Document:

exv10w29

 

Exhibit 10.29

FORM OF

HEARUSA, INC.

STOCK UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT

(Time Vesting)

____________, 20___

2002 Flexible Stock Plan

     THIS AGREEMENT is effective ____________, 20___, between HearUSA, Inc. (the “Company”) and
_____________________ (the “Participant”).

     WHEREAS, the Company has adopted and maintains the HearUSA, Inc. 2002 Flexible Stock Plan (the
“Plan”) to promote the interests of the Company and its stockholders by providing the directors,
officers and employees of the Company and its Affiliates with an appropriate incentive to encourage
them to continue in the service and employ of the Company or Affiliate and to improve the growth
and profitability of the Company;

     WHEREAS, the Plan permits the grant to Participants in the Plan of restricted stock units (the
“Stock Unit Awards”); and the Company wishes to grant Stock Unit Awards to the Participant in
consideration of his/her employment with the Company.

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises set forth in this Agreement, the
parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

     1. Grant of Stock Unit Awards. Subject to the terms and conditions contained herein and in
the Plan, the Company hereby grants to the Participant ______ Stock Unit Awards. Each Stock Unit
Award represents the obligation of the Company to transfer one share of common
stock (“Common Stock”) of the Company to the Participant at the time provided in this Agreement,
provided such Stock Unit Award is vested at such time.

     2. Incorporation of Plan. All terms, conditions and restrictions of the Plan are
incorporated herein and made part hereof as if stated herein. If there is any conflict between the
terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Plan, as
interpreted by the Company’s Compensation Committee (the “Committee”), shall govern. All
capitalized terms used herein shall have the meaning given to such terms in the Plan.

     3. Bookkeeping Account. The Company shall record the number of Stock Unit Awards granted
hereunder to a bookkeeping account for the Participant (the “Stock Unit Account”). The
Participant’s Stock Unit Account shall be debited by the number of Stock Unit Awards, if any,
forfeited in accordance with this Agreement and by the number of shares of Common Stock transferred
to the Participant with respect to such Stock Unit Awards. The Participant’s Stock Unit Account
also shall be adjusted from time to time for stock dividends, stock splits and other such
transactions in accordance with the Plan.

 

 

     4. Terms and Conditions of Stock Unit Awards. The Stock Unit Awards evidenced hereby are
subject to the following terms and conditions:

	(a)	 	Vesting. ______ percent (___%) of the Stock Unit Awards granted to the Participant hereby
shall become vested as of [date], and the remaining ______ percent (___%) of the Stock Unit
Awards granted to the Participant hereby shall become vested as of [date].
	 
	(b)	 	Forfeiture Upon Termination of Service. Except as otherwise provided in (a) above, upon
cessation of the Participant’s employment with the Company for any reason before [date], the
number of shares of Stock Unit Awards subject to this Agreement that have not become vested
shall be forfeited, except as the Committee may otherwise determine in its sole discretion.

     5. Distribution of Common Stock. Subject to the provisions below, as soon as practical after
each vesting date, the Company shall transfer shares of Common Stock to the Participant equal in
number to the Stock Unit Awards credited to the Participant’s Stock Unit Account that have vested
and were not previously transferred to Participant. Such transfer shall be made within 30 days
following each vesting date or, if not so practicable, as soon thereafter as practicable.

     6. Source of Payment. Shares of Common Stock transferable to the Participant, or upon death
to his or her beneficiary, under this Agreement shall be authorized but unissued shares. The
Company shall have no duties to segregate or set aside any assets to secure the Participant’s right
to receive shares of Common Stock under this Agreement. The Participant shall not have any rights
with respect to transfer of shares of Common Stock under this Agreement other than the unsecured
right to receive shares of Common Stock from the Company.

     7. Units Non-Transferable. Stock Unit Awards awarded hereunder shall not be transferable by
the Participant. Except as may be required by the federal income tax withholding
provisions of the Code or by the tax laws of any State, the interests of the Participant and
his or her beneficiaries under this Agreement are not subject to the claims of their creditors and
may not be voluntarily or involuntarily sold, transferred, alienated, assigned, pledged,
anticipated, or encumbered. Any attempt by the Participant or a beneficiary to sell, transfer,
alienate, assign, pledge, anticipate, encumber, charge or otherwise dispose of any right to
benefits payable hereunder shall be void.

     8. Shareholder Rights. The Participant shall not have any of the rights of a shareholder of
the Company with respect to Stock Unit Awards, such as the right to vote.

     9. Death Benefits. In the event of the death of the Participant, the Company shall transfer
shares of Common Stock equal in number to the vested Stock Unit Awards, if any, credited to the
Participant’s Stock Unit Account to the Participant’s legal representative or beneficiaries. Such
transfer shall be made within 30 days following death or, if not so practicable, as soon thereafter
as practicable.

 

 

     The Participant may designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries (contingently, consecutively, or
successively) of such death benefit and, from time to time, may change his or her designated
beneficiary. A beneficiary may be a trust. A beneficiary designation shall be made in writing in
a form prescribed by the Company and delivered to the Company while the Participant is alive. If
there is no designated beneficiary surviving at the death of the Participant, payment of any death
benefit of the Participant shall be made to the surviving spouse of the Participant, if any, and if
no such surviving spouse to the estate of the Participant.

     10. Integration. This Agreement, and the other documents referred to herein or delivered
pursuant hereto which form a part hereof contain the entire understanding of the parties with
respect to its subject matter. There are no restrictions, agreements, promises, representations,
warranties, covenants or undertakings with respect to the subject matter hereof other than those
expressly set forth herein. This Agreement, including without limitation the Plan, supersedes all
prior agreements and understandings between the parties with respect to its subject matter.

     11. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in
accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the provisions governing
conflict of laws.

     12. Amendment. This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the parties hereto by
written agreement.

     13. Participant Acknowledgment. By accepting this grant, the Participant acknowledges
receipt of a copy of the Plan, and acknowledges that all decisions, determinations and
interpretations of the Committee in respect of the Plan, this Agreement and the Stock Unit Awards
granted hereunder shall be final and conclusive.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	HEARUSA, Inc.

 	 
	 	By:  	
 	 
	 	 	Title:  	 	 

 

 

	 	 	 	 	 

SCHEDULE I

to Stock Unit Award Agreementexv10w30

 

Exhibit 10.30

EXECUTIVE RETIREMENT AGREEMENT 

     This Retirement Agreement is entered into this 4th day of February, 2008, by and between
HearUSA, Inc. (the “Company”) and Paul A. Brown, M.D. (“Brown”) (collectively the “Parties”).

     WHEREAS, Company provides hearing care to patients primarily through hearing care centers
offering a complete range of hearing care products, with operations in the United States and
Ontario, Canada;

     WHEREAS, Brown is the founder of the Company, has been an officer and employee of the Company
since its formation and has served on the Company’s Board of Directors, most recently serving in
the position of Chairman of the Board pursuant to an Employment Agreement made as of August 31,
2005;

     WHEREAS, as part of the Company’s succession planning, Brown desires to resign from his
service as an executive and employee of the Company;

     WHEREAS, on the terms and conditions set forth below, the Parties desire to provide for the
terms of Brown’s retirement as an executive and employee of the Company.

     NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the sufficiency of which is hereby
acknowledged, the Parties enter into this Agreement and agree as follows:

1. Termination of Employment Agreement

     Effective on the date hereof, the Parties hereby terminate the Employment Agreement. Such
termination in no way shall effect Brown’s service as a director on the Company’s Board of
Directors.

2. Separation Payments

     The Company shall pay to Brown a sum equal to three times Brown’s current base salary of
$240,000, which amount shall be payable in equal monthly installments, less applicable withholding,
over three years commencing February 1, 2008 and ending January 1, 2011 (subject to the terms set
out herein). The payments made on or after February 1, 2008, but on or before March 15, 2009,
shall each be deemed to be a separate payment qualifying under the short-term deferral rule for
purposes of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and the
payments made after March 15, 2009 shall each be deemed to be a separate payment for purposes of
Section 409A of the Code.

3. Continuation of Benefits

     During the thirty-six (36) months following Brown’s termination of employment, Brown shall be
entitled to continue to receive the health and life insurance benefits he enjoyed while employed by
the Company immediately prior to the termination of his Employment Agreement as provided herein;
provided, however, that in the event Brown’s participation in any such

 

 

employee benefit plan or program is barred, the Company shall arrange to provide Brown with
substantially similar benefits.

     Brown acknowledges that (i) a “qualifying event” within the meaning of the Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”) occurred with respect to Brown on
the date hereof (the “termination date”), as a result of which Brown would lose coverage under the
Company’s group health plan as of February 28, 2008; (ii) Brown has received timely written notice
of his right to elect to receive continuation coverage under said group health plan pursuant to
COBRA (“COBRA Coverage”) after March 1, 2008) (following end of coverage); and (iii) in
consideration of the terms of this Agreement, Brown has waived his right to receive COBRA Coverage.

4. Acceleration of Unvested Stock Options and Exercise of Vested Stock Options

     The Company and Brown agrees that, notwithstanding any term to the contrary in option grant
agreements, all stock options issued to Brown prior to the termination of the Employment Agreement
which were outstanding but unvested, shall immediately vest and Brown shall be entitled to exercise
any stock options vested on the date of this Agreement by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise for
a period equal to the shorter of (i) thirty-six (36) months from the date of this Agreement, or
(ii) the expiration date of such option.

5. Public Announcement

     The Parties shall mutually agree upon an appropriate press release to disclose the fact of
Brown’s retirement as an executive of the Company. Until the issuance of such press release, Brown
agrees to maintain as confidential and not disclose orally or in writing, directly or indirectly,
to any person any information concerning his employment with or retirement from the Company,
including any information about the terms of this Agreement. Thereafter, Brown and the Company
agree to limit disclosures to the information contained in the press release and any Current Report
on Form 8-K which may be required to be filed upon the execution of this Agreement. Nothing herein
shall preclude Brown from disclosing the terms of this Agreement to his accountant, legal counsel,
insurer or tax advisors; provided that such accountant, legal counsel, insurer or tax advisors are
advised of and agree to be bound by the provisions of this paragraph and that Brown acknowledges
that he will be responsible for any violation of the terms of this paragraph by any of those
persons. Brown acknowledges his responsibilities under the federal securities laws to maintain as
confidential all material nonpublic information about the Company and that the information
concerning the fact and terms of this Agreement may be deemed to be material nonpublic information
until fully disclosed by the Company pursuant to its Corporate Communications Policy.

6. Confidential Information, Non-Solicitation

     Brown acknowledges and agrees that certain obligations set forth in the Employment Agreement
survive the termination of his employment, notwithstanding the termination of the Employment
Agreement. Specifically, Brown agrees as follows:

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	 	(a)	 	Third party confidentiality. Brown acknowledges that the Company has disclosed
that it was subject to duties to third parties to maintain information in confidence
and secrecy. Brown agrees to continue to be bound by any such duties owed by the
Company to any third party.
	 
	 	(b)	 	Confidentiality. Brown acknowledges that his work for the Company brought him
into close contact with various confidential business data of the Company, its
contracting parties, affiliates and customers not readily available to the public.
Accordingly, Brown:

	 	(i)	 	covenants and agrees that on and after the date hereof, on any
basis for any reason, Brown shall not use or disclose to anyone, whether or not
for his benefit or otherwise, any confidential matters (collectively,
“Confidential Matters”) concerning the Company or its suppliers, consultants,
agents, other contracting parties or customers, whether such customers are
deemed former, current or potential customers (collectively, the “Clients”),
including without limitation all confidential technical information of the
Company, secrets, trade secrets, proprietary software, copyrights, customer
lists, lists of employees, confidential evaluations, mailing lists, details of
consultant contracts, pricing policies, sales data and reports, margins,
operational methods and processes, plans, financial information and other
confidential business affairs, learned by Brown concerning the Company, its
clients or a third party, including without limitation any subsidiaries,
partners, affiliates, shareholders, employees, lenders, suppliers, consultants,
agents or joint venture partners of the Company (collectively “Affiliates”);
and
	 
	 	(ii)	 	covenants and agrees that (A) all confidential memoranda,
notes, lists (including, without limitation, mailing and client lists), records
and other confidential documents, whether in written, electronic or other form
(and all copies thereof) made or compiled by Brown or made available to him
concerning the Company, its clients and any Affiliates are the sole property of
the Company, and (B) if such documents are in the possession or control of
Brown, Brown shall deliver them, without retaining any copies thereof, to the
Company upon a request to him by the Company.
	 
	 	(iii)	 	The provisions of subparagraph (b)(i) above shall not apply to
any information that: (1) is publicly available or becomes publicly available
through no act or fault of Brown; (2) is made known to Brown by a third party
who did not obtain it directly or indirectly from the Company; (3) is
independently developed by Brown without use of the Company’s information as
evidence by credible written records of Brown; or (4) is information required
to be disclosed by operation of law, governmental regulation or court order
provided that, if Brown determines that such disclosure might be required,
Brown will promptly notify the Company

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	 	 	 	and provide the Company, to the extent practicable, an opportunity to seek a
protective order or other appropriate remedy to prevent such disclosure.

	 	(c)	 	Non-Solicitation. Brown agrees that for a period of one year from the date of
termination, he shall not, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert with others, (i)
solicit or encourage any employee of the Company, or an employee of any person or
entity with which the Company has an agreement through which the Company and the person
or entity are to act in concert with respect to the business of the Company, to leave
their respective employment or (ii) hire any employee of the Company.

7. Key Man Life Insurance

     The parties acknowledge that the Company currently owns a term life insurance policy on the
life of Brown naming the Company as beneficiary. In light of Brown’s retirement, the Company
agrees to cancel the policy or, at Brown’s request, transfer the policy to Brown at Brown’s sole
cost and expense. Brown agrees to assume any and all premiums associated with such policy in the
event he elects to have the Company transfer the policy to him.

8. Future Cooperation

     Brown agrees to execute any other writings and/or documents consistent with this Agreement and
reasonably necessary to effectuate the terms of this Agreement. In addition, Brown will comply
with all reasonable requests from the Company for assistance and/or information in connection with
any matters and/or issues relating to or encompassed within the duties and responsibilities of
Brown’s employment, including without limitation, consulting with any of the employees and/or
attorneys of the Company with respect to, and/or appearing as a witness in, any dispute,
controversy, action or proceeding of any kind. Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses actually incurred
by Brown in connection with his compliance with this paragraph will be reimbursed to Brown by the
Company.

9. Return of Company Property

     Brown agrees to return to the Company on its request all property of the Company in his
possession or over which he retained control such as keys, computers, cell phones, credit cards,
access cards, records, documents and files and all copies and recordings thereof.

10. Entire Agreement and Severability

     This Agreement constitutes the sole and complete understanding and agreement between the
Parties with respect to the matters set forth herein, and there are no other agreements or
understandings, whether written or oral and whether made during the course of negotiating this
Agreement or otherwise, with respect to the matters set forth herein. The Parties acknowledge
that, in executing this Agreement, they are not relying on any representation or statement made to
them by any person other than as set forth herein. No term, condition, covenant, representation or
acknowledgment contained in this Agreement may be amended unless in a

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writing signed by the Parties. If any section of this Agreement is determined to be void,
voidable or unenforceable, it shall have no effect on the remainder of the Agreement which shall
remain in full force and effect.

11. Governing Law

     This Agreement shall in all respects be subject to, governed by and enforced and construed
pursuant to and in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to and
excluding its choice of law rules.

12. Binding Agreement and Execution

     This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the successors, heirs,
devisees, legatees, executors, administrators, assignees, trustees, affiliates and parent companies
of each of the Parties as provided for herein. In the event of Brown’s death prior to the
completion of payments to Brown as provided in Paragraph 2, such payments will be payable to
Brown’s executors, administrators or heirs as may be the case. In the event of Brown’s death prior
to the exercise of options as contemplated by Paragraph 4, Brown’s executors, administrators or
heirs, as may be the case, may exercise such options as contemplated by the Plan(s) pursuant to
which such options were granted for the period provided in Paragraph 4. This Agreement may be
executed in one or more counterparts. The several executed counterparts shall be considered an
original and shall be binding on the Parties.

13. Miscellaneous

          a. The captions in this Agreement are inserted for convenience of reference only and in no way
define, describe or limit the scope or intent of this Agreement or any of the provisions hereof.

          b. As used in this Agreement, the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter, the
singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular, as the context may
require.

          c. No rules of construction against the drafter of this Agreement shall apply in any
interpretation or enforcement of this Agreement.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the date first above
written.

	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 
	Date:     2/4/2008 	/s/ Paul A. Brown, M.D.
 	 
	 	Paul A. Brown, M.D. 	 
	 	 	 

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	Date:     2/4/2008 	HearUSA, Inc.

 	 
	 	By:  	/s/ Stephen J. Hansbrough
 	 
	 	 	Name/Title:  	Stephen J. Hansbrough 	 
	 	 	  	President and Chief Executive Officer 	 
	 

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