ninety (90) days after the first occurrence of such circumstances, otherwise, any claim of such circumstances as “Good Reason” shall be deemed irrevocably waived by Employee.

 

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4.                                       Confidential Relationship and Confidential Information.

 

(a)                                  Confidential Information.  Employee acknowledges that, during the course of his/her employment, he will have access to information relating to the Company’s business that provides the Company with a competitive advantage, that is not generally known by persons not employed by or providing services for the Company and that could not easily be determined or learned by someone outside the Company (“Confidential Information”).  Such Confidential Information includes both written information and information not reduced to writing and includes, without limitation:  (i) the identity of the Company’s customers, suppliers and other business partners and prospective customers, suppliers and other business partners, including names, addresses and phone numbers, the characteristics, preferences and investment strategies of those parties, the types of services provided to and ordered by those third parties; (ii) the Company’s internal corporate policies related to those services, price lists, fee arrangements and terms of dealings with such third parties; (iii) the identity of the Company’s sources in the field and off-site consultants and the terms and conditions on which the Company transacts business with those sources and consultants; (iv) financial and sales information, including the Company’s financial condition and performance and the compensation paid to other employees of the Company; (v) information relating to inventions, discoveries and formulas, records, research and development data, trade secrets, processes, other methods of doing business, forecasts and business and marketing plans of the Company and (vi) all Company Intellectual Property (as hereinafter defined).  Employee acknowledges that the Company has gathered such information at great cost and over time and that such information is not generally known and cannot easily be obtained from publicly available sources.

 

(b)                                 Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Confidential Information” shall not include, and Employee shall not have any obligations under this Paragraph 4 with respect to, any information which (i) is or becomes publicly known through no unlawful or other wrongful act or omission by Employee or any other person or entity; (ii) becomes known to Employee from a third party having the legal right to make an unrestricted disclosure without a breach of any obligation of confidentiality to the Company by Employee or such third party; (iii) is  voluntarily disclosed to the public or competitors of the Company by the Company (except where such public disclosure has been made by Employee or another without authorization); or (iv) has been independently developed and disclosed by others, or that otherwise enters the public domain through lawful means.

 

(c)                                  Restriction on Use and Disclosure of Confidential Information.  Employee shall, both during and after his/her employment by Company, hold all Confidential Information in a fiduciary capacity.  Employee shall not directly or indirectly use or disclose such Confidential Information except as is (i) necessary for the good faith performance of his/her services for Company, (ii) reasonably necessary, in the opinion of counsel to the Company (or, in respect of claims by the Company against Employee, counsel to Employee), to respond to or defend any claim(s) against Employee or the Company or (iii) required to be disclosed by court order, governmental action, legal process or by applicable law; provided, however, that if disclosure is required under this clause (iii), Employee shall first give written notice thereof to the Company

 

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and shall fully cooperate (at the Company’s cost and expense) in the Company’s attempt to obtain a protective order or other waiver or exclusion from the court or other applicable governmental or other authority.

 

(d)                                 Ownership of Confidential Information.  Employee acknowledges that any documents received or created by him during the course of his/her employment with the Company that contains or pertains to Confidential Information are and will remain the sole property of the Company.  Such documents include, without limitation, files, memoranda, correspondence, reports, client records, contact lists and compilations of information, however such information may be recorded and whether on hard copy or on a computer disk, magnetic disk,  CD-ROM, flash drive, or other electronic storage device.  Employee shall return all such documents (including all copies) promptly upon the termination of his/her employment and shall not, during and after his/her employment, disclose those documents to anyone outside the Company or use those documents for any purpose other than the advancement of the Company’s interests, or as reasonably necessary, in the opinion of counsel to the Company (or, in respect of claims by the Company against Employee, counsel to Employee), to respond to or defend any claim(s) against Employee or the Company.

 

5.                                       Restrictive Covenants.

 

(a)                                  Noncompetition; Non-solicitation.

 

(i)                                     Employee acknowledges that the Company is engaged in a highly competitive business on a world-wide scale and that, by virtue of the position in which Employee is employed, his/her engaging in or working for or with any business which is directly competitive with the Company would cause the Company great and irreparable harm.  Employee also acknowledges that, by virtue of his/her employment, he has gained or will gain knowledge of the identity, characteristics, and preferences of the Company’s customers, suppliers and other business partners, among other Confidential Information, and that Employee would inevitably have to draw on such Confidential Information if he were to solicit or service the Company’s customers, suppliers and other business partners on behalf of a competing business enterprise.

 

(ii)                                  Employee agrees that “Restricted Business” at any date means the goods, products, and/or services of the type provided, marketed, sold, produced and/or developed by the Company during the twelve (12) month period ending on that date for or concerning commercial all electric vehicles.  The “Territory” for the purposes of this Paragraph 5 shall be anywhere in (x) the World, (y) North America and (z) the United States.  The parties acknowledge that the geographical limitations contained in (x), (y) and (z) are separate  covenants and are reasonable based on the world-wide nature of the Company’s business.

 

(iii)                               Accordingly, Employee agrees that during Employee’s employment with Company, whether or not under this Agreement, and thereafter for a period of twelve (12) months (the “Noncompetition Period”) he will not within the Territory:

 

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(A)                              directly or indirectly, engage or invest in, own, manage, operate, finance, control or participate in the ownership, management, operation, financing, or control of or be employed by, associated with or in any manner connected with any entity or organization engaged in Restricted Business;

 

(B)                                directly or indirectly approach, advise, solicit or deal with, in competition with the Company, any entity or organization engaged in Restricted Business;

 

(C)                                directly or indirectly, for the purpose of competing with the Company:

 

(1)                                  induce or procure or attempt to induce or procure any person who is on, or was during the twelve (12) months preceding, the date of the termination of Employee’s employment with the Company, an officer or key employee of, consultant for or other person under contract to provide services to the Company, to leave his/her/her employment or service with the Company (whether or not that person would commit any breach of his/her or her employment or appointment by reason of leaving the service of the Company);

 

(2)                                  accept into employment or otherwise engage or use the services of any person who is on, or was during the twelve (12) months preceding, the date of the termination of Employee’s employment with the Company, an officer or key employee of, consultant for or other person under contract to provide services to the Company; or

 

(3)                                  induce or procure or attempt to induce or procure any person or entity who is on, or was during the twelve (12) months preceding, the date of the termination of Employee’s employment with the Company, a customer of Company to purchase commercial all electric, hybrid, or alternative fuel trucks from a person or entity other than the Company;

 

(D)                               provide technical, commercial or professional advice to any business or concern engaged in Restricted Business;

 

(E)                                 interfere or seek to interfere with the supply of any components, materials, goods or services to the Company (or with the terms of any such supply); or

 

(F)                                 disparage the Company, its directors, officers, employees, the Company brand or its products and services.

 

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(b)                                 Intellectual Property.

 

(i)                                     Employee shall disclose promptly to the Company all ideas, inventions, discoveries, improvements, designs, formulae, processes, production methods and technological innovations (which, together with all intellectual property rights that might be available therein including, without limitation, patents, copyrights and trade secrets, shall hereinafter be referred to as “Intellectual Property”), whether or not patentable, which Employee may conceive or make, alone or with others, in connection with his/her employment with the Company from and after the date of this Agreement, whether or not during working hours, and which: (A) relate specifically to the business of the Company; (B) are based on or derived from Employee’s knowledge of the actual or planned business activities of the Company; or (C) are developed using existing Intellectual Property belonging to the Company.

 

(ii)                                  Employee shall assign, and does hereby assign, to the Company (and to bind his/her heirs, executors and administrators, to assign to the Company) all Intellectual Property covered by Paragraph 5(b)(i) hereof (collectively, “Company Intellectual Property”).

 

(iii)                               Without further compensation but at the Company’s expense, Employee agrees to give all testimony and execute all patent applications, rights of priority, assignments and other documents, and in general do all lawful things reasonably requested of Employee by the Company to enable the Company to obtain, maintain and enforce its rights to such Company Intellectual Property.

 

(iv)                              All of Employee’s work product during his/her employment hereunder and all parts thereof shall be “work made for hire” for the Company within the meaning of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, as amended from time to time, and for all other purposes, and Employee hereby quitclaims and assigns to the Company any and all other rights he may have or acquire therein.  Accordingly, all right, title and interest in any and all materials, or other property, including, without limitation, trademarks, service marks and related rights, whether or not copyrightable, created, developed, adapted, formulated or improved by Employee (whether alone or in conjunction with any other person or employee), constituting Company Intellectual Property shall be owned exclusively by the Company.  Employee will not have or claim to have under this Agreement, or otherwise, any right title or interest of any kind or nature whatsoever in any Company Intellectual Property.

 

6.                                       Release.  Employee acknowledges that the Company may use the image, likeness, voice, or other characteristics of Employee in the services, materials, computer programs, marketing and advertising and other deliverables created or used or distributed by or on behalf of the Company in the course of its business.  Employee hereby consents to the use of such characteristics of Employee by the Company and releases the Company, its directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, licensees and assigns from any claims which Employee has or may have for invasion of privacy, right of publicity, defamation, copyright infringement, or any 

 

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other causes of action arising out of the use, adaptation, reproduction, distribution, broadcast, or exhibition of such characteristics.

 

7.                                       Enforcement.  Employee acknowledges that the restrictions contained in Paragraphs 4 and 5 are fair, reasonable, and necessary for the protection of the legitimate business interests of the Company and that the Company will suffer irreparable harm in the event of an actual or threatened breach of any such provision by Employee.  Employee therefore consents to the entry of a restraining order, preliminary injunction, or other court order to enforce such provisions and expressly waives any security that might otherwise be required in connection with such relief.  Employee also agrees that any request for such relief by the Company shall be in addition and without prejudice to any claim for monetary damages which the Company might elect to assert.  Employee agrees that the terms of Paragraphs 4 and 5 are in addition to, and not in limitation of, any other restrictive covenants agreed to by Employee with respect to the Company.  For all purposes of Paragraphs 4 and 5, the term “Company” means the Company and each of its now existing or hereafter created or acquired or affiliated companies, subsidiaries and parent companies, and their respective successors and assigns.

 

8.                                       No Conflicting Obligations.  Employee represents and warrants to the Company that he is not now under any obligation of a contractual or other nature to any person or entity which is inconsistent or in conflict with this Agreement, or which would prevent, limit or impair in any way the performance by him of his/her obligations hereunder.

 

9.                                       Governing Law and Forum Selection.  This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Missouri, without respect to its principles of conflicts of laws that would refer resolution of any dispute arising under this Agreement to the substantive laws of another jurisdiction.  Employee and the Company hereby agree that the exclusive venue for any legal dispute related to this Agreement shall be in the state and federal courts sitting in Platte County, Missouri and the appellate courts having jurisdiction thereover.

 

10.                                 Severability.  If any provision of this Agreement or the application of any such provision to any party or circumstances shall be determined by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, the remainder of this Agreement, or the application of such provision to such person or circumstances other than those to which it is so determined to be invalid or unenforceable, shall not be affected thereby, and each provision hereof shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by law.  If the final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction declares that any provision of this Agreement, including, without limitation, any provision of Paragraph 4, 5 or 6 hereof, is invalid or unenforceable, the parties hereto agree that the court making the determination of invalidity or unenforceability shall have the power, and is hereby directed, to reduce the scope, duration or area of the provision, to delete specific words or phrases and to replace any invalid or unenforceable provision with a provision that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of the invalid or unenforceable provision, and this Agreement shall be enforced as so modified.

 

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11.                                 Survivability.  The provisions of this Agreement which by their terms call for performance subsequent to termination of Employee’s employment, or of this Agreement, shall so survive such termination.

 

12.                                 No Defense.  The existence of any claim, demand, action or cause of action of Employee against the Company, whether or not based upon this Agreement, will not constitute a defense to the enforcement by the Company of any covenant or agreement of Employee contained in Paragraphs 4 and 5 herein.

 

13.                                 No Attachment.  Except as required by law, no right to receive payments under this Agreement shall be subject to anticipation, commutation, alienation, sale, assignment, encumbrance, charge, pledge or hypothecation, or to execution, attachment, levy or similar process or assignment by operation of law, and any attempt, voluntary or involuntary, to effect any such action shall be null, void and of no effect.

 

14.                                 Source of Payments.  All payments provided under this Agreement shall be paid in cash from the general funds of the Company, and no special or separate fund shall be established and no other segregation of assets shall be made to assure payment.

 

15.                                 Tax Withholding.  The Company may withhold from any benefits payable under this Agreement (including with respect to the Performance Bonus whether in cash or in stock shares) all federal, state, city or other taxes as the Company shall reasonably determine are required pursuant to any law or governmental regulation or ruling.

 

16.                                 Notices.  Any notices, demands and communications under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and received (a) if delivered personally or actually received, (b) three (3) business days after being mailed, certified mail, return receipt requested, (c) one (1) business day after being sent by a nationally recognized overnight delivery service, or (d) if sent via facsimile or similar electronic transmission during normal business hours, as evidenced by mechanical confirmation of such fax or other electronic transmission, to the parties as set forth below or at such other address as may have been furnished by a party to the other party in accordance with the foregoing:

 

	
If to the Company, to:
    	
 
    	
Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp.
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Legal Department
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
12200 N.W. Ambassador Drive
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Kansas City, Missouri 64163
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
If to Employee, to:
    	
 
    	
Kevin Neal
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
*****
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
*****
    

 

17.                                 Assignment.  This Agreement is a personal contract requiring the provision of unique services by Employee, and Employee’s rights and obligations hereunder may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated by Employee.  In the event of any attempted 

 

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assignment or transfer of rights hereunder by Employee contrary to the provisions hereof (other than as may be required by law), the Company will have no further liability for payments hereunder.  The rights and obligations of Company hereunder will be binding upon and run in favor of the successors and assigns of Company.

 

18.                                 Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument.  Counterpart signature pages to this Agreement transmitted by facsimile transmission, by electronic mail in portable document format (“.pdf”) form, or by any other electronic means intended to preserve the original graphic and pictorial appearance of a document, will have the same effect as physical delivery of the paper document bearing an original signature.

 

19.                                 Complete Understanding; Amendments; Waiver.  This Agreement  and the documents referenced herein constitute the complete understanding between the parties with respect to the employment of Employee and supersedes all other prior agreements and understandings, both written and oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and no statement, representation, warranty or covenant has been made by any party with respect thereto except as expressly set forth herein, and all prior employment agreements between the Company and Employee with respect to the performance of any services by Employee are hereby terminated.  This Agreement shall not be altered, modified or amended (except as provided in Paragraph 10 hereof) or terminated except by a written instrument signed by each of the parties hereto.  No waiver of any term or provision hereof, or of the application of any such term or provision to any circumstances, shall be effective or binding on any party unless it is in writing signed by the party charged with giving such waiver.  A waiver by either party hereto of any breach hereunder by the other party shall not operate as a waiver of any other breach, whether similar to or different from the breach waived, and no waiver by any party hereto of a breach hereunder by the other party on any occasion shall constitute a waiver of the same breach on any subsequent occasion.  Except as expressly provided herein, no delay on the part of the Company or Employee in the exercise of any of their respective rights or remedies shall operate as a waiver thereof, no single or partial exercise by the Company or Employee of any such right or remedy shall preclude other or further exercise thereof and all remedies hereunder or by operation of law or equity shall be cumulative and not exclusive.

 

20.                                 Titles and Captions; Construction.  All paragraph titles or captions in this Agreement are for convenience only and in no way define, limit, extend or describe the scope, meaning or intent of any provision hereof.  When used in this Agreement, (a) words denoting the singular include the plural and vice versa, (b) his/her, her or its shall include all genders, (c) when calculating the period of time within or following which any act is to be done or notice given or other steps taken, the date which is the reference day in calculating such period shall be excluded and if the last day of such period is not a “business day” in Kansas City, Missouri, then the period shall end on the next day which is a business day in Kansas City, Missouri, and (d) any reference to “herein,” “hereof,” “hereby,” “hereunder” or words of similar import shall mean and refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular part hereof.

 

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21.                                 Notification of New Employer.  In the event that Employee is no longer an employee of the Company, Employee consents to notification by the Company to Employee’s new employer or its agents regarding Employee’s rights and obligations under this Agreement.

 

22.                                 Compliance with Section 409A.

 

(a)                                  This Agreement is intended, and shall be interpreted, to ensure that the payments made by the Company are exempt from, or comply with, Section 409A.  If any provision of this Agreement is or might be inconsistent with the requirements of Section 409A, such provision shall be deemed to be amended to the extent necessary to bring it into compliance with Section 409A.  Nothing in this Agreement shall require the Company to satisfy the Employee’s obligation to pay (or require the Company to indemnify the Employee with respect to) required taxes on any amounts or benefits provided under this Agreement, including without limitation, any taxes imposed under Section 409A.

 

(b)                                 Any payment by the Company that is subject to Section 409A and that is contingent on a termination of employment is contingent on a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A.  Each such payment shall be considered to be a separate payment under Section 409A.

 

(c)                                  If, on the date of a “separation from service,” the equity interests of the Company are publicly traded and Employee is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A, any payment that is “nonqualified deferred compensation” subject to Section 409A and would be paid within six months after Employee’s separation from service will instead begin to be paid in the seventh month following Employee’s separation from service to the extent required by Section 409A.

 

(d)                                 Any taxable reimbursement shall be paid no later than December 31st of the year after the year in which the expense is incurred and shall comply with Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-3(i)(1)(iv).

 

(e)                                  If the period during which Employee has discretion to execute or revoke a release straddles two calendar years, the Company shall make the payments that are conditioned upon the release and subject to Section 409A no earlier than January 1st of the second of such calendar years, regardless of which taxable year Employee actually delivers the executed release to the Company.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Employee has hereunder set his/her hand, and the Company has caused this Agreement to be executed as of the day and year first above written.

 

	
 
    	
KEVIN   NEAL “EMPLOYEE”
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
/s/   Kevin Neal
    	
 
    

 

14

 

	
 
    	
SMITH   ELECTRIC VEHICLES US CORP. “COMPANY”
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
By:
    	
/s/   Bryan L. Hansel
    	
 
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
Bryan   L. Hansel, President and Chief Executive Officer
    	
 
    

 

15

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