Document:

Blueprint

 

 

STOCKHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT

 

This
STOCKHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) is entered
into as of May 4, 2018 among Fusion Connect, Inc. , a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), BCHI Holdings,
LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“Holding LLC”), the other
Persons set forth on Schedule I hereto (the
“Initial FTI
Stockholders”) and each Person that becomes a party to
this Agreement by delivering to the Company and Holding LLC a duly
executed joinder to this Agreement in the form attached hereto as
Exhibit A hereto or
such other form approved by Holding LLC and the Company (together,
with the Initial FTI Stockholders, the “FTI Stockholders” and
each an “FTI
Stockholder).

 

RECITALS

 

A.           This
Agreement is being entered into in connection with the consummation
of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, dated as
of August 26, 2017 (as amended or modified from time to time, the
“Merger
Agreement”), by and among the Company, Birch
Communications Holdings, Inc., a Georgia corporation,
and Fusion BCHI
Acquisition LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

 

B.           After
giving effect to the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, Holding LLC and the Initial FTI Stockholders own the
equity securities of the Company in the respective amounts
indicated on Schedule
I hereto.

 

C.           Holding
LLC, the FTI Stockholders and the Company wish to set forth certain
agreements regarding the relationships among them and the
governance of the Company.

 

In
consideration of the premises, and of the representations,
warranties, covenants and agreements set forth herein, the Company
and each Stockholder agree as follows:

 

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

 

  Section 1.1 
Certain Defined
Terms. As used herein, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:

 

“Affiliate” means (i) with
respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly
controlling, controlled by or under common control with, such
Person, (ii) with respect to Holding LLC, any member of Holding LLC
or any trust therefor, and (iii) with respect to any natural
person, any spouse or lineal descendant of such person, and in each
case, any trust therefor.

 

“Agreement” has the
meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

“beneficial owner” or
“beneficially
own” has the meaning given such term in Rule 13d-3
under the Exchange Act, and a Person’s beneficial ownership
of Common Stock or other Equity Securities of the Company shall be
calculated in accordance with the provisions of such rule. For the
avoidance of doubt, no Person shall be deemed to beneficially own
any security solely as a result of such Person’s execution of
this Agreement.

 

 

-1-

 

 

“Board” means the Board of
Directors of the Company.

 

“Business Day” means any
day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which banks are
required or authorized by law to be closed in New York
City.

 

“Bylaws” means the Bylaws
of the Company, as in effect on the date hereof and as the same may
be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in
accordance with the terms thereof.

 

“Cause” shall mean the
occurrence of any of the following:

 

(A) any action or
omission by the applicable Director that constitutes (1) a criminal
act committed in connection with or related to the activities of
the Company or (2) fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence in
the performance of such Director’s duties as a director of
the Company or otherwise relating to the activities of the
Company;

 

(B) the conviction of
the applicable Director of any criminal offense unrelated to the
activities of the Company that constitutes a felony or for which a
term of imprisonment of any duration is imposed (other than an
offense under any road traffic legislation, not accompanied by any
other criminal offense that constitutes a felony);

 

(C) a breach by the
applicable Director of a material securities law or regulation or a
material rule of any securities exchange of the Securities and
Exchange Commission; or

 

(D) if such Director
also is a party to a consulting, services, severance or employment
agreement with the Company and such term is defined therein, the
meaning as set forth in such agreement.

 

“Charter” means the
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as in effect on the
date hereof and as the same may be amended, supplemented or
otherwise modified from time to time.

 

“Closing” means the
closing of the Transaction as defined in and as contemplated by the
Merger Agreement.

 

“Common Stock” means the
common stock, par value $.01 per share, of the Company, and any
securities issued in respect thereof, or in substitution therefor,
in connection with any stock split, dividend or combination, or any
reclassification, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, exchange
or other similar reorganization.

 

“Communications Act” means
the Communications Act of 1934.

 

“Company” has the meaning
set forth in the preamble.

 

 

-2-

 

 

“Control” (including the
terms “controlling”,
“controlled
by” and “under common control
with”), with respect to the relationship between or
among two or more Persons, means the possession, directly or
indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the
affairs or management of a Person, whether through the ownership of
voting securities, as trustee or executor, by contract or
otherwise.

 

“Covered Claims” has the
meaning set forth in Section 4.16(a).

 

“Director” means any
member of the Board.

 

“Equity Securities” means
any and all shares of Common Stock or other equity securities of
the Company, securities of the Company convertible into, or
exchangeable or exercisable for (whether presently convertible,
exchangeable or exercisable or not), such shares, and options,
warrants or other rights (whether presently convertible,
exchangeable or exercisable or not) to acquire such shares of
Common Stock or other equity securities of the
Company.

 

“Exchange Act” means the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and
regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

“FCC Regulations” means
the rules, regulations, published decisions, published orders and
policies promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission and
in effect from time to time.

 

“FTI Director” means, as
of any date, each Person who is a director of the Company on such
date and who was designated as a director nominee in accordance
with the provisions of Section 2.1(b)(ii) and elected
to the Board at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders of
the Company.

 

“FTI Stockholders” has the
meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

“FTI Nominating Committee”
means, as of any date on which an action or decision of the FTI
Nominating Committee is required or permitted to be taken pursuant
to this Agreement, the FTI Directors serving on the Board on such
date.

 

“Group” has the meaning
set forth in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act.

 

“Holding LLC” has the
meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

“Information” means all
confidential information about the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries that is or has been furnished to any Stockholder or
any of its Representatives by or on behalf of the Company or any of
its Subsidiaries, or any of their respective Representatives
(whether written or oral or in electronic or other form and whether
prepared by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or their
respective Representatives), together with that portion of all
written or electronically stored documentation prepared by such
Stockholder or its Representatives based on or reflecting, in whole
or in part, such information; provided, however, that the term
“Information” shall not
include any information that (i) is or becomes generally available
to the public through no action or omission by such Stockholder or
its Representatives in violation of this Agreement, (ii) is or
becomes available to such Stockholder on a non-confidential basis
from a source, other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
or any of their respective Representatives, that, to such
Stockholder’s knowledge, after reasonable inquiry, is not
prohibited from disclosing to such Stockholder by a contractual,
legal or fiduciary obligation or (iii) is independently developed
by a Stockholder or its Representatives or Affiliates without use
of any Information.

 

 

-3-

 

 

“Initial FTI Stockholders”
has the meaning set forth in the preamble.

 

“Law” means the law of any
jurisdiction, whether international, multilateral, multinational,
national, federal, state, provincial, local or common law, or an
order, act, statute, ordinance, regulation, rule, extension order
or code promulgated by a governmental authority (including any
department, court, agency or official, or non-governmental
self-regulatory organization, agency or authority and any political
subdivision or instrumentality thereof).

 

“Merger Agreement” has the
meaning provided in the first recital.

 

“Person” means any
individual, corporation, limited liability company, limited or
general partnership, joint venture, association, joint-stock
company, trust, unincorporated organization, government or any
agency or political subdivisions thereof or any Group comprised of
two or more of the foregoing.

 

“Representatives” means
with respect to any Person, any of such Person’s, or its
Affiliates’, directors, officers, employees, general
partners, Affiliates, direct or indirect shareholders, members or
limited partners, attorneys, accountants, financial and other
advisers, and other agents and representatives, including, in the
case of any Stockholder, any designee nominated for election to the
Board or a committee thereof by such Stockholder.

 

“Sale of the Company”
means, in any one or more related transactions, a merger (other
than a merger solely for the purpose of forming a holding company
with no change in indirect ownership or to effect a change in the
Company’s state of incorporation), business combination or
sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, in
each case, as a result of which the Directors immediately prior to
such transaction do not represent a majority of the Board
immediately following the consummation of such transaction (or
series of transactions), or the stockholders of the Company
immediately prior to such transaction do not, immediately following
the consummation of such transaction (or series of transactions),
continue to own equity securities representing more than 50% of the
vote and of the equity of the Company, of the ultimate controlling
Person (in the case of a merger or business combination) or Person
succeeding to ownership of all or substantially all of the
Company’s assets (in the case of a sale of
assets).

 

“Secondary Indemnitors”
has the meaning assigned to such term in Section 4.16.

 

“Securities Act” means the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder.

 

“Specified Indemnitee” has
the meaning set forth in Section 4.16.

 

“Stockholder” means each
of Holding LLC and the FTI Stockholders.

 

“Subsidiary” means, with
respect to any Person, (i) any corporation of which a majority of
the securities entitled to vote generally in the election of
directors thereof, at the time as of which any determination is
being made, or a majority of the economic interests in such
Person’s equity, are owned by such Person, either directly or
indirectly, and (ii) any joint venture, general or limited
partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity in
which such Person is the record or beneficial owner, directly or
indirectly, of a majority of the voting or equity interests or of
which such Person is the general partner or managing
member.

 

 

-4-

 

 

 “Transfer”
means, directly or indirectly, to sell, transfer, assign,
hypothecate or similarly dispose of (by merger, operation of law or
otherwise), either voluntarily or involuntarily, or to enter into
any contract, option or other arrangement or understanding with
respect to, the sale, transfer, assignment, hypothecation or
similar disposition of (by merger, operation of law or otherwise),
any shares of Equity Securities beneficially owned by a
Person.

 

“Transferee” means any
Person to whom any Stockholder or any transferee thereof Transfers
Equity Securities in accordance with the terms hereof.

 

“Voting Securities” means
at any time the then-issued and outstanding Common Stock and any
other securities of the Company of any kind or class having power
generally to vote for the election of Directors.

 

Section
1.2   Other
Definitional Provisions. Unless otherwise expressly
provided, for the purposes of this Agreement, the following rules
of interpretation shall apply:

 

(a) When a reference is
made in this Agreement to an article or a section, paragraph,
exhibit or schedule, such reference will be to an article or a
section, paragraph, exhibit or schedule hereof unless otherwise
clearly indicated to the contrary.

 

(b) Whenever the words
“include,” “includes” or
“including” are used in this Agreement, they will be
deemed to be followed by the words “without
limitation.”

 

(c) The words
“hereof,” “herein” and
“herewith” and words of similar import will, unless
otherwise stated, be construed to refer to this Agreement as a
whole and not to any particular provision of this
Agreement.

 

(d) The meaning
assigned to each term defined herein will be equally applicable to
both the singular and the plural forms of such term, and words
denoting any gender will include all genders. Where a word or
phrase is defined herein, each of its other grammatical forms will
have a corresponding meaning.

 

(e) A reference to any
period of days will be deemed to be to the relevant number of
calendar days, unless otherwise specified.

 

(f) The word
“dollars” and symbol “$” mean U.S.
dollars.

 

(g) References herein
to any Person shall include such Person’s heirs, executors,
personal representatives, administrators, successors and
assigns.

 

(h) The word
“or” shall be disjunctive but not
exclusive.

 

(i) The parties hereto
have participated jointly in the negotiation and drafting of this
Agreement. In the event an ambiguity or question of intent or
interpretation arises, this Agreement will be construed as if
drafted jointly by the parties, and no presumption or burden of
proof will arise favoring or disfavoring any party by virtue of the
authorship of any provisions hereof.

 

 

-5-

 

 

(j) Any statute or rule
defined or referred to herein or in any agreement or instrument
that is referred to herein means such statute or rule as from time
to time amended, modified or supplemented, including by succession
of comparable successor statutes or rules and references to all
attachments thereto and instruments incorporated
therein.

 

ARTICLE
II

CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE

 

Section
2.1    Board of
Directors Matters.

 

(a) Board Size and Composition.
Effective as of the Closing, in accordance with Section 3.02 of the
Bylaws, the size of the Board has initially been fixed at seven
Directors.

 

(b) Nomination of Directors.
Subject to Section
2.1(e), each Stockholder agrees with the Company that it
shall: (i) appear in person or by proxy at each annual meeting or
special meeting of the stockholders of the Company at which
Directors are to be elected for the purposes of obtaining a quorum;
(ii) at each such stockholders’ meeting, vote, in person or
by proxy, all of the Voting Securities owned by it on the date of
such meeting in favor of election of the following designees
nominated for election to the Board pursuant to this Section 2.1(b) and in
accordance with the Bylaws and the nomination procedures of the
Company; and (iii) in any action by written consent of the holders
of Voting Securities for the purpose of electing Directors, consent
to election of the following designees nominated for election to
the Board pursuant to this Section 2.1(b) and in
accordance with the Bylaws and the nomination procedures of the
Company:

 

(i) three (3) Persons
(at least one (1) of whom shall be an independent director within
the meaning of the NASDAQ listing standards) designated as nominees
for election to the Board by Holding LLC;

 

(ii) three
(3) Persons (at least one (1) of whom shall be an independent
director within the meaning of the NASDAQ listing standards)
designated as nominees for election to the Board by the FTI
Nominating Committee; and

 

(iii) one
(1) Person designated as a nominee for election to the Board (who
shall be an independent director within the meaning of the NASDAQ
listing standards) by Holding LLC with the prior written approval
(not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) of the
FTI Nominating Committee.

 

In the
event that either Holding LLC or the FTI Nominating Committee fails
to designate any nominee that it is entitled to designate pursuant
to this Section
2.1(b), then the Company will provide written notice of such
failure to Holding LLC or the FTI Nominating Committee, as
applicable. If such failure is not cured within ten (10) Business
Days following the transmission of such notice by the Company, then
the Board will be entitled to designate a nominee for such
position. The rights of each of Holdings LLC and the FTI Nominating
Committee to designate nominees for election to the Board as set
forth in this Section
2.1(b) are personal to each of Holdings LLC and the FTI
Nominating Committee and may not be exercised by any Transferee,
except that in the event Holding LLC no longer holds any Common
Stock but its Affiliates continue to hold Common Stock Transferred
by Holding LLC to such Affiliates (whether directly or by Transfers
through other Affiliates of Holding LLC), and such rights have not
been terminated pursuant to Section 2.1(e), the rights of
Holdings LLC to designate nominees pursuant to this Section 2.1(b) may be exercised
by the Affiliates of Holding LLC to which such Common Stock was
Transferred.

 

 

-6-

 

 

(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
Board. Matthew D. Rosen will be the initial Chairman of the
Board and Holcombe T. Green, Jr. will be the initial Vice Chairman
of the Board.

 

(d) Removal and Replacement;
Vacancies.

 

(i) In the event that a
vacancy is created at any time by (i) the death, disability,
retirement, resignation or removal of any Director nominated for
election to the Board pursuant to Section 2.1(b), or (ii) there
is an increase in the size of the Board, which increase must be in
increments of two (2) Directors, the Company, by action of the
remaining Directors, shall, and the Stockholders agree with the
Company to use their reasonable best efforts to cause the remaining
Directors to, in the case of clause (i), fill the vacancy created
thereby with a replacement nominee designated by the entity (i.e.,
either Holding LLC or the FTI Nominating Committee, as the case may
be) that had designated such Director for nomination pursuant to
Section 2.1(b) as
promptly as practicable or, in the case of clause (ii), fill the
vacancies created thereby as required to maintain the proportionate
allocation of Directors contemplated by Section 2.1(b) above. In
addition, if such vacant position had been held by a Person
nominated under Section
2.1(b)(iii), then the nomination of the replacement nominee
shall be subject to the prior written approval of the FTI
Nominating Committee, in accordance with Section
2.1(b)(iii).

 

(ii) In
the event that a vacancy is created at any time by the death,
disability, retirement, resignation or removal of any Director
nominated for election to the Board pursuant to Section 2.1(b) and the
remaining Directors have not caused the vacancy created thereby to
be filled pursuant to Section 2.1(d)(i) by a new
designee of the appropriate Person promptly after both Holding LLC
and the FTI Nominating Committee have been notified of such
vacancy, then in such case the Company shall take all such actions
as and when requested by whichever of Holding LLC or the FTI
Nominating Committee is entitled, pursuant to Section 2.1(b) to designate a
Person to fill such vacancy (the “Designating
Stockholder”), and each other Stockholder hereby
agrees with the Company to vote, or act by written consent with
respect to, all Voting Securities beneficially owned by it on the
date of the relevant vote or action to act to fill the vacancy with
a Person designated as a replacement by the Designating Stockholder
in accordance with Section
2.1(b). Upon the written request of any Person having rights
under Section
2.1(b), each other Stockholder agrees with the Company to
vote, or act by written consent with respect to, all Voting
Securities beneficially owned by it on the date of the relevant
action to, remove any Director nominated by such Person for
election to the Board pursuant to Section 2.1(b) and to elect any
replacement Director designated for nomination by such Person
pursuant to this Section
2.1(d).

 

(iii) Subject
to Section 2.1(e),
unless otherwise requested in writing by the Person entitled to
nominate such Person for election to the Board under Section 2.1(b), no other
Stockholder shall take any action to cause the removal of any
Directors nominated by such Person for election to the Board
pursuant to Section
2.1(b); provided, that any Director may be removed by the
Board for Cause and, in such case, the resulting vacancy will be
filled with a Person designated as a replacement by the Designating
Stockholder in accordance with Section 2.1(b).

 

(iv) Any
vacancy on the Board that results from the termination of rights of
nomination pursuant to Section 2.1(e) may be filled by
action of a majority of the Board, in accordance with the Bylaws
and applicable nomination procedures of the Company.

 

 

-7-

 

 

(e) Termination of Rights of
Nomination.

 

(i) Upon such time as
Holding LLC and its Affiliates cease to beneficially own,
collectively, at least 20% of the number of shares of Common Stock
they collectively beneficially own immediately following the
Closing, Holding LLC
shall cease to have the right to designate any nominee for election
to the Board pursuant to Section 2.1(b).

 

(ii) Unless
otherwise mutually agreed by Holding LLC and the FTI Nominating
Committee, upon such time as the aggregate number of issued and
outstanding shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by Marvin
Rosen and Matt Rosen is less than that number of shares of Common
Stock equal to 1.5% of the then issued and outstanding shares of
Common Stock, the FTI Nominating Committee shall cease to have the
right to designate any nominee for election to the Board pursuant
to Section
2.1(b).

 

Section
2.2  Company
Cooperation. The Company shall take such action as may be
required under applicable Law, the Charter and the Bylaws (subject
to such vote of the Board as may be required) (a) to cause the
Board to consist of the number of Directors specified in
Section 2.1(a) and
(b) to cause one of the Directors to be appointed and serve as the
Chairman of the Board and another of the Directors to be appointed
and serve as the Vice Chairman of the Board in accordance with
Section 2.1(c). The
Company agrees to include in the slate of nominees to be voted upon
by stockholders of the Company the Persons designated for
nomination to the Board in accordance with Section 2.1(b). The Company
agrees that no modification or amendment of the Charter or the
Bylaws that is inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement
shall be effective without the approval of Holding LLC and the FTI
Nominating Committee.

 

Section
2.3  FTI Nominating
Committee. The FTI Nominating Committee will only take such
actions under this Agreement as authorized in writing (email being
sufficient), including the nomination of individuals for election
to the Board by the FTI Nominating Committee pursuant to
Section 2.1(b)(ii),
by a majority of the FTI Nominating Committee.

 

Section
2.4  FTI
Stockholders. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
herein, at such time as any Person shall cease to serve as an FTI
Director for any reason, such Person shall no longer be an FTI
Stockholder within the meaning of this Agreement and the rights and
obligations of such Person under this Agreement shall terminate at
such time. At such time as any Person shall be elected as an FTI
Director such Person shall become an FTI Stockholder within the
meaning of this Agreement but only upon execution and delivery, to
the Company and Holding LLC, of a duly executed joinder to this
Agreement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A hereto or such other
form approved by Holding LLC and the Company.

 

Section
2.5  Affiliate
Transactions. Except for such transactions as are
contemplated by agreements to which the Company is a party on the
date hereof or to be entered into on the date hereof, any
transaction between the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company,
on the one hand, and a Stockholder or any Affiliate of such
Stockholder, on the other, shall require the approval of a majority
of the disinterested members of the Board.

 

 

-8-

 

 

ARTICLE III

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

 

Section
3.1    Representations and Warranties of the
Company. The Company represents and warrants to each
Stockholder as follows:

 

(a) the Company has all
requisite corporate power and authority to enter into this
Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder, and to
consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has
been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and
constitutes a valid and binding obligation of the Company
enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms,
except to the extent that the enforcement hereof may be limited by
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
similar Laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights
generally and general equitable principles, regardless of whether
such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in
equity; and

 

(b) the execution and
delivery of this Agreement by the Company, the performance of its
obligations hereunder, and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby will not violate, conflict with or result in a
breach, or constitute a default (with or without notice or lapse of
time or both) under any provision of the Charter or
Bylaws.

 

Section
3.2    Representations and Warranties of the
Stockholders. Each Stockholder, severally and not jointly,
represents and warrants, solely with respect to itself, to each
other Stockholder and to the Company as follows:

 

(a) such Stockholder
has all requisite power and authority to enter into this Agreement
and to perform its obligations hereunder, and to consummate the
transactions contemplated hereby. This Agreement has been duly
authorized, executed and delivered by such Stockholder and
constitutes a valid and binding obligation of such Stockholder
enforceable against such Stockholder in accordance with its terms,
except to the extent that the enforcement thereof may be limited by
applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or
similar Laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights
generally and general equitable principles, regardless of whether
such enforceability is considered in a proceeding at law or in
equity; and

 

(b) the execution and
delivery of this Agreement by such Stockholder, the performance of
its obligations hereunder, and the consummation of the transactions
contemplated hereby will not violate, conflict with or result in a
breach, or constitute a default (with or without notice or lapse of
time or both) under any provision of its charter, bylaws or other
similar organizational documents.

 

ARTICLE IV

MISCELLANEOUS

 

Section
4.1    Not A
“Group”. The Stockholders and the Company
acknowledge that the arrangements contemplated by this Agreement
are not intended to constitute the formation of a Group. Each
Stockholder agrees that, for purposes of determining beneficial
ownership of such Stockholder, it shall disclaim any beneficial
ownership by virtue of this Agreement of the Company’s
securities owned by the other Stockholders, and the Company agrees
to recognize such disclaimer in its Exchange Act and Securities Act
reports.

 

 

-9-

 

 

Section
4.2    Termination. This Agreement
shall terminate upon the earliest of (a) a Sale of the Company or
(b) the date on which the rights of Holding LLC or the FTI
Nominating Committee pursuant to Section 2.1(b) to nominate
individuals for election to the Board have terminated in accordance
with the terms of Section
2.1(e); provided, however, that, notwithstanding
anything in this Section
4.2 to the contrary, the rights and obligations of any
particular Stockholder (other than an FTI Stockholder) under this
Agreement shall terminate on the date on which such Stockholder no
longer beneficially owns any Equity Securities; provided, further, that, notwithstanding
anything in this Section
4.2 to the contrary, the termination of the rights and
obligations of any Person who ceases to serve as an FTI Director
for any reason shall be governed by Section 2.4.

 

Section 4.3
   Confidentiality. Each
Stockholder agrees with the Company to, and agrees with the Company
to use commercially reasonable efforts to cause its Representatives
to, keep confidential and not divulge any Information; provided, however, that nothing herein
shall prevent any Stockholder from disclosing such Information (a)
upon the order of any court or administrative agency, (b) upon the
request or demand of any regulatory agency or authority having
jurisdiction over such Stockholder or Representative, (c) to the
extent required by Law or legal process or required or requested
pursuant to subpoena, interrogatories or other discovery requests,
(d) to the extent necessary in connection with the exercise of any
remedy hereunder, (e) to other Stockholders, or (f) to such
Stockholder’s Representatives that in the reasonable judgment
of such Stockholder need to know such Information; provided, further, that, in the case of
clause (a), (b) or (c), such Stockholder shall notify the Company
of the proposed disclosure as far in advance of such disclosure as
reasonably practicable and, if requested by the Company, use
commercially reasonable efforts (but at the sole expense of the
Company) to ensure that any Information so disclosed is accorded
confidential treatment, when and to the extent
available.

 

Section 4.4
   Amendments
and Waivers. Except as otherwise provided herein, no
modification, amendment or waiver of any provision of this
Agreement shall be effective without the approval of the Company,
Holding LLC and the FTI Nominating Committee; provided, however, that (a) this
Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived in any manner
adversely affecting the rights or obligations of any Stockholder
without the prior written consent of such Stockholder, (b) no
amendment, modification or waiver to Section 2.1 (directly or by
amendment of the definitions used therein) shall adversely affect
the rights of Holding LLC or the FTI Nominating Committee to
designate nominee(s) for election to the Board in accordance with
this Agreement without the consent of Holding LLC or the FTI
Nominating Committee, as the case may be, (c) amendment,
modification or waiver of this Section 4.4 shall require the
prior written consent of each Stockholder, and (d) any Stockholder
may terminate or waive (in writing) the benefit of any provision of
this Agreement with respect to itself for any purpose.

 

Section 4.5
   Successors,
Assigns and Transferees. Except as expressly set forth
herein, this Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of, and
be enforceable by, the parties hereto and their respective
successors and permitted assigns.

 

 

-10-

 

 

Section 4.6
   Notices. All notices and other
communications to be given to any party hereunder shall be
sufficiently given for all purposes hereunder if in writing and
delivered by hand, courier or overnight delivery service, or when
received in the form of an email or other electronic transmission
(receipt confirmation requested), and shall be directed to the
address set forth below (or at such other address or email address
as such party shall designate by like notice):

 

if to
the Company, to:

 

Fusion
Connect, Inc.

420
Lexington Avenue, Suite 1718

New
York, New York 10170

Attention: James P.
Prenetta, Jr. Executive Vice President and General
Counsel

Email:
jprenetta@fusionconnect.com

 

if to
any Stockholder, to the address of such Stockholder as shown in
Schedule I
hereto.

 

Section 4.7
   Further
Assurances. At any time or from time to time after the date
hereof, the parties agree to cooperate with each other, and at the
request of any other party, to execute and deliver any further
instruments or documents and to take all such further action as the
other party may reasonably request in order to evidence or
effectuate the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby
and to otherwise carry out the intent of the parties
hereunder.

 

Section 4.8
   Entire
Agreement; Third Party Beneficiaries. Except as otherwise
expressly set forth herein, this Agreement embodies the complete
agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with respect
to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and preempts any prior
understandings, agreements or representations by or among the
parties, written or oral, that they may have related to the subject
matter hereof in any way. This Agreement is not intended to confer
in or on behalf of any Person not a party to this Agreement any
rights, benefits, causes of action or remedies with respect to the
subject matter or any provision thereof.

 

Section 4.9
   Delays or
Omissions. It is agreed that no delay or omission to
exercise any right, power or remedy accruing to any party, upon any
breach, default or noncompliance by another party under this
Agreement, shall impair any such right, power or remedy, nor shall
it be construed to be a waiver of any such breach, default or
noncompliance, or any acquiescence therein, or of or in any similar
breach, default or noncompliance thereafter occurring. It is
further agreed that any waiver, permit, consent or approval of any
kind or character on the part of any party hereto of any breach,
default or noncompliance under this Agreement or any waiver on such
party’s part of any provisions or conditions of this
Agreement, must be in writing and shall be effective only to the
extent specifically set forth in such writing. All remedies, either
under this Agreement, by Law, or otherwise afforded to any party,
shall be cumulative and not alternative.

 

Section 4.10
   Governing
Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in
accordance with the Laws of the State of Delaware applicable to
contracts made and to be performed within the State of Delaware,
without giving effect to conflicts of law rules that would require
or permit the application of the Laws of another
jurisdiction.

 

 

-11-

 

 

Section 4.11
   Specific
Performance; Jurisdiction.

 

(a) The parties agree
that irreparable damage would occur for which money damages would
not suffice in the event that any of the provisions of this
Agreement were not performed in accordance with their specific
terms or were otherwise breached and that the parties would not
have any adequate remedy at law. It is accordingly agreed that any
non-breaching party shall be entitled to seek an injunction,
temporary restraining order or other equitable relief exclusively
in the Delaware Court of Chancery enjoining any such breach and
enforcing specifically the terms and provisions hereof, or in the
event (but only in the event) that such court does not have subject
matter jurisdiction over such action or proceeding, in the United
States District Court for the District of Delaware or another court
sitting in the state of Delaware. Each party agrees not to raise
any objections to the availability of the equitable remedy of
specific performance to prevent or restrain breaches or threatened
breaches of, or to enforce compliance with, the covenants and
obligations of such party under this Agreement. The provisions of
this Section
4.11(a) are in addition to any other remedy to which any
party is entitled at law, in equity or otherwise.

 

(b) Each of the parties
hereto irrevocably agrees that any legal action or proceeding in
connection with or with respect to this Agreement and the rights
and obligations arising hereunder, or for recognition and
enforcement of any judgment in respect of this Agreement and the
rights and obligations arising hereunder brought by the other party
hereto or its successors or assigns shall be brought and determined
exclusively in the Delaware Court of Chancery, or in the event (but
only in the event) that such court does not have subject matter
jurisdiction over such action or proceeding, in the United States
District Court for the District of Delaware or another court
sitting in the state of Delaware. The parties hereto further agree
that any dispute between the parties regarding the approval by the
FTI Nominating Committee of any Person designated by Holding LLC
pursuant to Section
2.1(b)(iii) will be submitted to the Delaware Court of
Chancery with a request to rule on an expedited basis. Each of the
parties hereto hereby irrevocably submits with regard to any such
action or proceeding for itself and in respect of its property,
generally and unconditionally, to the personal jurisdiction of the
aforesaid courts and agrees that it will not bring any action in
connection with or relating to this Agreement or any of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement in any court other than
the aforesaid courts. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably
waives, and agrees not to assert, by way of motion, as a defense,
counterclaim or otherwise, in any action or proceeding in
connection with or with respect to this Agreement, (i) any claim
that it is not personally subject to the jurisdiction of the
above-named courts for any reason other than the failure to serve
in accordance with this Section 4.11, (ii) any claim
that it or its property is exempt or immune from jurisdiction of
any such court or from any legal process commenced in such courts
(whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment,
attachment in aid of execution of judgment, execution of judgment
or otherwise) and (iii) to the fullest extent permitted by the
applicable Law, any claim that (A) the suit, action or proceeding
in such court is brought in an inconvenient forum, (B) the venue of
such suit, action or proceeding is improper or (C) this Agreement,
or the subject matter hereof, may not be enforced in or by such
courts.

 

 

-12-

 

 

(c) Each of the parties
hereto irrevocably consents to the service of any summons and
complaint and any other process in any other action in connection
with or relating to this Agreement, on behalf of itself or its
property, by the personal delivery of copies of such process to
such party or by sending or delivering a copy of the process to the
party to be served at the address and in the manner provided for
the giving of notices in Section 4.6. Nothing in this
Section 4.11 shall
affect the right of any party hereto to serve legal process in any
other manner permitted by Law.

 

Section 4.12
   Waiver of
Jury Trial. Each party hereby waives, to the fullest extent
permitted by applicable Law, any right it may have to a trial by
jury in respect of any suit, action or other proceeding arising out
of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby. Each
party (i) certifies and acknowledges that no representative, agent
or attorney of any other party has represented, expressly or
otherwise, that such other party would not, in the event of
litigation, seek to enforce the foregoing waiver, and (ii)
acknowledges that it understands and has considered the
implications of this waiver and makes this waiver voluntarily, and
that it and the other parties have been induced to enter into the
Agreement by, among other things, the mutual waivers and
certifications in this Section 4.12.

 

Section 4.13
   Severability. If any term,
provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a
court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid,
void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions,
covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full
force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or
invalidated so long as the economic or legal substance of the
transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner
materially adverse to any party hereto. Upon such a determination,
the parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement
so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as
possible in a mutually acceptable manner in order that the
transactions contemplated hereby be consummated as originally
contemplated to the fullest extent possible.

 

Section 4.14
   Titles and
Subtitles. The titles of the sections and subsections of
this Agreement are for convenience of reference only and will not
affect the meaning or interpretation of this
Agreement.

 

Section 4.15
   Counterparts;
Electronic Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in
counterparts, each of which shall constitute one and the same
instrument. Signatures provided by electronic transmission in
“pdf” or equivalent format will be deemed to be
original signatures.

 

Section 4.16
   Certain
Indemnification Matters. The Company hereby acknowledges
that an Indemnitee (as defined in the Charter) who is an officer,
director, partner, member, manager, employee, managing director or
Affiliate of, or a Director nominee pursuant to Section 2.1 of, a Stockholder
(each such Indemnitee, a “Specified Indemnitee”)
may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses
and/or insurance pursuant to charter documents, constitutive
agreements or other agreements with such Stockholder or Affiliates
of such Stockholder or other Person (other than the Company and its
Affiliates) of which such Specified Indemnitee is an officer,
director, partner, member, manager, employee, managing director or
Affiliate (collectively, the “Secondary Indemnitors”).
In furtherance of the foregoing, the Company hereby covenants and
agrees as follows:

 

 

-13-

 

 

(a) The Company shall
be the indemnitor of first resort for any claims or proceedings
(collectively, “Covered Claims”) for
which any Specified Indemnitee is entitled, under the Charter or
otherwise, to indemnification by the Company (i.e., the Company’s obligations
to each such Specified Indemnitee with respect to any Covered Claim
are primary and any obligations of any Secondary Indemnitor to
advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same
expenses or liabilities incurred by any such Specified Indemnitee
with respect Covered Claims are secondary).

 

(b) Subject to Sections
1 and 2 of Article
IX of the Charter, the
Company shall pay the expenses (including attorneys’ fees and
expenses) incurred by any Specified Indemnitee in defending any
Covered Claim in advance of such Covered Claim’s final
disposition, without regard to any rights any such Specified
Indemnitee may have against any Secondary Indemnitor.

 

(c) The Company hereby
irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases each Secondary
Indemnitor from any and all claims against such Secondary
Indemnitor for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of
any kind in respect of any Covered Claim.

 

The
Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by any
Secondary Indemnitor on behalf of any such Specified Indemnitee
with respect to any Covered Claim for which any such Specified
Indemnitee has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect
the foregoing and any such Secondary Indemnitor shall have a right
of contribution and/or subrogation to the extent of such
advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of such
Specified Indemnitee against the Company. Any amendment, repeal or
modification of this Section 4.16 shall not
adversely affect any right or protection of a Specified Indemnitee
or Secondary Indemnitor existing prior to such repeal or
modification.

 

Section 4.17
   Rights and
Obligations of Transferees. No Stockholder shall Transfer
any Equity Securities except in compliance with the Securities Act,
the Charter (as defined in the Merger Agreement), any applicable
state or foreign securities Laws and this Agreement, or if such
Transfer would violate the Communications Act or FCC Regulations
and such Stockholder has been so advised by the Company. Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, no such Transfer shall be
made or recognized in the books and records of the Company if such
Transfer would result in a violation of the Communications Act or
FCC Regulations. Any Transfers in violation of this Agreement shall
be null and void.

 

[Remainder
of page intentionally left blank]

 

 

-14-

 

IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Stockholders’ Agreement to be executed effective as of the
date set forth in the first paragraph hereof.

 

FUSION
CONNECT, INC.

 

 

By:  
/s/ James P. Prenetta, Jr.
 

Name:
James P. Prenetta, Jr.

Title:
Executive Vice President and General Counsel

 

 

 

BCHI
HOLDINGS, LLC

 

 

By:  
/s/ Holcombe T. Green, Jr.
 

Name:
Holcombe T. Green, Jr.

Title:
Manager

 

 

 

 

FTI STOCKHOLDERS:

 

 

 

By:  
/s/ Marvin S. Rosen
 

 

By:  
/s/ Matthew S. Rosen
 

 

By:  
/s/ Philip D. Turits
 

 

By:
/s/ Michal J. Del Giudice
 

 

By:  
/s/ Jack Rosen
 

 

By:  
/s/ William Rubin
 

 

By:  
/s/ Paul C. O’Brien
 

 

By:  
/s/ Larry Blum
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXHIBIT A

 

FORM
OF JOINDER TO

 

STOCKHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT

 

This
JOINDER to the Stockholders’ Agreement, dated as of
__________, 2018 (the “Stockholders’
Agreement”), of Fusion Connect, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the “Company”), BCHI Holdings,
LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“Holding LLC”) and the
other Persons set forth on Schedule I of the
Stockholders’ Agreement (the “Initial FTI
Stockholders”) is executed on behalf of the
undersigned (“FTI
Stockholder”), effective as of the date set forth on
the signature page below, with reference to the following
facts:

 

A.           Capitalized
terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings
set forth in the Stockholders’ Agreement.

 

B.           FTI
Stockholder is, as of the date set forth below, an FTI
Director.

 

NOW,
THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained
herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the undersigned
hereby agrees as follows:

 

1.           Agreement
to be Bound. FTI Stockholder hereby agrees that upon
execution of this Joinder, FTI Stockholder shall become a party to
the Stockholders’ Agreement as an “FTI
Stockholder” and shall be fully bound by, and subject to, all
of the covenants, terms and conditions of the Stockholders’
Agreement applicable to FTI Stockholder.

 

2.           Equity
Securities. As of the date of this Agreement, the FTI
Stockholder owns [INSERT AMOUNT AND TYPE OF COMPANY EQUITY
SECURITIES OWNED BY STOCKHOLDER.]

 

3.           Counterparts.
This Joinder may be executed in separate counterparts each of which
shall be an original and all of which taken together shall
constitute one and the same agreement.

 

4.           Notices.
For purposes of Section
4.6 of the Stockholders’ Agreement, all notices,
demands or other communications to FTI Stockholder shall be
directed to FTI Stockholder’s address set forth below FTI
Stockholder’s signature below.

 

 

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

 

 

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Stockholder has
executed this Joinder effective as of the date set forth
below.

 

FTI
STOCKHOLDER:

 

 

 

By:                                                                       

 

Name:                                                                       

 

Title:                                                                       

 

 

ADDRESS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date:Blueprint

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSITION SERVICES AGREEMENT

 

 

by and
among

 

 

 

FUSION CONNECT, INC.

(f/k/a Fusion Telecommunications International, Inc.

 

and

 

 

LINGO MANAGEMENT, LLC

 

 

 

dated
as of

 

 May
4, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRANSITION SERVICES AGREEMENT

 

This
Transition Services Agreement (this "Agreement"),
dated as of May 4, 2018, is entered into by and between
Fusion Connect, Inc. (f/k/a Fusion
Telecommunications International, Inc.), a Delaware
corporation with its principal place of business at 420 Lexington
Avenue, Suite 1718, New York, NY 10170 (“Fusion”) and Lingo Management, LLC, a Georgia limited
liability company with its principal place of business at 3060
Peachtree Road NW, Suite 1065, Atlanta, GA 30305
(“Lingo”). Each of Fusion
and Lingo may be referred to herein individually as a
“Party”
and collectively as the “Parties.”

 

 

RECITALS

 

 

WHEREAS, Fusion, Fusion BCHI
Acquisition, LLC (“Merger Sub”), and Birch
Holdings, Inc. (“Birch Holdings”) have
entered into that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated
August 26, 2017, as amended (the “Merger Agreement”), under
the terms of which Merger Sub will merge with and into Birch
Holdings, with Merger Sub being the survivor of that merger (the
“Merger”);

 

 

WHEREAS, one of the conditions to
closing the Merger is the requirement that Birch Communications,
LLC (“Birch”), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Birch Holdings, spin-off to the existing shareholders
of Birch Holdings, the Consumer/SMB Business; and

 

 

WHEREAS, in order to facilitate the
transition of the Consumer/SMB Business to Lingo as well as to
facilitate the transfer of the remaining business of Birch to
Fusion (the “Birch
Business/Cloud Business”), the Parties have agreed to
provide the other Party with certain services, including
administrative and support services, until such time as any
remaining state approvals (as defined) are obtained, network
facilities and other assets have been appropriately transferred,
and the Parties can operate their respective businesses without the
need for the services specified contemplated by this Agreement
(collectively “Services”);
and

 

 

WHEREAS, capitalized terms used herein
and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning ascribed to such
terms in the Merger Agreement.

 

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the
mutual agreements and covenants hereinafter set forth, the Parties
hereby agree as follows:

 

 

 

-2-

 

 

ARTICLE
I.

SERVICES;
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE; END USERS

 

Section 1.01 Provision
of Services.

 

(a) The Party providing
any Services (the “Providing Party”) agrees
to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide, or to cause its
one or more of its subsidiaries to provide, the Services set forth
on the exhibits attached hereto (as such exhibits may be amended or
supplemented pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, collectively,
the "Service
Schedules") to the Party receiving the Services (the
“Receiving
Party”) for the respective periods and on the other
terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and in the
respective Service Schedules. As used in this Agreement and the
Service Schedules when describing the rights and obligations of the
Providing Parties, the “Providing Parties” shall
include the Providing Parties and its subsidiaries.

 

(b) Notwithstanding the
contents of the Service Schedules, the Providing Parties agree to
respond in good faith to any reasonable request by the Receiving
Parties for access to any additional services that are necessary
for the operation of their business and which are not currently
contemplated in the Service Schedules, at a price to be agreed upon
after good faith negotiations between the Parties. Unless otherwise
agreed to by the Parties, any such additional services so provided
by the Providing Parties shall constitute Services under this
Agreement and be subject in all respect to the provisions of this
Agreement as if fully set forth on a Service Schedule as of the
date hereof.

 

(c) The Providing Party
shall ensure that all personnel who provide Services hereunder on
its behalf have appropriate professional, technical, and skills,
training, and experience to enable them to perform their duties in
an efficient manner. Each Providing Party shall make commercially
reasonable efforts to provide sufficient staffing to enable the
Services to be performed in accordance with this Agreement and
shall reasonably maintain the continuity of the personnel assigned
to perform the Services hereunder. Any replacement personnel shall
have substantially equivalent or better qualifications than the
personnel being replaced.

 

(d) The Parties
acknowledge the transitional nature of the Services. Accordingly,
as promptly as practicable following the execution of this
Agreement, the Receiving Parties agree to use commercially
reasonable efforts to make a transition of each Service to its own
internal organization or to obtain alternate third-party sources to
provide the Services so that the Services are transitioned no later
than the respective expiration dates in the Service
Schedules.

 

 

 

 

-3-

 

(e) In the event and to
the extent that there is an inconsistency between the terms of this
Agreement and the Service Schedules, the Service Schedules shall
govern.

 

Section 1.02 Standard of
Service. The Providing Party represents, warrants and agrees with the Receiving
Party that the Services shall be provided in a professional and
workmanlike manner with promptness and diligence in accordance with
the requirements of this Agreement and applicable law and, except
as specifically provided in the Service Schedules, in a manner
generally consistent with the historical provision of the Services
and with at least the same standard of care as historically
provided in connection with its business.

 

Section 1.03 Disclaimer of
Warranties. Except as expressly
contemplated by Section 1.02 or set forth in any contract entered
into hereunder, including in any Service Schedules or attachment
thereto, each Party provides the Services on an as-is and where-is
basis, using commercially reasonable efforts, and makes no
representations and warranties of any kind, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR
STATUTORY, AS TO THE DESCRIPTION, QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY,
COMPLETENESS OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE, OF ANY SERVICE PROVIDED
HEREUNDER OR DESCRIBED HEREIN, OR AS TO ANY OTHER MATTER, ALL OF
WHICH WARRANTIES BY EACH PARTY ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED AND
DISCLAIMED. The Receiving
Parties acknowledge and agree that this Agreement does not create a
fiduciary relationship, partnership, joint venture or relationships
of trust or agency between the Parties and that all Services are
provided by the Providing Parties as independent contractors. To
further clarify the foregoing, wherever this Agreement or any
schedule states that the Providing Parties shall provide a
particular Service or function, or perform or fulfill a particular
obligation, or make something available, the Providing Parties
shall do so using commercially reasonable efforts, and shall
neither guarantee nor insure any particular
result.

 

Section 1.04 Third-Party Service
Providers. It is understood and
agreed that the Providing Parties have been retaining, and will
continue to retain, third-party service providers to provide some
of the Services to the Receiving Parties. In addition, the
Providing Parties shall have the right to hire other third-party
subcontractors to provide all or part of any Service hereunder. The
Providing Parties shall in all cases retain responsibility for the
provision to the Receiving Parties of Services to be performed by
any third-party service provider or subcontractor or by the
Receiving Party’s subsidiaries. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, (a) in all cases where a Party changes its then-current
practice from either (i) providing a Service itself to providing it
through a third-party, or (ii) providing it by one third-party to
another third-party, it shall promptly notify the other Party of
such change, and (b) the Providing Parties will disallow the new or
continued Services of any of the Providing Parties of its
third-party subcontractors upon a showing of reasonable cause and
no undue hardship to the Providing Parties.

 

 

 

-4-

 

Section 1.05 Extension of Services.
The Parties agree that the Providing
Parties shall not be obligated to perform any Service after the
applicable end date (the “End
Date”) specified for that
Service in the applicable Service Schedule; provided, however, that if the Receiving Parties desire and the
Providing Parties agree to continue to perform any of the Services
after the applicable End Date, the Parties shall negotiate in good
faith to determine an amount that compensates the Providing Parties
for its on-going provision of such Services. The Services so
performed by the Providing Parties after the applicable End Date
shall continue to constitute Services under this Agreement and be
subject in all respects to the provisions of this Agreement for the
duration of the agreed-upon extension period.

 

Section 1.06 Terminated Services.
Upon termination or expiration of any
or all Services pursuant to this Agreement, or upon the termination
of this Agreement in its entirety, the Providing Parties shall have
no further obligation to provide the applicable terminated Services
and the Receiving Parties will have no obligation to pay any future
compensation or out-of-pocket costs relating to such Services
(other than for or in respect of Services already provided in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and received by the
Receiving Parties prior to such termination), or Services provided
by the Providing Parties at the Receiving Parties’ request
after such termination.

 

Section 1.07 

 

(a) Access to Premises and
Assets. In order to enable the
provision of the Services by the Providing Parties, the Receiving
Parties agree that for a period of six (6) months after the
execution of this Agreement, that they shall provide to the
Providing Parties and each of their subsidiaries' employees and any
third-party service providers or subcontractors who provide
Services, at no cost to the Providing Parties, access to the
facilities in all cases only upon prior written notice during
normal business hours to the extent necessary for the Providing
Parties to fulfill each of its obligations under this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the above, prior written notice shall not be
required for the Providing Party to grant access to those employees
of the Receiving Party who work on a day to day basis in the
Providing Party’s premise during normal business hours. All
third-party subcontractors shall at all times be under the direct
supervision of a supervisory-level employee of the Providing
Parties. The Providing Parties’ access to facilities of the
other Party shall at all times be subject to the approval and
direction of the senior executive officer of the Receiving Parties
then present at the facilities. The Parties agree that the
Providing Parties will indemnify, defend and hold harmless, the
Receiving Parties for any third party claims resulting from bodily
injury or property damage incurred by the Receiving Parties
employees, third party service providers or subcontractors who are
granted access to the premises of the Providing
Party

 

 

 

-5-

 

(b) Access to Books and
Records. In order to enable the
provision of the Services by the Providing Parties, the Receiving
Parties agree that for a period of thirty six (36) months after
execution of this Agreement, they shall provide to the Providing
Parties and each of their respective subsidiaries' employees and
any third-party service providers or subcontractors retained by
such Party to review billing matters on its behalf, at no cost to
the Providing Parties, access to the books and records of the other
Party relevant to the Services in question along with the
underlying details and invoices for the Services provided by the
Providing Party pursuant this Agreement.

 

Section 1.08 System
Maintenance. In the event that
a Providing Party determines that it is necessary to interrupt
Services or that there is a potential for Services to be
interrupted for the performance of system maintenance
(“Planned Interruption”), the Providing Party will use
good-faith efforts to notify the Receiving Party prior to the
performance of such maintenance and will schedule such maintenance
during non-peak hours (midnight to 6 a.m. local time). In no event
shall the Planned Interruption for system maintenance constitute a
failure of performance by the Providing Party.

 

ARTICLE II. 

COMPENSATION

 

Section 2.01 Responsibility for Wages and
Fees. Except as otherwise
contemplated in a schedule to this Agreement, for such time as any employees of the Providing
Parties or any of its subsidiaries are providing the Services to
the Receiving Parties under this Agreement, (a) such employees will
remain employees of the Providing Parties or such subsidiaries, as
applicable, and shall not be deemed to be employees of the
Receiving Parties for any purpose, (b) the Providing Parties or
such subsidiaries, as applicable, shall be solely responsible for
the payment and provision of all wages, bonuses and commissions,
employee benefits, including severance and worker's compensation,
and the withholding and payment of applicable taxes relating to
such employment, and (c) the Providing Parties shall retain the
sole and exclusive right to manage said employees, including but
not limited to the ability and right to hire, terminate, promote,
demote and/or discipline said employees.

 

Section 2.02 Terms
of Payment and Related Matters.

 

(a) As consideration
for provision of the Services, the Receiving Parties shall pay the
Providing Parties the amount specified for each Service on such
Service's respective Service Schedule. For any costs incurred for
Services that are not already set forth in any Service Schedule, in
the event that the Providing Parties or any of their subsidiaries
incur pre-approved (where possible) reasonable and documented
expenses necessary to provide any Service, including, without
limitation payments to third-party service providers or
subcontractors retained in accordance with Section 1.04 (such
included expenses, collectively, "Additional
Costs"), the Receiving Parties then shall reimburse the
Providing Parties for all such Additional Costs in accordance with
the invoicing procedures set forth in ‎Section
2.02(b).

 

 

 

-6-

 

(b) As more fully provided in the Service
Schedules and subject to the terms and conditions
therein:

 

(i) the Providing
Parties shall provide, no later than ten (10) days after the end of
each calendar month, the Receiving Parties, in accordance with
‎Section 6.01
of this Agreement, with monthly invoices dated the first of each
month ("Invoices"),
which shall set forth in reasonable detail, for each Service
covered by a Service Schedule, with such supporting documentation
as the Receiving Parties may reasonably request with respect to any
out-of-pocket costs incurred on behalf of the other Party, amounts
payable under this Agreement; and

 

(ii) unless
otherwise provided for in the schedules hereto, payments pursuant
to this Agreement shall be made within thirty (30) days of the date
of an Invoice.

 

(c) The Providing
Parties reserve the right to charge interest on any amount not paid
by the Receiving Parties by the due dates set forth herein that is
not being contested by the Receiving Parties in good faith at a
rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month. Such interest
shall accrue from the thirty-first (31th) day after the
original Invoice due date through the date payment is
made.

 

Section 2.03 Invoice Disputes.
The Receiving Party may raise a good faith dispute
with respect to an Invoice by delivering a written statement to the
Providing Party within ninety (90) days of the Receiving
Party’s receipt of the applicable Invoice. To be valid, the
required written statement must include a reasonably detailed
description of each disputed item. Amounts not disputed within such
ninety (90) day period shall be deemed accepted. In the event that
the Receiving Party raises a good faith dispute prior to the due
date of the applicable Invoice and submits the required written
statement, the Receiving Party may withhold the disputed amount
from the applicable Invoice payment and pay solely the undisputed
balance The Parties shall seek to resolve all such disputes
expeditiously and in good faith. Parties shall seek to resolve all
such disputes expeditiously and in good faith. All undisputed
portions of invoices shall be paid notwithstanding any dispute. Any
disputed amounts resolved in favor of a disputing Party shall be
credited to that Party’s account on the next Invoice
following resolution of the dispute. Any dispute arising out of or
relating to this Agreement that has not been resolved by the
good-faith efforts of the Parties shall be settled pursuant
to Section 2.04
of this Agreement.

 

 

 

-7-

 

Section 2.04 Mandatory Arbitration of
Disputes. ANY BILLING DISPUTE OF ANY KIND
BETWEEN THE PARTIES, WILL BE RESOLVED BY FINAL AND BINDING
ARBITRATION AS PRESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION. THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION
ACT, NOT STATE LAW, WILL GOVERN THIS PROCESS. The arbitration will be conducted by and under
the then-applicable commercial arbitration rules of the American
Arbitration Association (“AAA”) through the AAA Case Management Center
located in Washington, DC or other location as may be mutually
agreed by Parties. A single neutral arbitrator engaged in the
practice of law will conduct the arbitration. The arbitrator will
be selected according to the rules of the AAA or, alternatively,
may be selected by agreement of the Parties, who will cooperate in
good faith to select the arbitrator. All expedited procedures
prescribed by the applicable rules will apply. All required fees
and costs will be paid equally by the Parties as set forth in the
AAA commercial arbitration rules. The arbitrator’s decision
and award will be final and binding, and judgment on the award
rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court with
jurisdiction. No dispute may be joined with another lawsuit,
claim, dispute, or arbitration brought by any other person. The
arbitrator may not award punitive damages. If any Party files a
judicial or administrative action to resolve a billing dispute
without first complying with the provisions of this Section and
another Party successfully stays such action and/or compels
arbitration, the Party filing that judicial or administrative
action must pay the other Party’s costs and expenses incurred
in seeking such stay and/or compelling arbitration, including
attorney’s fees.

 

Section 2.05 No Right of Setoff.
Each of the Parties hereby
acknowledges that it shall have no right under this Agreement to
offset any amounts owed (or to become due and owing) to the other
Party, whether under this Agreement, or otherwise, against any
other amount owed (or to become due and owing) to it by the other
Party.

 

Section 2.06 Taxes. The Receiving Parties shall be responsible for all
fees, taxes or surcharges properly assessed by regulatory or
Governmental Entities on the Services or amounts due or payable
under this Agreement (excluding taxes on the Providing
Party’s net income), including but not limited to gross
receipts taxes, surcharges, franchise fees, business licenses,
occupational, excise, universal service fund, and other taxes (and
penalties and interest thereon), which shall be passed through to
the Receiving Party. Upon written request, the Providing Party will
furnish documentation to support the fees or charges payable by the
Receiving Party pursuant to this Section.

 

Section 2.07 Additional
Assurances. If at any time
during the term of this Agreement there is a material and adverse
change in a Party’s financial condition, business prospects
or payment history, the invoicing Party may demand a security
deposit or increase the amount of the Security Deposit, as the case
may be, as security for the full and faithful performance of the
terms, conditions, and covenants of this Agreement;
provided,
however, in no event shall the
amount of the security deposit exceed 45 days’ estimated or
actual usage charges, monthly recurring charges, and/or other
amounts payable by the Receiving Party to the Providing Party
hereunder.

 

 

 

 

-8-

 

 

ARTICLE III.

LIMITATION
OF LIABILITY; INDEMNIFICATION

 

Section 3.01 Limitation on Liability.
NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION HEREOF, NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE
LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT,
CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, RELIANCE, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE
DAMAGES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS,
LOST REVENUES, LOSS OF BUSINESS REPUTATION OR OPPORTUNITY, )
ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO A BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT
AND WHETHER
BASED ON STATUTE, CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, AND WHETHER OR NOT
ARISING FROM THE OTHER PARTY'S SOLE, JOINT, OR CONCURRENT
NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, CRIMINAL LIABILITY OR OTHER FAULT
.. FURTHERMORE, IN NO EVENT SHALL
EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER, EITHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT,
FOR PROTECTION FROM UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION, THEFT OR
DESTRUCTION OF CUSTOMER DATA FILES NOT CONTROLLED BY THE OTHER
PARTY. In no event shall the
Providing Parties’ aggregate liability for direct damages to
the Receiving Party that arise out of or are related to this
Agreement, whether arising out of or related to breach of contract,
tort (including negligence) or otherwise, exceed $10,000.00; except
insofar as liability is predicated on the Providing Parties’
gross negligence or willful misconduct.

 

Section 3.02 Indemnity. Each Party hereby agrees to defend, indemnify
and hold the other Party and its Representatives, from and against
any and all losses, liabilities, claims, litigation, damages,
penalties, actions, demands and expenses incurred by such Party and
arising out of this Agreement to the extent attributable solely to:
(i) the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of such Party, (ii)
the performance or non-performance of such Party’s
obligations under this Agreement, or (iii) the negligence of such
Party in its performance or non-performance of its obligations
under this Agreement. This obligation to indemnify shall include
reasonable attorneys’ fees and investigation costs and all
other reasonable costs, expenses and liabilities incurred by a
Party or its counsel from the first notice that any claim or demand
is to be made or may be made.

 

Section 3.03 Indemnification
Procedures. The Party seeking
indemnification under this Section must: (a) promptly notify the
other Party in writing of any claim, and in connection with third
party claims: (a) give the indemnifying Party full and complete
authority to resolve the matter, and (b) provide information and
assistance for the claim’s defense; provided
further, in the event of third
party claims, the indemnifying Party will retain the right, at its
option, to settle or defend the claim, at its own expense and with
its own counsel and will have the right, at its option, to
participate in the settlement or defense of the claim, with its own
counsel and at its own expense, but the indemnifying Party will
retain sole control of the claim’s settlement or defense. To
be indemnified under this Section, the Party seeking
indemnification must not by any act, including any admission or
acknowledgement, materially impair or compromise a claim’s
defence.

 

 

-9-

 

 

Section 3.04 Survival. The indemnification obligations and covenants of
this Article III
shall survive the termination of this
Agreement provided that the indemnified Person provides notice to
the indemnifying Party of any claim for indemnification under this
Agreement in writing setting forth the specific claim and the basis
therefore in reasonable detail prior to the six (6) month
anniversary of such date of termination.

 

 

Section 3.05 Special Indemnity –
Shared Agreements. Each Party
recognizes that there are instances in which both Parties and/or
their respective subsidiaries or affiliates are utilizing shared
services performed by a third party provider. The Parties
acknowledge that in these instances each Party is obligated to pay
the portion of the invoice for the services procured by such Party
from the third party provider under the respective agreement. If a
Party fails to pay its portion of the invoice (whether to the third
party provider or other Party receiving the shared service) by the
invoice due date, such Party shall be required to indemnify the
other Party for any amounts paid by the other Party on the
nonpaying Party’s behalf. The Parties agree that all
indemnity obligations shall be satisfied within five (5) days of
receipt of written demand for payment with all payments being made
via electronic transfer of available funds. Nothing in this Section
3.05 shall prevent a Party from reserving its rights to dispute any
invoice or payment.

 

ARTICLE
IV. 

TERMINATION

 

Section 4.01 Termination of this
Agreement. Subject to
‎Section
4.04, this Agreement shall
terminate in its entirety (i) on the date upon which the Providing
Parties shall have no continuing obligation to perform any Services
as a result of each of their expiration or termination in
accordance with ‎Section
4.02, or (ii) in accordance with ‎Section
4.02.

 

Section 4.02 Breach. Except as otherwise set forth in a Service
Schedule, any Party (the "Non-Breaching
Party") may terminate this
Agreement with respect to any Service, in whole but not in part, at
any time upon prior written notice to the other Party (the
"Breaching
Party") if the Breaching Party
has failed (other than pursuant to ‎Section
4.05) to perform any of its
material obligations under this Agreement relating to such Service,
and such failure shall have continued without cure for a period of
thirty (30) days (ten (10) days for non-payment by the Receiving
Parties, provided that the Receiving Parties shall not be entitled
to cure a non-payment breach more than once) after receipt by the
Breaching Party of a written notice of such failure from the
Non-Breaching Party seeking to terminate such Service. For the
avoidance of doubt, non-payment by the Receiving Parties for a
Service provided by the Providing Parties in accordance with this
Agreement that is not the subject of a good-faith dispute shall be
deemed a breach for purposes of this ‎Section
4.02.

 

 

 

-10-

 

Section 4.03 Insolvency. In the event that either Party or one or more of
its subsidiaries shall (i) file a petition in bankruptcy, (ii)
become or be declared insolvent, or become the subject of any
proceedings (not dismissed within sixty (60) days) related to its
liquidation, insolvency or the appointment of a receiver, (iii)
make an assignment on behalf of all or substantially all of its
creditors, or (iv) take any corporate action for its winding up or
dissolution, then the other Party shall have the right to terminate
this Agreement by providing written notice in accordance
with ‎Section
6.01.

 

Section 4.04 Effect of Termination.
Upon termination of this Agreement in
its entirety pursuant to ‎Section
4.01, all obligations of the
Parties shall terminate, except for the provisions of
Article
III, ‎Article
V and VI and Section
3.05, which shall survive any
termination or expiration of this Agreement.

 

Section 4.05 Force Majeure.
The obligations of the Providing
Parties under this Agreement with respect to any Service shall be
suspended during the period and to the extent that the Providing
Parties are prevented or hindered from providing such Service, or
the Receiving Parties are prevented or hindered from receiving such
Service, due to any of the following causes beyond such Party's
reasonable control (such causes, "Force Majeure
Events"): (i) acts of God, (ii)
flood, fire or explosion, (iii) war, invasion, riot or other civil
unrest, (iv) governmental order or law, (v) actions, embargoes or
blockades in effect on or after the date of this Agreement, (vi)
action by any governmental entity, (vii) national or regional
emergency, (viii) strikes, labor stoppages or slowdowns or other
industrial disturbances, (ix) shortage of adequate power or
transportation facilities, or (x) any other similar event which is
beyond the reasonable control of such Party. The Party suffering a
Force Majeure Event shall give notice of suspension as soon as
reasonably practicable to the other Party stating the date and
extent of such suspension and the cause thereof, and the Providing
Parties shall resume the performance of each of its obligations as
soon as reasonably practicable after the removal of the cause.
Neither the Receiving Parties nor the Providing Parties shall be
liable for the nonperformance or delay in performance of its
respective obligations under this Agreement when such failure is
due to a Force Majeure Event. The applicable End Date for any
Service so suspended shall be automatically extended for a period
of time equal to the time lost by reason of the
suspension.

 

 

 

-11-

 

 

ARTICLE V. 

CONFIDENTIALITY;
DATA PROTECTION

 

Section 5.01 Confidentiality.

 

(a) During the term of
this Agreement and thereafter, the Parties shall, and shall
instruct, and take reasonable precautions to ensure that, they and
their respective officers, directors, managers, members,
shareholders, employees, agents, third-party contractors and other
representatives (collectively, “Representatives”) to,
maintain in confidence and not disclose the other Party's
financial, technical, sales, marketing, development, personnel, and
other information, records, or data, including, without limitation,
customer lists, supplier lists, trade secrets, designs, product
formulations, product specifications or any other proprietary or
confidential information, however recorded or preserved, whether
written or oral (any such information, "Confidential
Information"). This Agreement and all schedules, exhibits
and annexes attached hereto, and the Parties’ non-public
performance thereof, shall be deemed Confidential Information. Each
Party shall use the same degree of care, but no less than
reasonable care, to protect the other Party's Confidential
Information as it uses to protect its own Confidential Information
of like nature. Unless otherwise authorized in any other agreement
between the Parties, any Party receiving any Confidential
Information of the other Party (the “Recipient”) may use
Confidential Information only for the purposes of fulfilling its
obligations under this Agreement (the "Permitted
Purpose"). The Recipient may disclose such Confidential
Information only to its Representatives who have a need to know
such information for the Permitted Purpose and who have been
advised of the terms of this ‎Section 5.01 and the
Recipient shall be liable for any breach of these confidentiality
provisions by such persons; provided, however, that any Recipient may
disclose such Confidential Information to the extent such
Confidential Information is required to be disclosed by an order
issued by, or a rule or regulation of, a Governmental Entity
(“Governmental
Order”), and, in the case of an order issued by a
Governmental Entity, the Recipient shall promptly notify, to the
extent legally permitted, the disclosing Party (the "Disclosing
Party"), and take (at the expense of the Disclosing Party)
reasonable steps to assist in contesting such Governmental Order or
in protecting the Disclosing Party's rights prior to disclosure,
and in which case the Recipient shall only disclose such
Confidential Information that it is advised by its counsel it is
legally bound to disclose under such Governmental
Order.

 

(b) Notwithstanding the
foregoing, Confidential Information shall not include any
information that the Recipient can demonstrate: (i) was publicly
known at the time of disclosure to it or its Representatives, or
has become publicly known through no act of the Recipient or its
Representatives in breach of this ‎Section 5.01; (ii) was
rightfully received from a third party without a duty of
confidentiality; or (iii) was developed by it or its
Representatives without any reliance on the Confidential
Information.

 

 

-12-

 

(c) Within five (5)
days written demand by the Disclosing Party at any time, or upon
expiration or termination of this Agreement with respect to any
Service, the Recipient agrees promptly to return or destroy, at its
option, all Confidential Information. If such Confidential
Information is destroyed, an authorized officer of the Receiving
Party shall certify as to such destruction.

 

(d) Because money
damages may be insufficient in the event of a breach or threatened
breach of this Section
5.01, the affected Party may be entitled to seek an
injunction or restraining order in addition to such other rights or
remedies as may be available under this Agreement, at law or in
equity, including but not limited to money damages.

 

Section 5.02 Data Ownership and
Protection. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary, all data or information provided by,
accessed from or through a Party and all data resulting from the
other Party processing or aggregation of any such data or
performing Services for the other Party is, or will be, and will
remain, the property of such Party, and will be deemed Confidential
Information of such Party.  Both Parties shall employ adequate and
commercially reasonable, industry standard physical and software
security measures to maintain the security (and prevent the
disclosure) of any Confidential Information of the other Party in
its possession and adhere to applicable policies relating to
security of and access to Confidential Information of the other
Party as may be communicated by the other Party from time to
time.

 

 

ARTICLE
VI. 

 MISCELLANEOUS

 

Section 6.01 Notices. All Invoices, notices, requests, consents, claims,
demands, waivers and other communications hereunder shall be in
writing and shall be deemed to have been given: (a) when delivered
by hand (with written confirmation of receipt); (b) when received
by the addressee if sent by a nationally recognized overnight
courier (receipt requested); or (c) on the third
(3rd)
day after the date mailed, by certified or registered mail, return
receipt requested, postage prepaid. Such communications must be
sent to the respective Parties at the following addresses (or at
such other address for a Party as shall be specified in a notice
given in accordance with this Section
6.01):

 

(a) if to
Lingo:

 

Lingo
Management, LLC

3060
Peachtree Road NW, Suite 1065,

Atlanta, GA
30305

Attention: Vinnie
Oddo

 

 

-13-

 

 

with a
copy to:

 

Lingo
Management, LLC

3060
Peachtree Road NW, Suite 1065,

Atlanta, GA
30305                               

Attention: Michelle
Ansley

 

 

(b) if to
Fusion

 

Fusion
Connect, Inc. (f/k/a Fusion Telecommunications International,
Inc.)

420
Lexington Avenue, Suite 1718

New
York, NY 10170

Attention: General
Counsel

 

with a
copy to:

 

Fusion
LLC

695
Route 46 West, Suite 200

Fairfield, New
Jersey 07004

Attention: Jon
Kaufman

 

Section 6.02 Headings. The headings in this Agreement are for reference
only and shall not affect the interpretation of this
Agreement.

 

Section 6.03 Severability.
If any term or provision of this
Agreement is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction,
such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect
any other term or provision of this Agreement or invalidate or
render unenforceable such term or provision in any other
jurisdiction. Upon such determination that any term or other
provision is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the Parties shall
negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect
the original intent of the Parties as closely as possible in a
mutually acceptable manner in order that the transactions
contemplated hereby be consummated as originally contemplated to
the greatest extent possible.

 

Section 6.04 Entire Agreement.
This Agreement, including all Service
Schedules, constitutes the sole and entire agreement of the Parties
with respect to the subject matter contained herein and supersedes
all prior and contemporaneous understandings and agreements, both
written and oral, with respect to such subject
matter.

 

 

-14-

 

 

Section 6.05 Successors and Assigns.
This Agreement shall be binding upon
and shall inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective
successors and permitted assigns. Subject to the following
sentence, neither Party may assign its rights or obligations
hereunder without the prior written consent of the other Party,
which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or
delayed. Other than where consent is granted or deemed granted
under this Section
6.05, no assignment shall
relieve the assigning Party of any of its obligations hereunder.
The foregoing notwithstanding, in the event of a transfer, directly
or indirectly, sale of a controlling interest in, or the transfer,
directly or indirectly, sale of all or substantially all of the
assets of, Lingo and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, taken as a
whole, the third-party acquiring such controlling interest in, or
all or substantially all of such assets, must assume all
obligations and responsibilities of the Party /or its subsidiaries
under this Agreement.

 

Section 6.06 No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. This Agreement
is for the sole benefit of the Parties and their respective
successors and permitted assigns and nothing herein, express or
implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any other Person any
legal or equitable right, benefit or remedy of any nature
whatsoever, under or by reason of this
Agreement.

 

Section 6.07 Amendment and Modification;
Waiver. This Agreement and the
schedules and exhibits attached hereto may only be amended,
modified or supplemented by an agreement in writing signed by both
Parties. No waiver by a Party of any of the provisions hereof shall
be effective unless explicitly set forth in writing and signed by
the Party so waiving. No failure to exercise, or delay in
exercising, any right, remedy, power or privilege arising from this
Agreement shall operate or be construed as a waiver thereof; nor
shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power or
privilege hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof
or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power or
privilege.

 

Section 6.08 Change in Law; Compliance with
Law.

 

(a) This
Agreement is subject to all present and future valid orders and
regulations of any governmental or regulatory body having
jurisdiction over the subject matter hereof and to the laws of the
United States of America, any of its states, or any foreign
governmental agency having jurisdiction over the Parties. In the
event this Agreement shall be found contrary to or in conflict with
any such order, rule, regulation, or law, the Parties agree to
modify and amend this Agreement to the extent necessary to comply
with any such order, rule, regulation, or law consistent with the
form, intent, and purpose hereof.

 

 

 

-15-

 

(b) In the event the Federal Communications Commission
(“FCC”), Congress, a state legislature or
regulatory body (such as a utilities commission) or a court of
competent jurisdiction issues a rule, regulation, law or order that
has the effect of increasing the cost to provide the Services
hereunder or canceling, changing or superseding any material term
or provision of this Agreement (each a “Regulatory
Requirement”), then the
Parties shall modify this Agreement in such a way as the Parties
mutually agree is consistent with the form, intent, and purpose of
this Agreement and is necessary to comply with the Regulatory
Requirement. In the event the Parties fail to reach agreement on an
amendment to reflect the Regulatory Requirement, then any Party
may, to the extent practicable, terminate, in writing, that portion
of this Agreement impacted by the Regulatory Requirement, or the
entire Agreement.

 

(c) Each
Party shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations
concerning the provision and use of the Services provided
hereunder. Each Party represents and warrants that it has obtained,
and will maintain at its own cost throughout the term of this
Agreement, all certifications and other authorizations necessary
for use and provision of the Services. No Party shall use the
Services in a manner inconsistent with applicable law or use the
Services, or permit the Services to be used, for any illegal
purpose or in any unlawful manner. Any transmission of material in
violation of any federal, state or local law, order or regulation
is prohibited, and shall constitute grounds for termination of this
Agreement.

 

 

Section 6.09 Escalation
Lists; Dispute Resolution; Governing Law; Submission to
Jurisdiction.

 

(a) Escalation Lists. Within three
(3) days of the date of this Agreement, the Providing Parties will
provide to the Receiving Parties a written escalation contact list
and associated escalation procedures (together, the
“Escalation
Procedures”). The Escalation Procedures will be
designed to allow the rapid escalation and resolution of any
“Service Affecting Issue” (as hereinafter defined)
experienced by the Receiving Parties in their use (or their
customers’ use) of the network and Services provided
hereunder, and the Providing Parties will utilize reasonable
commercial efforts to assure the resolution of any Service
Affecting Issue within a period of twelve (12) hours or less (the
“Escalation
Period”) from the time such Service Affecting Issue is
reported by the Receiving Parties to the Providing Parties. In the
event that any Service Affecting Issue is not resolved to the
reasonable satisfaction of the Providing Parties within the
Escalation Period, then the Receiving Parties may immediately
resort to any equitable
remedies to which they are entitled under New York law as described
in Section 6.09(c),
without regard to the provisions of Section 6.09(a). The parties
acknowledge that any service issues caused by underlying carrier
network or circuit issues will be handled as provided for herein
but do not give rise to equitable remedies as such issues are
beyond the reasonable control of the Providing
Parties.

 

 

 

-16-

 

(b) Dispute Resolution. 
Except with respect to a billing dispute, if at any time there is a
dispute between the Parties regarding this Agreement and
performance hereunder, and such dispute cannot be resolved pursuant
to Subsection (a) above, the Parties agree that they will within
ten (10) days following receipt of written notice of a dispute,
engage in face-to-face negotiations in an attempt to resolve the
dispute and shall, upon failing to negotiate a resolution, choose a
mutually agreeable third party neutral, who shall mediate the
dispute between the Parties. Mediation shall be non-binding and
shall be confidential. The Parties shall refrain from court and
arbitration proceedings during the mediation process insofar as
they can do so without prejudicing their legal rights. The Parties
shall participate in good faith in accordance with the
recommendations of the mediator and shall follow the procedures for
mediation as suggested by the mediator. All expenses of mediation
except expenses of the individual Parties, shall be shared equally
by the Parties. Each Party shall be represented in the mediation by
a person with authority to settle the dispute. If the Parties are
unable to resolve the dispute in good faith within three (3) months
of the date of the initial demand by either Party then the dispute
shall be finally determined in accordance with the procedures set
forth in Section
6.09(c) below.

 

(c) Governing Law;
Jurisdiction.  This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New
York without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law
provision or rule (whether of the State of New York or any other
jurisdiction) that would cause the application of laws of any
jurisdiction other than those of the State of New York. Any legal
suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this
Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted
in the federal courts of the United States of America or the courts
of the State of New York in each case located in the city of New
York and each Party irrevocably submits to the exclusive
jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding.
Service of process, summons, notice or other document by mail to
such Party's address set forth herein shall be effective service of
process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any
such court. The Parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any
objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or any
proceeding in such courts and irrevocably waive and agree not to
plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or
proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an
inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party may
seek equitable relief in any appropriate court of competent
jurisdiction to enjoin violations or threatened violations, or
compel specific performance of breaches or threatened breaches, of
this Agreement for which there is no adequate remedy at
law.

 

 

 

-17-

 

Section 6.10 Waiver of Jury Trial.
Each Party irrevocably and
unconditionally waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in
respect of any legal action arising out of or relating to this
Agreement or the Services to be provided hereunder. Each Party
certifies and acknowledges that (a) no Representative of the other
Party has represented, expressly or otherwise, that such other
Party would not seek to enforce the foregoing waiver in the event
of a legal action, (b) such Party has considered the implications
of this waiver, (c) such Party makes this waiver voluntarily, and
(d) such Party has been induced to enter into this Agreement by,
among other things, the mutual waivers and certifications in
this ‎Section
6.10.

 

Section 6.11 Interpretation.
Any reference to this “Agreement” shall include the
body of this Agreement together with all attachments hereto,
including all Service Schedules. The terms defined in this
Agreement include the plural as well as the singular. Unless
otherwise expressly stated, the words “herein,”
“hereof,” and “hereunder” and other words
of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any
particular Section, Subsection or other subdivision. The words
“include” and “including” and the
abbreviation “e.g.” shall not be construed as terms of
limitation. The words “day,” “month,” and
“year” mean, respectively, calendar day, calendar month
and calendar year. All fees, expenses, charges and other amounts
stated in this Agreement are references to United States Dollars
unless otherwise specifically indicated.

 

Section 6.12 Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in one or more
counterparts (including by means of facsimile or other electronic
transmission), each of which shall be deemed an original but all of
which together will constitute one and the same instrument.
This Agreement, to the extent
signed and delivered by means of a facsimile machine or by other
electronic transmission of a manual signature (by portable document
format (pdf) or other method that enables the recipient to
reproduce a copy of the manual signature), shall be treated in all
manner and respects as an original agreement or instrument and shall be considered to
have the same binding legal effect as if it were the original
signed version thereof delivered in person.

 

 

 

[signatures appear on the next page]

 

 

-18-

 

 

 

IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, the Parties have
caused this Agreement to be executed as of the date first written
above by their respective officers thereunto duly
authorized.

 

	
 

	

FUSION CONNECT, INC.

(f/k/a Fusion Telecommunications International, Inc.)

 

	
 

	

By /s/ James P.
Prenetta, Jr.

Name:
James P. Prenetta, Jr.

Title:
Executive Vice President and

           General
Counsel

LINGO MANAGEMENT, LLC

 

By /s/
Gordon P. Williams, Jr.

Name:
Gordon P. Williams, Jr.

Title:
Manager

Source: [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00283-of-00352.parquet"}, [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00283-of-00352.parquet"}]]