Document:

Exhibit 10.3

Global Partners LP

Long-Term Incentive Plan

Grant of Phantom Units

With DERS

Grantee:                                                             

Grant Date:                                              ,
2007

Restricted
Period:  January 1, 2007 to
December 31, 2009

1.                                       Grant
of Phantom Units with DERs.  Global GP LLC ( “GPLLC”) hereby
grants to you              Phantom Units under the Global
Partners LP Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) on the terms and conditions
set forth herein and in the Plan, which is incorporated herein by reference as
a part of this Agreement. This grant of Phantom Units includes a tandem grant
of DERs as defined in the Plan with respect to each Phantom Unit granted.  GPLLC shall establish a DER bookkeeping
account for you with respect to each Phantom Unit granted, which account shall
be credited with an amount equal to any cash distributions made by Global
Partners LP (the “Partnership”) on a Limited Partner Unit during the period
such Phantom Unit is outstanding.  No
interest shall be credited on such DER amounts.

2.                                       Vesting/Forfeitures.  Subject to Paragraph 3 below, if the
Performance Goal set forth on Attachment A hereto is achieved, the Phantom
Units and tandem DERs granted hereunder shall vest on the date the Plan’s
Committee determines that the Performance Goal for the Restricted Period has
been achieved.  If the Committee
determines that the Performance Goal for the Restricted Period was not
achieved, the Phantom Units and all credited tandem DERs are automatically
forfeited without payment effective immediately upon such determination.

3.                                       Events
Occurring Prior to Vesting.  Notwithstanding Paragraph 2 to the contrary,

(a)                                  Death
or Disability. 
If your employment with GPLLC terminates as a result of your death or a “disability,”
as defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(C) of the Code, the Phantom Units granted to
you (and the amount of all tandem DERs credited to your account) shall not be
forfeited and shall vest on the date the Plan’s Committee determines that the
Performance Goal set forth on Attachment A for the Restricted Period has been
achieved.  If the Committee determines
that the Performance Goal for the Restricted Period was not achieved, the
Phantom Units and all credited tandem DERs are automatically forfeited without
payment effective immediately upon such determination.

(b)                                 Retirement.  If your employment with GPLLC
terminates as a result of your voluntary retirement on or after age 62 and you
have at least 10 years of service with GPLLC or its predecessors at the time of
your retirement, the Plan’s Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine
whether the Phantom Units granted to you (and the amount of all tandem DERs
credited to your account) shall be reinstated as of your date of retirement and
shall vest on the date the Plan’s Committee determines that the Performance
Goal set forth on Attachment A for the Restricted Period has been
achieved.  If the Committee determines
that (i) the Phantom Units granted to you (and the amount of all tandem DERs
credited to your account) are not eligible for vesting, or (ii) the Performance
Goal for the Restricted Period was not achieved, the Phantom Units and all
credited tandem DERs are automatically forfeited without payment effective
immediately upon such determination.

(c)                                  Involuntary Termination.  If your employment with GPLLC is
terminated by GPLLC for any reason other than “Cause” (defined in Paragraph
3(d) below), the Phantom Units granted to you (and the amount of all tandem
DERs credited to your account) shall not be forfeited as of your date of
termination and shall vest on the date the Plan’s Committee determines that the
Performance Goal set forth on Attachment A for the Restricted Period has been
achieved.  If the Committee determines
that the Performance Goal for the Restricted Period was not achieved, the
Phantom Units and all credited tandem DERs are automatically forfeited without
payment effective immediately upon such determination.

(d)                                 Termination
for Cause; Voluntary Termination.  If your employment with GPLLC is terminated
(1) by GPLLC for Cause, or (2) by you (other than by retirement pursuant to
3(b) above), all unvested Phantom Units then held by you (and the amount of all
tandem DERs credited to your account) automatically shall be forfeited without
payment upon such termination without regard to the achievement of the
Performance Goal.  For the purposes of this
Agreement:

(A)  If you are party to an employment agreement
with GPLLC that contains a definition of “Cause,” that definition is
hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference and made a part hereof;
and

(B)
If you are not party to an employment agreement with GPLLC that contains a
definition of “Cause,” “Cause” shall be defined to mean (i) your
continual disregard of or failure to follow any written rules or policies of
GPLLC, the Partnership and their Affiliates, (ii) your repeated failure or
refusal to perform your duties as an employee, (iii) your embezzlement,
misappropriation of assets or property (tangible or intangible) of GPLLC, the
Partnership and/or their Affiliates, (iv) your gross negligence, misconduct,
neglect of duties, theft, fraud, or breach of fiduciary duty to GPLLC, the
Partnership and their Affiliates, (v) your unauthorized disclosure of any trade
secret or confidential information of GPLLC, the Partnership and/or their
Affiliates or any other act of disloyalty to GPLLC, the Partnership and their
Affiliates, (vi) the commission of an act which constitutes unfair competition
with GPLLC, the Partnership and/or their

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Affiliates
or which induces any customer or supplier to breach a contract with GPLLC, the
Partnership and/or their Affiliates, (vii) an act by you which creates adverse
publicity for GPLLC, the Partnership and their Affiliates, or (viii) your conviction
of a felony, including a plea of guilty or no contest.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are party to an employment
agreement with GPLLC that contains a definition of “constructive termination”
or “good reason” or a similar term, and your termination of your employment
with GPLLC is determined finally by an arbitrator or court of competent
jurisdiction to constitute constructive termination or termination with good
reason or the like, then the Phantom Units granted to you (and
the amount of all tandem DERs credited to your account) shall be reinstated as
of your date of termination and shall vest on the date the Plan’s Committee
determines that the Performance Goal set forth on Attachment A for the
Restricted Period has been achieved.  If
the Committee determines that the Performance Goal for the Restricted Period
was not achieved, the Phantom Units and all credited tandem DERs are
automatically forfeited without payment effective immediately upon such
determination.

(e)                                  Change of Control.  All outstanding Phantom Units held by you
(and the amount of all tandem DERs credited to your account) automatically
shall become fully vested upon a Change of Control without regard to the
achievement of the Performance Goal.

“Change of Control” means, and shall be deemed to have
occurred upon the occurrence of one or more of the following events:
(i) any sale, lease, exchange or other transfer or disposition (in one
transaction or a series of related transactions) of all or substantially all of
the assets of GPLLC or the Partnership to any Person and/or its Affiliates,
other than to GPLLC, the Partnership and/or any of their Affiliates;
(ii) the consolidation, reorganization, merger or other transaction
pursuant to which more than 50% of the combined voting power of the outstanding
equity interests in GPLLC cease to be owned by the Persons (including
Affiliates thereof) who own such interests as of the effective date of the
initial public offering of Units; or (iii) GPLLC (or an Affiliate thereof)
ceasing to be the general partner of the Partnership.

For purposes of
this Paragraph 3, “employment with GPLLC” shall include being an Employee of,
or a Consultant to, GPLLC or an Affiliate.

4.                                       Payments.

(a)                                  Phantom Units.  As soon as administratively practicable after the vesting of
a Phantom Unit, but not later than seven days thereafter, subject to Paragraph
7, you shall be paid one Unit for each such vested Phantom Unit; provided, however, the Committee may, in its sole
discretion, direct that a cash payment be made to you in lieu of the delivery
of such Unit. 
Any such cash payment shall be equal to the Fair Market Value of the
Unit on the day immediately preceding the payment

 3
 

date.  If more than one Phantom Unit vests at the
same time, the Committee may elect to pay such vested Award in Units, cash or
any combination thereof, in its discretion.

(b)                                 DERs.  Subject to Paragraph 7, upon payment of a vested Phantom
Unit, you shall be paid in cash the amount of all tandem DERs credited to your
bookkeeping account with respect to such vested Phantom Unit.

5.                                       Limitations
Upon Transfer. 
All rights under this Agreement shall belong to you alone and may not be
transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated by you in any way (whether by
operation of law or otherwise), other than by will or the laws of descent and
distribution and shall not be subject to execution, attachment, or similar
process.  Upon any attempt by you to
transfer, assign, pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise dispose of such rights
contrary to the provisions in this Agreement or the Plan, or upon the levy of
any attachment or similar process upon such rights, such rights shall
immediately become null and void.

6.                                       Restrictions. By accepting this grant, you
agree that any Units that you may acquire upon payment of this award will not
be sold or otherwise disposed of in any manner that would constitute a
violation of any applicable federal or state securities laws.  You also agree that (i) the certificates
representing the Units acquired under this award may bear such legend or
legends as the Committee deems appropriate in order to assure compliance with
applicable securities laws, (ii) GPLLC may refuse to register the transfer of
the Units to be acquired under this award on the transfer records of the
Partnership if such proposed transfer would in the opinion of counsel
satisfactory to the Partnership constitute a violation of any applicable
securities law, and (iii) the Partnership may give related instructions to its
transfer agent, if any, to stop registration of the transfer of the Units to be
acquired under this award.

7.                                       Withholding
of Taxes. 
To the extent that the grant, vesting or payment of a Phantom Unit or
DER results in the receipt of compensation by you with respect to which GPLLC
or an Affiliate has a tax withholding obligation pursuant to applicable law,
unless other arrangements have been made by you that are acceptable to GPLLC or
such Affiliate, you shall deliver to GPLLC or the Affiliate such amount of
money as GPLLC or the Affiliate may require to meet its withholding obligations
under such applicable law.  No payment of
a vested Phantom Unit or DER shall be made pursuant to this Agreement until you
have paid or made arrangements approved by GPLLC or the Affiliate to satisfy in
full the applicable tax withholding requirements of GPLLC or Affiliate with
respect to such event.

8.                                       Rights
as Unitholder. 
You, or your executor, administrator, heirs, or legatees shall have the
right to vote and receive distributions on Units and all the other privileges
of a unitholder of the Partnership only from the date of issuance of a Unit
certificate in your name representing payment of a vested Phantom Unit.

9.                                       Insider
Trading Policy. 
The terms of Partnership’s Insider Trading Policy (the “Policy”) with
respect to Units are incorporated herein by reference.  The timing of the delivery of any Units
pursuant to a vested Phantom Unit shall be subject to and comply with such
Policy.

 4
 

10.                                 Binding
Effect.  This Agreement
shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of any successor or successors
of GPLLC and upon any person lawfully claiming under you.

11.                                Entire Agreement. 
Except as modified by, and subject to the terms of, any written
employment, severance or change of control agreement between us or between you
and an Affiliate, this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the
parties with regard to the subject matter hereof, and contains all the
covenants, promises, representations, warranties and agreements between the
parties with respect to the Phantom Units granted hereby.

12.                                Modifications.  Except as provided below, any modification of
this Agreement shall be effective only if it is in writing and signed by both
you and an authorized officer of GPLLC.

13.                                Conflicts
and Governing Law. 
In the event
of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the Plan, the Plan
shall control.  In the event of any
conflict between the terms of this Agreement and any written employment,
severance or change of control agreement between us or between you and an
Affiliate, the written employment, severance or change of control agreement
shall control.  Capitalized terms used in
this Agreement (including Attachment A hereto) but not defined herein shall
have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Plan, unless the context
requires otherwise.  This grant shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the
laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflicts of laws principles
thereof.

	
  

  	
  GLOBAL GP LLC

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Name:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Title:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  GRANTEE

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By:

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Name:

  	
   

  

 

 5

Attachment A

Performance
Goal

A.            Quarterly distributions cannot
decrease at any time during the Restricted Period.

B.            Cumulative distributable cash
flow over the Restricted Period must have equaled the cumulative amount
necessary to have achieved a 1.15 coverage over pro forma average annual
distribution increases of 7% per Limited Partner Unit (determined on a fully
diluted basis, and giving effect to distributions to Global GP LLC, including
incentive distributions).Exhibit
10.1

THE HOME DEPOT

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR OFFICERS

(As Amended and Restated
Effective January 1, 2008)

THE HOME DEPOT

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR OFFICERS

(As Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 2008)

Table of Contents

	
  

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
  Page

  
	
  SECTION
  1.      ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF PLAN

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  1.1

  	
   

  	
  Establishment of Plan

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  1.2

  	
   

  	
  Purpose of Plan

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 2.      DEFINITIONS

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.1

  	
   

  	
  Account

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.2

  	
   

  	
  Administrative Committee

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.3

  	
   

  	
  Base Compensation

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.4

  	
   

  	
  Bonus Compensation

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.5

  	
   

  	
  Board

  	
   

  	
  1

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.6

  	
   

  	
  Change in Control

  	
   

  	
  2

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.7

  	
   

  	
  Code

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.8

  	
   

  	
  Committee

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.9

  	
   

  	
  Company

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.10

  	
   

  	
  Deductible

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.11

  	
   

  	
  Distribution Date

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.12

  	
   

  	
  Disability or Disabled

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.13

  	
   

  	
  Effective Date

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.14

  	
   

  	
  Eligible Employee

  	
   

  	
  3

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.15

  	
   

  	
  Election Period

  	
   

  	
  4

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.16

  	
   

  	
  Hardship

  	
   

  	
  4

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.17

  	
   

  	
  Non-Section 409A Account

  	
   

  	
  5

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.18

  	
   

  	
  Participant

  	
   

  	
  5

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.19

  	
   

  	
  Participating Company

  	
   

  	
  5

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.20

  	
   

  	
  Performance-Based Compensation

  	
   

  	
  5

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.21

  	
   

  	
  Plan

  	
   

  	
  6

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.22

  	
   

  	
  Plan Year

  	
   

  	
  6

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.23

  	
   

  	
  Related Company

  	
   

  	
  6

  
								

 

   
 

 

	
  2.24

  	
   

  	
  Retirement Date

  	
   

  	
  6

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.25

  	
   

  	
  Section 409A Account

  	
   

  	
  6

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.26

  	
   

  	
  Separation from Service

  	
   

  	
  6

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  2.27

  	
   

  	
  Specified Employee

  	
   

  	
  7

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 3.      PARTICIPATION AND
  DEFERRALS

  	
   

  	
  8

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.1

  	
   

  	
  Eligibility

  	
   

  	
  8

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.2

  	
   

  	
  Commencement of Participation

  	
   

  	
  8

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.3

  	
   

  	
  Deferral Elections

  	
   

  	
  8

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.4

  	
   

  	
  No Deferrals from Severance

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.5

  	
   

  	
  Revocation/Modification of Deferral Elections

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  3.6

  	
   

  	
  Discretionary Contributions

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 4.      VESTING AND ADMINISTRATION
  OF ACCOUNTS

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  4.1

  	
   

  	
  Vesting

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  4.2

  	
   

  	
  Credits/Debts to Account

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  4.3

  	
   

  	
  Account Earnings

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  4.4

  	
   

  	
  Ownership and Investment of Accounts

  	
   

  	
  9

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  4.5

  	
   

  	
  Establishment of Rabbi Trust

  	
   

  	
  10

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 5.      DISPOSITION OF PARTICIPANT
  SECTION 409A ACCOUNTS

  	
   

  	
  10

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.1

  	
   

  	
  Application

  	
   

  	
  10

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.2

  	
   

  	
  Distribution Elections

  	
   

  	
  10

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.3

  	
   

  	
  Distribution Date

  	
   

  	
  11

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.4

  	
   

  	
  Form of Distribution

  	
   

  	
  11

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.5

  	
   

  	
  Hardship Distributions

  	
   

  	
  11

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.6

  	
   

  	
  Disability Distributions

  	
   

  	
  11

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.7

  	
   

  	
  Death Distributions

  	
   

  	
  12

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.8

  	
   

  	
  Disposition of Account on Plan Termination

  	
   

  	
  12

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.9

  	
   

  	
  Distributions Causing Loss of Compensation Deduction

  	
   

  	
  12

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.10

  	
   

  	
  Limited Delay in Payment

  	
   

  	
  13

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.11

  	
   

  	
  Tax Withholding

  	
   

  	
  13

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  5.12

  	
   

  	
  Distributions to HD Supply Participants

  	
   

  	
  13

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 6.      DISPOSITION OF PARTICIPANT
  NON-SECTION 409A ACCOUNTS

  	
   

  	
  13

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.1

  	
   

  	
  Application

  	
   

  	
  13

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.2

  	
   

  	
  Definitions

  	
   

  	
  13

  

 

 ii
 

 

	
  6.3

  	
   

  	
  Distribution Elections

  	
   

  	
  15

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.4

  	
   

  	
  Distribution Date

  	
   

  	
  15

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.5

  	
   

  	
  Form of Distribution

  	
   

  	
  16

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.6

  	
   

  	
  Hardship Distributions

  	
   

  	
  16

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.7

  	
   

  	
  In-Service Distributions With Penalty

  	
   

  	
  16

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.8

  	
   

  	
  Disability Distributions

  	
   

  	
  17

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.9

  	
   

  	
  Death Distributions

  	
   

  	
  17

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.10

  	
   

  	
  Disposition of Account on Plan Termination

  	
   

  	
  17

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.11

  	
   

  	
  Accounting Method For Distributions

  	
   

  	
  17

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.12

  	
   

  	
  Distributions Causing Loss of Compensation Deduction

  	
   

  	
  18

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.13

  	
   

  	
  Tax Withholding

  	
   

  	
  18

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  6.14

  	
   

  	
  Distributions to HD Supply Participants

  	
   

  	
  18

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 7.      PLAN ADMINISTRATION

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  7.1

  	
   

  	
  Administrative Committee

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  7.2

  	
   

  	
  Administrative Committee Action

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  7.3

  	
   

  	
  Plan Rules and Regulations

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  7.4

  	
   

  	
  Determinations by Administrative Committee

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  7.5

  	
   

  	
  Plan Records

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 8.      CLAIM AND REVIEW
  PROCEDURES

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  8.1

  	
   

  	
  Claims Procedure

  	
   

  	
  19

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  8.2

  	
   

  	
  Review Procedure

  	
   

  	
  20

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  8.3

  	
   

  	
  Procedures Applying To Both Claims and Review Procedures

  	
   

  	
  22

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 9.      PARTICIPATION BY RELATED
  COMPANIES

  	
   

  	
  22

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  9.1

  	
   

  	
  Participation by Related Company

  	
   

  	
  22

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  9.2

  	
   

  	
  Withdrawal of a Related Company

  	
   

  	
  22

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  9.3

  	
   

  	
  Obligation of Participating Company

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  SECTION 10.      MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.1

  	
   

  	
  Amendment or Termination

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.2

  	
   

  	
  Participant’s Rights Unsecured

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.3

  	
   

  	
  Nontransferability/Nonalienability

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.4

  	
   

  	
  Participant Obligation to Furnish Information

  	
   

  	
  23

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.5

  	
   

  	
  No Right of Employment

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.6

  	
   

  	
  Plan Expenses

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.7

  	
   

  	
  Offsets

  	
   

  	
  24

  

 

 iii
 

 

	
  10.8

  	
   

  	
  Severability

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.9

  	
   

  	
  Enforceability

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.10

  	
   

  	
  Limitation of Actions

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.11

  	
   

  	
  Governing Law

  	
   

  	
  24

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.12

  	
   

  	
  Presumed Competency

  	
   

  	
  25

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.13

  	
   

  	
  Forfeiture of Unclaimed Benefits

  	
   

  	
  25

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  10.14

  	
   

  	
  Code §409A

  	
   

  	
  25

  

 

 iv

THE HOME DEPOT

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR OFFICERS

(As Amended and Restated
Effective January 1, 2008)

SECTION 1.

ESTABLISHMENT
AND PURPOSE OF PLAN

1.1           Establishment of Plan.  The
Committee adopted the Plan effective March 1, 2002.  The Plan is amended and restated, as set
forth herein, effective January 1, 2008, except as otherwise expressly provided
herein.

1.2           Purpose of Plan.  The
purpose of the Plan is to provide Eligible Employees an opportunity to defer to
a future date the receipt of base and bonus compensation for services performed
for the Participating Company.  The Plan
is intended to constitute, and shall be administered to qualify as, a “top hat”
plan exempt from the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974, as amended, pursuant to Labor Regulation Section 2520.104-23
and shall be maintained strictly for a select group of management or highly
compensated employees as contemplated by said regulation.

SECTION 2.

DEFINITIONS

2.1           “Account” means the Participant’s
bookkeeping account established on the Company’s records showing the amount of
the Participant’s Base Compensation and Bonus Compensation deferred pursuant to
the Participant’s election and any notional earnings accrued thereon.

2.2           “Administrative Committee” means the
committee appointed to administer the Plan, consisting of the Vice
President-Performance Systems, Vice President-Benefits and the Vice
President-Treasurer of Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., as may be modified as provided
by Section 7.1.

2.3           “Base Compensation”  means the Participant’s base rate of
compensation (including regular compensation, holiday, vacation, personal and
sick pay) payable for services performed for the Participating Company for the
Plan Year, as adjusted to reflect increases and decreases to the base rate
during the Plan Year.

2.4           “Bonus Compensation”  means the Participant’s bonus or incentive
compensation payable for services performed for the Participating Company for
the Plan Year, including any signing bonus and any incentive compensation
payable to the Participant pursuant to The Home Depot, Inc. Long-Term
Performance Incentive Plan or The Home Depot, Inc. Management Incentive Plan.

2.5           “Board” means the Company’s Board of
Directors.

 1
 

2.6           “Change in Control”  means a change of control event of the
Company as described in Code Section 409A and guidance issued thereunder, which
provides that a change in control event occurs upon the change in ownership or
effective control, or in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of
the Company, as follows:

(a)           Change in Ownership.  A
change in ownership of the Company shall occur on the date that any one person,
or more than one person acting as a group, acquires ownership of stock of the
Company that, together with stock held by such person or group constitutes more
than fifty percent (50%) of the total fair market value or total voting power
of the stock of the Company.  However, if
any one person, or more than one person acting as a group, is considered to own
more than fifty percent (50%) of the total fair market value or total voting
power of the stock of the Company, the acquisition of additional stock by the
same persons or persons is not considered to cause a change in the ownership of
the Company or to cause a change in the effective control of the Company.  An increase in the percentage of stock owned
by any one person, or persons acting as a group, as a result of a transaction
in which the Company acquires its stock in exchange for property will be
treated as an acquisition of stock for purposes of this section.  This subsection applies only when there is a
transfer of stock (or issuance of stock) and stock remains outstanding after
the transaction.

(b)           Change in Effective Control.  A
change in the effective control of the Company shall occur on (i) the date
any one person, or more than one person acting as a group, acquires (or has
acquired during the twelve (12)-month period ending on the date of the most
recent acquisition by such person or persons) ownership of stock of the Company
possessing thirty percent (30%) or more of the total voting power of the stock
of the Company; or (ii) the date a majority of the members of the Board is
replaced during any twelve (12)-month period by directors whose appointment or
election is not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board before the
date of the appointment or election.

(c)           Change in the Ownership of a Substantial
Portion of the Company’s Assets.  A change in the ownership of a substantial
portion of the Company’s assets shall occur on the date that any one person, or
more than one person acting as a group acquires (or has acquired during the
twelve (12)-month period ending on the date of the most recent acquisition by
such person or persons) assets from the Company that have a total gross fair
market value equal to or more than forty percent (40%) of the total gross fair
market value of all of the assets of the Company immediately before such
acquisition or acquisitions.  For this purpose,
gross fair market value means the value of the assets of the Company, or the
value of the assets being disposed of, determined without regard to any
liabilities associated with such assets. 
A change in control does not occur when there is a transfer to a related
entity, as described in the Treasury Regulations under Code Section 409A.

 2
 

This Section 2.5 shall be
subject to and interpreted in accordance with applicable Treasury Regulations
and other guidance describing a “change in control event” for purposes of Code
Section 409A.

2.7            “Code” means the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended.

2.8           “Committee” means the Leadership
Development and Compensation Committee of the Board.

2.9            “Company” means The Home Depot, Inc.,
a Delaware corporation, with corporate offices at 2455 Paces Ferry Road, N.W.,
Atlanta, Georgia  30339-4024.

2.10         “Deductible”  means a distribution of Base Compensation or
Bonus Compensation and earnings thereon for which the Participating Company is
entitled to a compensation tax deduction.

2.11         “Distribution Date”  means the earliest of the following events:
(1) a calendar year elected by the Participant that is after the Plan Year
for which the deferrals are made; (2) the Participant’s Separation from
Service for any reason (including death or Disability) before the Participant’s
Retirement Date; (3) the January 1 next following the Participant’s
Retirement Date or, if elected by the Participant, the January 1 next
following the one (1)-year anniversary of the Participant’s Retirement Date; or
(4) if elected by the Participant, the date of a Change in Control.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of
a distribution to a Specified Employee on account of Separation from Service,
the Distribution Date shall be the first business day of the seventh month
following the date of the Specified Employee’s Separation from Service or in
the case of clause (3) above, the later of (i) the first business day of the
seventh month following the date of the Specified Employee’s Separation from
Service or (ii) the applicable January 1.

2.12         “Disability” or “Disabled”
means a Participant (1) is unable to engage in any substantial
gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental
impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last
for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months; (2)  is, by
reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be
expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period
of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving income replacement benefits for
a period of not less than three months under an accident and health plan
covering employees of the Participant’s employer; or (3) is determined to
be totally disabled by the Social Security Administration.

2.13         “Effective Date”  means January 1, 2008.

2.14          “Eligible Employee” means an employee
of a Participating Company who: (1) is an executive officer of the
Participating Company (Chief Executive Officer, Executive Vice President,
Senior Vice President or Division President), a corporate level officer of a
Participating Company as defined by the Company’s HR-Compensation Department;
and (2) is part of a select group of management or highly compensated
employees of the Participating Company within the meaning of Labor Regulation
Section 2520.104-23.

 3
 

2.15         “Election Period”  means the period established by the
Administrative Committee during which Participant deferral and distribution
elections must be made in accordance with the requirements of Code Section 409A.  The Election Period for Base Compensation and
for Bonus Compensation that does not qualify as Performance-Based Compensation
shall end no later than the last day of the Plan Year immediately preceding the
Plan Year in which such Base Compensation or Bonus Compensation is earned, and
the Election Period for Bonus Compensation qualifying as Performance-Based
Compensation shall end no later than six (6) months before the end of the
fiscal year or other period in which the Performance-Based Compensation is
earned; provided, that the Eligible Employee is employed continuously from the
later of the beginning of the performance period or the date the performance
criteria are established through the date an election is made to defer such
Performance-Based Compensation and the amount of such Performance-Based
Compensation has not become readily ascertainable as of the date the election
is made; and further provided, however, that the Election Period with respect
to the first Plan Year in which an Eligible Employee is eligible to participate
in the Plan may, to the extent permitted under Code Section 409A, end no later
than thirty (30) days after the Eligible Employee first becomes eligible under
the Plan and shall apply only to compensation earned after such election is
made. A former Eligible Employee who again becomes an Eligible Employee shall
be treated as newly eligible to make deferrals under the Plan within thirty
(30) days upon return to eligible status if: (i) the former Eligible
Employee has received distribution of the full amount of his or her Account
balance attributable to deferral contributions and on or before the last such
distribution was not eligible to make deferral contributions for periods after
the last distribution payment; or (ii) the former Eligible Employee has
not been eligible to make deferral contributions at any time during the
twenty-four (24)-month period ending on the date he or she again becomes an
Eligible Employee.  In addition, if an
Eligible Employee is or was eligible to participate in another plan that is
aggregated with the elective deferral portion of the Plan under Code Section
409A, participation in such plan shall be treated as participation in the Plan
for purposes of determining whether the Eligible Employee is treated as newly
eligible under the Plan.  Except in the
case of the first Plan Year in which an Eligible Employee is eligible to
participate in the Plan, including a former Eligible Employee who is treated as
newly eligible to make deferrals, the effective date of elections to defer Base
or Bonus Compensation shall be the first day of the calendar year following
such election and in the case of an election to defer Performance-Based
Compensation, such election shall be effective with respect to
Performance-Based Compensation payable after the end of the applicable
performance period.

2.16         “Hardship”  has the same meaning as “unforeseeable
emergency” under Code Section 409A and means a severe financial hardship
to the Participant resulting from an illness
or accident of the Participant, the Participant’s spouse, the Participant’s
beneficiary, or the Participant’s dependent (as defined in Code
Section 152, without regard to Sections 152(b)(1), (b)(2), and
(d)(1)(B)); loss of the Participant’s property due to casualty (including the
need to rebuild a home following damage to a home not otherwise covered by
insurance, for example, not as a result of a natural disaster); or other
similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of
events beyond the control of the Participant. 
For example, the imminent foreclosure of or eviction from the 

 4
 

Participant’s primary
residence may constitute a hardship.  In
addition, the need to pay for medical expenses, including nonrefundable
deductibles, as well as for the costs of prescription drug medication, may
constitute a hardship.  Finally, the need
to pay for the funeral expenses of a spouse, a beneficiary, or a dependent (as
defined in Code Section 152, without regarding to Section 152(b)(1),
(b)(2), and (d)(1)(B)) may also constitute a hardship.  Except as otherwise provided in this
paragraph, the purchase of a home and the payment of college tuition are not
hardships.  Whether a Participant is
faced with a hardship is to be determined based on the relevant facts and
circumstances of each case.

2.17         “Non-Section
409A Account” means the portion of a Participant’s Account that was earned
and vested, within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as of December 31, 2004,
including earnings on such amounts.

2.18         “Participant” means an Eligible
Employee who has made a deferral election under the Plan and any former
Eligible Employee who has an amount credited to an Account for his or her
benefit under the Plan.

2.19         “Participating Company” means all
Related Companies that participate in the Plan in accordance with Section 9.

2.20         “Performance-Based
Compensation” means any bonus, award or other compensation, the amount of
which, or the entitlement to which, is contingent on the satisfaction of
pre-established organizational or individual performance criteria relating to a
performance period of at least twelve (12) consecutive months.  For such bonus or award to be
performance-based with respect to a Participant’s deferral election with
respect to such bonus or award, the following requirements must be met: (i) the
performance criteria must be established in writing no later than ninety (90)
days after the beginning of the applicable “performance period”; (ii) the
outcome of the performance criteria must be substantially uncertain when the
criteria are established; (iii) no bonus or award, or portion of any bonus or
award, that will be paid either regardless of performance, or based upon a
level of performance that is substantially certain to be met at the time the
criteria are established, shall be considered Performance-Based Compensation;
(iv) Performance-Based Compensation
shall not include payments based upon subjective performance criteria unless:
(a) the subjective performance criteria are bona fide and relate to the Participant’s
performance, the performance of a group of employees that includes the
Participant, or the performance of a business unit for which the Participant
provides services (which may include the entire organization); and (b) the
determination that any subjective performance criteria have been met is not
made by the Participant or a family member of the Participant (as defined in
Code Section 267(c)(4), applied as if the family of an individual includes the
spouse of any member of the family), or a person under the effective control of
the Participant or such a family member, and no amount of the compensation of
the person making such determination is effectively controlled in whole or in
part by the Participant or such a family member.  A performance-based bonus that otherwise
meets the above criteria may provide for payment regardless of satisfaction of
the performance criteria upon the Participant’s death, disability (defined as a
medically determinable physical or mental impairment resulting in the Participant’s
inability to 

 5
 

perform
the duties of his or her position or any substantially similar position, where
such impairment can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last
for a continuous period of not less than six (6) months), or a change in
control event (as defined in Treasury Regulations Section
1.409A-3(i)(5)(i)).  Any amount that
actually becomes payable upon such events without regard to the satisfaction of
the performance criteria will not be considered Performance-Based Compensation.

2.21         “Plan” means The Home Depot Deferred
Compensation Plan For Officers (formerly known as the Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.
Deferred Compensation Plan for Officers) as described herein and as amended
from time to time.

2.22         “Plan Year”  means the calendar year.

2.23         “Related Company”  means any trade or business, whether or not
incorporated, which is a member of a controlled group of corporations within
the meaning of Code Section 414(b) that includes the Company, or is under
common control with the Company within the meaning of Code Section 414(c), or
is part of an affiliated service group within the meaning of Code Section
414(m) that includes the Company.

2.24         “Retirement Date”  means the date of the Participant’s
Separation from Service on or after the Participant’s attainment of age sixty
(60).

2.25         “Section 409A Account”  means the portion of a Participant’s Account
that was not earned and vested, within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as of
December 31, 2004.

2.26         “Separation from Service”  means the date that the Participant separates
from service within the meaning of Code Section 409A.  Generally, a Participant separates
from service if the Participant dies, retires, or otherwise has a termination
of employment with the Company, determined in accordance with the following:

(a)           Leaves of Absence.  The employment relationship is treated as
continuing intact while the Participant is on military leave, sick leave, or
other bona fide leave of absence if the period of such leave does not exceed
six (6) months, or, if longer, so long as the Participant retains a right to
reemployment with the Company under an applicable statute or by contract.  A leave of absence constitutes a bona fide
leave of absence only if there is a reasonable expectation that the Participant
will return to perform services for the Company.  If the period of leave exceeds six (6) months
and the Participant does not retain a right to reemployment under an applicable
statute or by contract, the employment relationship is deemed to terminate on
the first date immediately following such six (6)-month period.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, where a leave
of absence is due to any medically determinable physical or mental impairment
that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than six (6) months, where such impairment causes
the Participant to be unable to perform the duties of his or her position of
employment or any substantially similar position of employment, a twenty-nine
(29)-month period of absence shall be substituted for such six (6)-month
period.

 6
 

(b)           Status Change.  Generally, if a Participant performs services
both as an employee and an independent contractor, such Participant must
separate from service both as an employee, and as an independent contractor
pursuant to standards set forth in Treasury Regulations, to be treated as
having a separation from service. 
However, if a Participant provides services to the Company as an
employee and as a member of the Board, the services provided as a director are
not taken into account in determining whether the Participant has a separation
from service as an employee for purposes of this plan.

(c)           Termination of
Employment.  Whether a termination of
employment has occurred is determined based on whether the facts and
circumstances indicate that the Company and the Participant reasonably
anticipated that no further services would be performed after a certain date or
that the level of bona fide services the Participant would perform after such
date (whether as an employee or as an independent contractor) would permanently
decrease to no more than twenty (20) percent of the average level of bona fide
services performed (whether as an employee or an independent contractor) over
the immediately preceding thirty-six (36)-month period (or the full period of
services to the Company if the Participant has been providing services to the
Company less than thirty-six (36) months). 
Facts and circumstances to be considered in making this determination
include, but are not limited to, whether the Participant continues to be
treated as an employee for other purposes (such as continuation of salary and
participation in employee benefit programs), whether similarly situated service
providers have been treated consistently, and whether the Participant is
permitted, and realistically available, to perform services for other service
recipients in the same line of business. 
For periods during which a Participant is on a paid bona fide leave of
absence and has not otherwise terminated employment as described above, for
purposes of this paragraph (c) the Participant is treated as providing bona
fide services at a level equal to the level of services that the Participant
would have been required to perform to receive the compensation paid with
respect to such leave of absence. 
Periods during which a Participant is on an unpaid bona fide leave of
absence and has not otherwise terminated employment are disregarded for purposes
of this subsection (c) (including for purposes of determining the applicable
thirty-six (36)-month (or shorter) period).

(d)           Service with
Affiliates.  For purposes of
determining whether a separation from service has occurred under the above
provisions, the “Company” shall include the Company and all entities that would
be treated as a single employer with the Company under Code Section 414(b) or
(c), but substituting “at least 50 percent” instead of “at least 80 percent”
each place it appears in applying such rules.

2.27         “Specified Employee”  is an employee who on the date of his or her
Separation from Service is a “specified employee” within the meaning given such
term under Code Section 409A and the regulations thereunder applying the
default criteria, provided that the exclusion of foreign compensation paid to
certain non-resident aliens under Treasury Regulations Section
1.415(c)-2(g)(ii) shall apply in determining an employee’s 

 7
 

compensation.  The foregoing definition shall apply with
respect to all nonqualified deferred compensation plans, within the meaning of
Code Section 409A, maintained by the Company or any Related Company.

SECTION 3.

PARTICIPATION AND DEFERRALS

3.1           Eligibility. Eligible Employees may participate in the Plan as provided in Section
3.2.  The Administrative Committee shall
communicate a summary of the terms and conditions of the Plan to Eligible
Employees, in writing, as soon as administratively practicable after they
become eligible.   An Eligible Employee
generally shall be eligible to commence participation in the Plan upon
completing thirty (30) days of employment with a Participating Company in an
eligible position as defined in Section 2.13, provided that the Administrative
Committee may permit an individual to defer a signing bonus or similar payment
prior to the date the individual commences employment with the Participating
Company.

3.2           Commencement of Participation.  An
Eligible Employee shall commence participation in the Plan upon the
effectiveness of the Participant’s first Deferral Election made in accordance
with Section 3.3.

3.3           Deferral Elections. An Eligible Employee may elect during the
applicable Election Period, in writing on forms approved by the Administrative
Committee, to defer the receipt of a designated percentage of Base Compensation
per payroll period that is earned and payable after the effective date of such
election, a designated percentage of Bonus Compensation per payroll period that
is earned and payable after the effective date of such election and a
designated percentage of Performance-Based Compensation that is payable after
the effective date of such election and have such amount credited to the
Participant’s Account pursuant to the terms of the Plan.  The Participant shall make a separate
deferral election for Base, Bonus and Performance-Based Compensation deferrals
for each Plan Year.  The minimum deferral
each for Base, Bonus and Performance-Based Compensation for any payroll period
is One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) divided by the number of the Participant’s
remaining payroll periods for the Plan Year over which the deferral will be
made.  The maximum deferral is fifty
percent (50%) of Base Compensation and one hundred percent (100%) of Bonus
and/or Performance-Based Compensation per payroll period.  In no event may a Participant defer Base,
Bonus or Performance-Based  Compensation
for any payroll period to the extent the Participant has no Base, Bonus or
Performance-Based Compensation for such payroll period or to the extent the
Participant’s Base, Bonus or Performance-Based Compensation is insufficient
after satisfaction of payroll deductions under Code Section 401(k), Code
Section 125, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) withholding, and
applicable state, local or foreign tax withholding, in which case the
Participant’s Base, Bonus and Performance-Based Compensation deferral shall be
accordingly adjusted by the Administrative Committee for such payroll
period.  Notwithstanding the foregoing,
deferrals under this Plan are made before any elective deferrals into the
Participating Company’s qualified retirement plans.  Deferrals shall be deemed to be made first
from 

 8
 

Base,
Bonus or Performance-Based Compensation that is deductible to the Company and
its affiliates before nondeductible Base, Bonus or Performance-Based
Compensation.

3.4           No Deferrals from Severance. 
Deferral elections shall not apply to severance or other amounts payable
after a Participant’s Separation from Service.

3.5           Revocation/Modification of Deferral Elections. 
Deferral elections may not be revoked or modified by the Participant
after the Election Period.  The
Administrative Committee in its discretion may cancel a deferral election if
permitted under Code Section 409A (such as upon disability or Hardship),
provided that the Participant shall not be provided an election with respect to
such cancellation.

3.6           Discretionary Contributions. The Participating Company may make a
discretionary contribution, such as a signing bonus, to the Plan to be credited
to the Account of a designated Participant, to vest and to be distributed to
the Participant at such times and in such manner as determined by the
Company.  The Administrative Committee
shall communicate, in writing, to the Participant any special vesting and
distribution provisions that apply to a discretionary contribution.

SECTION 4.

VESTING AND ADMINISTRATION
OF ACCOUNTS

4.1           Vesting.  Base Compensation and Bonus
Compensation credited to a Participant’s Account, and notional earnings
thereon, shall be one hundred percent (100%) vested and non-forfeitable at all
times; provided, however, that the Company may provide for a discretionary
contribution made pursuant to Section 3.6 to vest over such period and in such
installments as determined by the Company.

4.2           Credits/Debts to Account.  Base
Compensation and Bonus Compensation deferred under this Plan pursuant to the
Participant’s election in accordance with Section 3.3 shall be credited to the
Participant’s Account as soon as administratively practical after the date the
deferrals would otherwise have been payable to the Participant in accordance
with the Participating Company’s normal payroll practices.

4.3           Account Earnings. 
Amounts credited to a Participant’s Account shall be credited with
notional earnings as determined by the Administrative Committee.  Each Participant may direct the manner in
which his or her Account shall be deemed invested among one or more investment
funds selected from time to time by the Administrative Committee.  The Administrative Committee shall have
complete discretion to adopt and revise procedures relating to Participant
investment directions and may change, add or remove investment funds in any
prospective manner it deems appropriate.

4.4           Ownership and Investment of Accounts. 
Subject to Section 10.2, amounts credited to a Participant’s Account may
be deemed invested in any investment vehicles or assets as may be selected by
the Administrative Committee in its discretion. 
The Participating 

 9
 

Company
shall be the owner of all amounts credited to Participant Accounts until paid
to the Participant pursuant to Section 5 or Section 6.

4.5           Establishment of Rabbi Trust. The Administrative Committee shall
establish and fully fund an irrevocable grantor trust to provide itself a
source of funds to satisfy its liability to Participants and their
beneficiaries under the Plan.  The
Participating Company shall make cash contributions to the trust as soon as
administratively practical after payroll deductions are made and as soon as
administratively practical after the end of the Plan Year for notional earnings
credited to Participant Accounts for the Plan Year.  The Participating Company shall be the sole
owner of the assets of the trust and trust assets shall be subject to the
claims of the Participating Company’s general creditors.  The sole interest of the Participant and the
Participant’s beneficiaries to the assets of the trust shall be as a general
creditor of the Participating Company.

SECTION 5.

DISPOSITION OF PARTICIPANT
SECTION 409A ACCOUNTS

5.1           Application.  The provisions of this Section
5 shall apply solely to a Participant’s Section 409A Account, and all
references herein to a Participant’s “Account” shall mean the Participant’s
Section 409A Account.  The disposition of
a Participant’s Non-Section 409A Account shall be made in accordance with
Section 6.

5.2           Distribution Elections. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, amounts credited to a
Participant’s Account for each Plan Year shall be paid to the Participant in
accordance with the Participant’s distribution election.  The Participant shall make a separate
distribution election for: (1) deferrals of Base Compensation and Bonus
Compensation made each Plan Year and notional earnings thereon; (2) deferrals
of Performance-Based Compensation made each Plan Year and notional earnings
thereon;  (3) Disability
distributions pursuant to Section 5.6; and (4) death distributions
pursuant to Section 5.7.  Distribution
elections shall be in writing on forms approved by the Administrative Committee
and shall specify a Distribution Date in accordance with Section 5.3, shall
specify the form of distribution in accordance with Section 5.4, and shall be
filed with the Administrative Committee during the Election Period.  A Participant may make a one (1) time change
to his or her distribution election to elect a later Distribution Date in
accordance with Section 5.3 and may make a one (1) time change to his or her
distribution election to change the form of the distribution in accordance with
Section 5.4; provided, however, that an election to defer payment or change the
form of distribution shall be effective only if (i) the election is made
at least twelve (12) months before the Participant’s elected Distribution Date,
and (ii) the Participant elects a new Distribution Date that is no less
than five (5) years later than the original Distribution Date.

 10
 

5.3           Distribution Date. Distribution shall commence to the
Participant, in the form elected by the Participant in accordance with Section
5.4, upon the Distribution Date. 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a distribution is to be made to a
Specified Employee on account of Separation from Service, the Distribution Date
shall be the first business day of the seventh month following the date of the
Specified Employee’s Separation from Service or in the case of clause (3) of
Section 2.10, the later of (i) the first business day of the seventh month
following the date of the Specified Employee’s Separation from Service or (ii)
the applicable January 1.

5.4           Form of Distribution. Vested amounts credited to a Participant’s
Account shall, at the Participant’s election, be payable to the Participant in
a single sum cash payment or in substantially equal annual cash installments
over not more than ten (10) years, provided that installments may not be
elected with respect to distributions upon a Change in Control.  Annual installment payments shall be
calculated by dividing the Account balance by the remaining annual installments
to be made.  Notwithstanding the
Participant’s election as to the time and form of payment, if the Participant
Separates from Service before his or her Retirement Date for any reason other
than death or Disability, then the Participant’s entire Account (including any
amounts with respect to which installment payments have previously commenced)
shall be paid to the Participant in a single sum cash payment upon the
Participant’s Separation from Service or, with respect to a Specified Employee,
upon the date that is first business day of the seventh month following the
date of the Participant’s Separation from Service.  In addition, the Administrative Committee may
direct in writing prior to the date of payment to accelerate the payment of a
Participant’s Account, provided that (i) the payment results in the
payment of the Participant’s entire interest in the Plan and all other
arrangements required to be aggregated with the Plan under Code Section 409A
(generally other arrangements providing for nonqualified elective deferrals),
and (ii) the total payments do not exceed the applicable dollar limit under
Code Section 402(g)(1)(B).

5.5           Hardship Distributions.  In
the event of a request by the Participant for distribution due to Hardship, and
a finding by the Administrative Committee that a Hardship exists, such
distribution shall be paid to the Participant in a single sum cash payment upon
the occurrence of the Hardship. 
Notwithstanding the foregoing: (1) payment shall be limited to the
amount reasonably necessary to satisfy the Hardship, and (2) payment shall
not be made to the extent that the Hardship is or may be relieved through
reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise, by liquidation of the
Participant’s assets, to the extent the liquidation of such assets would not
itself cause several financial hardship, or by cessation of deferrals under
this Plan.  Any decision of the
Administrative Committee with respect to the application of the provisions of
this section shall have a presumption of correctness, and the burden shall be
on the Participant to rebut such presumption by a preponderance of the
evidence.  The Participant shall be
provided with a reasonable opportunity to present any and all evidence on his
or her behalf.

5.6           Disability Distributions.  If a
Participant becomes Disabled before the Participant’s Retirement Date, vested amounts
credited to the Participant’s Account shall be distributed to the Participant,
in accordance with the Participant’s Disability distribution election in
accordance with Sections 5.3 and 5.4. 
Any decision of the Administrative 

 11
 

Committee
with respect to the application of the provisions of this section shall have a
presumption of correctness, and the burden shall be on the Participant to rebut
such presumption by a preponderance of the evidence.  The Participant shall be provided with a
reasonable opportunity to present any and all evidence on his or her behalf.

5.7           Death Distributions.  If a
Participant dies before distribution of all the amounts credited to the
Participant’s Account, any vested amounts remaining in the Participant’s
Account shall be distributed to the deceased Participant’s designated
beneficiary or beneficiaries in the form specified by the Participant in
accordance with Sections 5.3 and 5.4.  If
distributions have already commenced before the Participant’s death, the
Participant’s designated beneficiary will continue to receive payments
according to the same schedule as had been made to the Participant before his
or her death.  All beneficiary
designations shall be in writing on forms approved by the Administrative
Committee and shall be filed with the Administrative Committee.  A Participant may, at any time, revoke or
change any beneficiary designation by filing a new written designation with the
Administrative Committee.  If there is no
effective beneficiary designation filed with the Administrative Committee at
the time of the Participant’s death, distribution of amounts otherwise payable
to the deceased Participant under the Plan shall be paid to the personal
representative of the Participant’s estate as a part of the Participant’s
estate in accordance with Section 5.3. 
(As required by Code Section 409A, the form of payment to a Beneficiary
may not vary based on the identity of the Beneficiary.)  If a beneficiary designated by the
Participant to receive the Participant’s benefits shall survive the Participant
but die before receiving all distributions hereunder, the balance thereof shall
be paid in a single sum cash distribution to such deceased beneficiary’s estate
in a single sum distribution as soon as administratively practical after the
beneficiary’s death.  The Administrative
Committee, upon making a reasonable effort to ascertain the identity of the
proper beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive any amounts payable pursuant to
these provisions shall be entitled to rely on information reasonably available
to it, and upon making any payments provided herein to any beneficiary believed
in good faith by the Administrative Committee to be entitled thereto, shall
have no further liability to any person for such payments.

5.8           Disposition of Account on Plan Termination.  Upon
termination of the Plan, distribution of vested Accounts shall be made at the
time designated by the Committee in accordance with the applicable requirements
under Code Section 409A.

5.9           Distributions Causing Loss of Compensation
Deduction. Notwithstanding
the Participant’s distribution election, the Administrative Committee may delay
a distribution to the extent that it reasonably anticipates that the
distribution, if made as scheduled, would cause the Participant to have
compensation from the Company and its affiliated companies for any year that is
nondeductible by the Company and its affiliated companies pursuant to Code
Section 162(m).  Any distribution not
made because of this limitation shall be distributed (1) in the first
subsequent year in which the deduction would not be barred by the application
of Code Section 162(m) or (2) during the period beginning with the date of
the Participant’s Separation from Service and ending on the later of
(i) the last day of the Company’s taxable year in which the Participant’s
Separation from Service occurs or (ii) the fifteenth day of the third
month following the

 12

date
of the participant’s Separation from Service. 
In case of a Specified Employee, all references in the preceding
sentence to the date of the Participant’s Separation from Service shall be
deemed to be the date that is six (6) months after the Participant’s Separation
from Service.

5.10         Limited Delay in
Payment.  Where the Plan provides
that a payment will be made upon a specified date or event, actual payment
shall be made no later than the latest date permitted under Section 409A and
the regulations thereunder (generally the later of the end of the calendar year
in which the specified payment date occurs, or the fifteenth day of the third
calendar month after the calendar month in which the specified payment date
occurs).

5.11         Tax Withholding.  The Administrative Committee shall deduct
from distributions under the Plan any federal, state or local tax withholding
or other taxes or charges that the Participating Company is required to deduct
under applicable law.  The Participating
Company shall be entitled to deduct from other compensation payable to the
Participant, any employment or other tax required to be withheld as amounts are
deferred under the Plan and the Participating Company may adjust the
Participant’s deferral election to cover required tax withholdings.

5.12         Distributions to HD
Supply Participants.  Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Account of each HD Supply Participant
(as hereinafter defined) shall be distributed in a single payment as soon as
practicable after January 1, 2008, and in no event later than December 31,
2008.  Distribution shall be made under
this Section 5.12 without regard to whether the Participant has incurred a
Separation from Service.  An “HD Supply
Participant” shall mean a Participant who, during 2007, ceases to be an
employee of the Controlled Group as a result of the Company’s sale of its HD
Supply line of business.

SECTION 6.

DISPOSITION OF PARTICIPANT NON-SECTION 409A ACCOUNTS

6.1           Application.  The provisions of this Section 6 shall apply
solely to a Participant’s Non-Section 409A Account, and all references herein
to a Participant’s “Account” shall mean the Participant’s Non-Section 409A
Account.  The disposition of a
Participant’s Section 409A Account shall be made in accordance with Section 5.

6.2           Definitions.  The following definitions shall apply under
this Section 6 in lieu of or in addition to the definitions set forth in
Section 2.

(a)   “Change
in Control” means a change in control of the Company of a nature that would
be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of
Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act as in effect at the time of such change
in control, provided that such a change in control shall be deemed to have
occurred at such time as (1) any “person” (as that term is used in
Sections 13(d) and 14(d) (2) of the Exchange Act), is or becomes the “beneficial
owner,” directly or indirectly, of

 13
 

securities
representing twenty percent (20%) or more of the combined voting power for
election of directors of the then outstanding securities of the Company or any
successor of the Company; (2) during any period of two (2) consecutive
years or less, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the
board of directors of the Company cease, for any reason, to constitute at least
a majority of the board, unless the election or nomination for election of each
new director was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors
then still in office who were directors at the beginning of the period;
(3) the stockholders of the Company approve any merger or consolidation as
a result of which the common stock of the Company shall be changed, converted
or exchanged (other than a merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Company) or any liquidation of the Company or any sale or other disposition of
fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets or earning power of the Company; or
(4)  the stockholders of the Company approve any merger or consolidation
to which the Company is a party as a result of which the persons who were
stockholders of the Company immediately before the effective date of the merger
or consolidation shall have beneficial ownership of less than fifty-five
percent (55%) of the combined voting power for election of directors of the
surviving corporation following the effective date of such merger or
consolidation.

(b)   “Distribution
Date” means the earliest of the following events: (1) a year elected
by the Participant that is after the Plan Year for which the deferrals are
made; (2) the Participant’s Employment Termination for any reason
(including death and Disability) before the Participant’s Retirement Date;
(3) the Participant’s Retirement Date or, if elected by the Participant,
the Participant’s Retirement Date plus one (1) year; or (4) if elected by the
Participant, the date of a Change in Control.

(c)   “Disability or Disabled”
means a physical or mental condition of the Participant which results in the
Participant receiving benefits under the Participating Company’s long term
disability insurance plan, or in the event that the Participant is not
participating in the Participating Company’s long term disability insurance
plan, means a physical or mental condition which in the judgment of the
Administrative Committee, based on medical reports and other evidence
satisfactory to the Administrative Committee, prevents the Participant from
satisfactorily performing Participant’s usual duties for the Participating
Company or duties of such other job or position which the Participating Company
makes available to the Participant and for which the Participant is qualified
by reason of training, education or experience.

(d)   “Employment Termination”
means the date that the Participant ceases to perform services for the
Participating Company and is no longer on the Participating Company’s active
payroll; provided, however, that a Participant shall not be treated as having
terminated employment with the Participating Company for purposes of this
Section 6 if, concurrently with or immediately after such termination, the
Participant is employed by a subsidiary or affiliate of the Participating
Company.

(e)   “Exchange Act” means the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(f)   “Hardship” means a severe
financial hardship to the Participant resulting from a sudden and unexpected
illness or accident of the Participant or the Participant’s

 14
 

dependent (as defined in Code Section 152(a)) loss of
the Participant’s property due to casualty or other similar extraordinary and
unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the
Participant’s control.  The need to send
a Participant’s child to college or the desire to purchase a home are not
considered unforeseeable emergencies that qualify as a “hardship.”  After the Participant’s death, the phrase “Participant’s
beneficiary” shall be substituted for the word “Participant” in the first
sentence of this Section 6.2(f).

(g)   “Nondeductible” means a
distribution of Base Compensation or Bonus Compensation and earnings thereon
for which the Participating Company would not be entitled to a compensation tax
deduction.

(h)   “Nondeductible Compensation”
means Base Compensation or Bonus Compensation that in the year deferred is
nondeductible by the Company and its affiliated companies pursuant to Code
Section 162(m).

6.3           Distribution
Elections.  Except as otherwise
expressly provided herein, amounts credited to a Participant’s Account for each
Plan Year shall be paid to the Participant in accordance with the Participant’s
distribution election.  The Participant
shall make a separate distribution election for: (1) deferrals made each
Plan Year and notional earnings thereon; (2) Disability distributions
pursuant to Section 6.8; and (3) death distributions pursuant to Section
6.9.  Distribution elections shall be in
writing on forms approved by the Administrative Committee and shall specify a
Distribution Date in accordance with Section 6.4, shall specify the form of
distribution in accordance with Section 6.5, and shall be filed with the
Administrative Committee during the Election Period.  A Participant may make a one (1) time change
to his or her distribution election to elect a later Distribution Date in
accordance with Section 6.4 and may make a one (1) time change to his or her
distribution election to change the form of the distribution in accordance with
Section 6.5; provided, however, that only the most recent election that is at
least twelve (12) months from the Participant’s elected Distribution Date shall
control (or the Participant’s first distribution election if Participant has
less than twelve (12) months of Plan participation); any distribution election
that is changed within twelve (12) months of the Distribution Date shall be
ignored.

6.4           Distribution Date.  Distribution shall commence to the
Participant, in the manner elected by the Participant in accordance with
Section 6.5, during the month of December of the year of the Distribution Date
for in-service distributions (other than pursuant to Section 6.7) and as soon
as administratively practical after the next January 1 following the
Distribution Date for all other distributions. 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Disability, Hardship, Change in Control
and in-service distributions pursuant to Section 6.7 shall be made as soon as
administratively practical following the approval by the Administrative
Committee of the Disability, Hardship distribution or the occurrence of a
Change in Control or a request for an in-service distribution pursuant to
Section 6.7.

 15
 

6.5           Form of Distribution.  Vested amounts credited to a Participant’s
Account shall, at the Participant’s election, be payable to the Participant in
a single sum cash payment or in substantially equal annual cash installments
over not more than ten (10) years. 
Annual installment payments shall be calculated by dividing the Account
balance by the remaining annual installments to be made.  Notwithstanding the Participant’s
distribution election, payment shall be made to the Participant in a single sum
cash distribution in accordance with Section 6.4 if: (1) the vested amount
credited to the Participant’s Account as of the Participant’s Distribution Date
is Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or less; or (2) the
Participant’s employment with the Participating Company terminates for any
reason other than death or Disability before the Participant’s Retirement Date;
or (3) the Participant has elected a distribution in connection with a
Change in Control.  In the event the
Participant’s employment with the Participating Company terminates for any
reason other than death or Disability before the Participant’s Retirement Date
and the Participant is receiving distributions under the Plan, such
distributions shall be accelerated and paid to the Participant in a single sum
cash distribution.

6.6           Hardship Distributions.  In the event of a request by the Participant,
or by the Participant’s beneficiary after the Participant’s death, for
distribution due to Hardship, and a finding by the Administrative Committee
that a Hardship exists, deferrals pursuant to Section 3.3 shall cease for a
period of twelve (12) months beginning on the January 1 next following the date
of a Hardship distribution pursuant to this section and vested amounts credited
to the Participant’s Account shall be paid to the Participant in a single sum
cash payment as soon as administratively practicable after the date of the
Hardship.  Notwithstanding the foregoing:
(1) payment shall be limited to the amount reasonably necessary to satisfy
the Hardship, and (2) payment shall not be made to the extent that the
Hardship is or may be relieved through reimbursement or compensation by
insurance or otherwise, by liquidation of the Participant’s assets, to the
extent the liquidation of such assets would not itself cause several financial
hardship, or by cessation of deferrals under this Plan.  Any decision of the Administrative Committee
with respect to the application of the provisions of this section shall have a
presumption of correctness, and the burden shall be on Participant to rebut
such presumption by a preponderance of the evidence.  The Participant shall be provided with a
reasonable opportunity to present any and all evidence on his or her behalf.

6.7           In-Service
Distributions With Penalty.  A
Participant may request, on forms approved by the Administrative Committee, a
minimum distribution of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and a maximum
distribution of one hundred percent (100%) of the Participant’s vested total
Account balance at any time for any reason, provided that the Participant shall
forfeit to the Participating Company ten percent (10%) of the amount of the
requested distribution.  Said
distribution shall be paid to the Participant in a single sum distribution as
soon as administratively practical after receipt by the Administrative Committee
of the Participant’s signed and completed distribution request form.  All deferrals pursuant to Section 3.3 shall
cease for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of a distribution
pursuant to this Section 6.7.

 16
 

6.8           Disability
Distributions.  If a Participant
becomes Disabled before the Participant’s Retirement Date, vested amounts
credited to the Participant’s Account shall be distributed to the Participant,
in accordance with the Participant’s Disability distribution election in
accordance with Sections 6.4 and 6.5. 
Any decision of the Administrative Committee with respect to the
application of the provi­sions of this section shall have a presumption of
correctness, and the burden shall be on Participant to rebut such presumption
by a preponderance of the evidence.  The
Participant shall be provided with a reasonable opportunity to present any and
all evidence on his or her behalf.

6.9           Death Distributions.  If a Participant dies before distribution of
all the amounts credited to the Participant’s Account, any vested amounts
remaining in the Participant’s Account shall be distributed to the deceased
Participant’s designated beneficiary or beneficiaries in the form specified by
the Participant in accordance with Sections 6.4 and 6.5.  If distributions have already commenced
before the Participant’s death, the Participant’s designated beneficiary will
continue to receive payments according to the same schedule as had been made to
the Participant before his or her death. 
All beneficiary designations shall be in writing on forms approved by
the Administrative Committee and shall be filed with the Administrative
Committee.  A Participant may, at any
time, revoke or change any beneficiary designation by filing a new written
designation with the Administrative Committee. 
If there is no effective beneficiary designation filed with the
Administrative Committee at the time of the Participant’s death, distribution
of amounts otherwise payable to the deceased Participant under the Plan shall
be paid in a single sum cash distribution to the personal representative of the
Participant’s estate as a part of the Participant’s estate in accordance with
Section 6.4.  If a beneficiary designated
by the Participant to receive the Participant’s benefits shall survive the Participant
but die before receiving all distributions hereunder, the balance thereof shall
be paid in a single sum cash distribution to such deceased beneficiary’s estate
in a single sum distribution as soon as administratively practical after your
beneficiary’s death. The Administrative Committee, upon making a reasonable
effort to ascertain the identity of the proper beneficiary or beneficiaries to
receive any amounts payable pursuant to these provi­sions shall be entitled to
rely on information reasonably available to it, and upon making any payments
provided herein to any beneficiary believed in good faith by the Administrative
Committee to be entitled thereto, shall have no further liability to any person
for such payments.

6.10         Disposition of Account
on Plan Termination.  Upon
termination of the Plan, distribution of vested Accounts shall be made, at the
time and in the form elected by the Participant, according to the distribution
election on file with the Administrative Committee at the time of such termination.

6.11         Accounting Method For
Distributions.  Distributions shall
be made first, in descending order, from the portion of the Participant’s
Account earning the highest rate of notional earnings.  For portions of Participant’s Account earning
the same rate of notional earnings, distribution shall made first from the
oldest such Account in chronological order (first in-first out method).  Debits and offsets shall be made first, in
descending order, from the Nondeductible portion of the Participant’s Account
earning the highest

 17
 

rate of notional
earnings and then, in descending order, from the Deductible portion of the
Participant’s Account earnings the highest rate of notional earnings.

6.12         Distributions Causing
Loss of Compensation Deduction. 
Notwithstanding the Participant’s distribution election, no distribution
shall be made to the extent the distribution would cause the Participant to
have compensation from the Company and its affiliated companies for any year in
excess of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and that is nondeductible by the
Company and its affiliated companies pursuant to Code Section 162(m).  Any distribution not made because of this
limitation shall be distributed in the first subsequent year in which the
distribution would not cause the loss of the Company’s or its affiliated
companies’ compensation tax deduction. 
This section shall not apply to: (1) Nondeductible Compensation;
(2) death distributions pursuant to Section 6.9; (2) Disability
distributions pursuant to Section 6.8; (3) in-service distributions
pursuant to Section 6.6; (4) Hardship Distributions pursuant to Section
6.6; (5) Change in Control distributions; and (6) distributions made
with respect to compensation deferred for the 2002 Plan Year, including
earnings thereon.

6.13         Tax Withholding.  The Administrative Committee shall deduct
from distributions under the Plan any federal, state or local tax withholding
or other taxes or charges that the Participating Company is required to deduct
under applicable law.  The Participating
Company shall be entitled to deduct from other compensation payable to the
Participant, any employment or other tax required to be withheld as amounts are
deferred under the Plan and the Participating Company may adjust the
Participant’s deferral election to cover required tax withholdings.

6.14         Distributions to HD
Supply Participants.  Notwithstanding
anything in the Plan to the contrary, the Account of each HD Supply Participant
(as hereinafter defined) shall be distributed in a single payment as soon as
practicable after January 1, 2008, and in no event later than
December 31, 2008.  Distributions
shall be made under this Section 6.14 without regard to whether the Participant
has incurred a Separation from Service. 
An “HD Supply Participant” shall mean a Participant who, during 2007,
ceases to be an employee of the Controlled Group as a result of the Controlling
Company’s sale of its HD Supply line of business.

 18
 

SECTION 7.

PLAN ADMINISTRATION

7.1           Administrative
Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Administrative Committee.
A Participant who is also a member of the Administrative Committee shall not
participate in any decision involving an election made by him or her or
relating in any way to his or her individual rights, duties and obligations as
a Participant under the Plan (other than decisions that affect all
Participants). The Administrative Committee shall appoint and remove its
members and fill vacancies in the Administrative Committee, and appoint or
employ agents to assist it in administration of the Plan.  Each member of the Administrative Committee
shall serve until such member resigns, or is removed or replaced, or until such
member’s employment with the Company and its affiliates terminates, whichever
is sooner.  Whenever a member of the
Administrative Committee ceases to be a member for any reason, the remaining
members will serve as the Administrative Committee until further action by the
Administrative Committee.

7.2           Administrative
Committee Action.  A majority of the Administrative
Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  All actions taken by the Administrative
Committee at a meeting shall be by the vote of a majority of those present at
such meeting but any action may be taken by the Administrative Committee
without a meeting upon written consent signed by all of the members of the
Administrative Committee.

7.3           Plan Rules and
Regulations.  The Administrative
Committee may from time to time establish rules and regulations for the
administration of the Plan and adopt standard forms for such matters as
elections, beneficiary designations and applications for benefits, provided
such rules and forms are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan.

7.4           Determinations by
Administrative Committee.  All
determinations of the Administrative Committee, including, but not limited to,
all questions of construction and interpretation, shall be final, binding and
conclusive on all parties and the Committee shall have complete discretion in
making such determinations.

7.5           Plan Records.  The Administrative Committee shall be
responsible for maintaining books and records for the Plan.

SECTION 8.

CLAIM AND REVIEW PROCEDURES

8.1           Claims Procedure.  Any person who believes he or she is being
denied rights or benefits under the Plan may file a written claim with the
Administrative Committee, containing the claimant’s name, mailing address,
telephone number and a detailed description of the claim or dispute.  The Administrative Committee shall notify the
claimant of its decision if a claim is denied in whole or part.  The notification will be given within ninety
(90) days (forty-five (45) days for disability benefit claims) after the claim
is filed, or within one hundred-eighty (180) days (seventy-five (75) days for
disability claims) if special

 19
 

circumstances
require an extension of time for processing the claim (in the case of
disability claims due to matters beyond the Plan’s control) and written notice
of the extension, the circumstances requiring the extension and the date the
Administrative Committee expects to make its decision is given to the claimant
within the initial ninety (90) day period (forty-five (45) day period for
disability claims).  A notification of a
claim denial shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the
claimant and shall contain: (1) specific reasons for the denial,
(2) specific reference to Plan provisions on which the decision is based,
(3) a description of any necessary additional material or information
necessary for the claimant to perfect the claim and an explanation of why it is
necessary, and (4) information as to the steps to be taken and time limits
for submitting a request for review, including a statement of the claimant’s
right to bring a civil action under ERISA Section 502(a) after an adverse
benefit determination on review.  The
processing of a disability benefit claim may be extended an additional thirty
(30) days beyond the first thirty (30)-day extension if written notice of the
extension, the circumstances requiring the extension and the date the Plan
expects to make its decision is given to the claimant before the expiration of
the first thirty (30)-day extension.  In
the case of any extension of time for processing a disability benefit claim,
the notice of extension shall explain the standards on which entitlement to a
benefit is based, the unresolved issues that prevent a decision on the claim
and the additional information needed to resolve those issues and the claimant
shall be afforded at least forty-five (45) days within which to provide the
specified information.

8.2           Review Procedure:

(a)           General Procedures.
Within 60 days (one hundred-eighty (180) days for disability benefit claims) of
receipt by the claimant of the written notice of denial of the claim, the
claimant may file an appeal of an adverse benefit determination with the
Administrative Committee for a full and fair review of the denied claim.  The claimant may submit written comments,
documents, records and other information relating to the claim.  Upon request, the claimant shall be provided,
free of charge, reasonable access to and copies of all documents, records and
other information relevant to the claim. 
The review decision shall take into account all comments, documents,
records and other information submitted by the claimant relating to the claim
without regard to whether such information was submitted or considered in the
initial benefit determination.  In the
event of an adverse benefit determination on review, the Administrative Committee
shall provide access to, and copies of, relevant documents, records and other
information.

(b)           Disability Claims.  The following special rules apply to review
decisions on disability benefit claims: (1) the review shall not afford
deference to the initial adverse benefit determination and shall be conducted
by an appropriate named Plan fiduciary who is neither the individual who made
the adverse benefit determination that is the subject of the appeal nor the
subordinate of such individual; (2) in deciding an appeal of any adverse
benefit determination that is based in whole or in part on a medical judgment,
the appropriate named fiduciary shall consult with a healthcare professional
who has appropriate training and

 20
 

experience in the field of medicine involved in the
medical judgment and who is neither an individual who was consulted in
connection with the adverse benefit determination that is the subject of the
appeal nor the subordinate of any such individual; and (3) the review
decision shall identify the medical or vocational experts whose advice was
obtained on the Plan’s behalf in connection with a claimant’s adverse benefit
determination, without regarding to whether the advice was relied upon in
making the benefit determination.

(c)           Period For Review
Decision.  The Administrative
Committee shall make its review decision within sixty (60) days (forty-five
(45) days for disability benefit claims) after the receipt of the claimant’s
request for review, unless special circumstances require an extension of time,
in which case the sixty (60)-day period (forty-five (45)-day period for
disability benefit claims) may be extended to one hundred-twenty (120) days
(ninety (90) for disability benefit claims). 
The Administrative Committee shall notify the claimant in writing of any
extension before the end of the initial sixty (60)-day period forty-five
(45)-day period for disability benefit claims), explaining the circumstances
requiring the extension and the date the Plan expects to make the determination
on review.

(d)           Decisions By
Administrative Committee.  Benefit
determinations by the Administrative Committee, if the Administrative Committee
holds regularly scheduled meetings at least quarterly, shall be made no later
than the date of the meeting after the Plan’s receipt of a request for
review.  If the request for review is
filed within thirty (30) days preceding the date of such meeting, the benefit
determination may be made by no later than the date of the second meeting after
the Plan’s receipt of the request for review. If special circumstances require
a further extension of time for processing, a benefit determination shall be
made not later than the third meeting of the Administrative Committee after the
Plan’s receipt of the request for review. 
The Administrative Committee shall provide the claimant with written
notice of any extension, describing the special circumstances and the date as
of which the benefit determination will be made, before the commencement of the
extension.  The Administrative Committee
shall notify the claimant of the benefit determination not later than five (5)
days after the benefit determination is made.

(e)           Review Decision.
An adverse benefit determination on review shall set forth, in a manner
calculated to be understood by the claimant: (1) the specific reason or
reasons for the adverse determination; (2) reference to the specific plan
provisions on which the benefit determination is based; (3) a statement
that the claimant is entitled to receive, upon request and free of charge,
reasonable access to, and copies of, all documents, records, and other
information relevant to the claimant’s claim for benefits; and (4) a
statement describing the claimant’s right to bring an action under ERISA
Section 502(a).

 21
 

8.3           Procedures
Applying To Both Claims and Review Procedures:

(a)           Method of
Notification.  Notice of the
Administrative Committee’s adverse benefit determination may be by written or
electronic notification.  Any electronic
notification shall comply with the standards imposed by 29 CFR
2520.104b-1(c)(1)(i), (iii) and (iv).

(b)           When Claim or Appeal
Deemed Filed.  A claim or appeal
shall be considered filed when received by the Administrative Committee
regardless of whether all the information necessary to make a benefit
determination accompanies the filing.

(c)           Tolling of Period for
Making Decision.  If a time period is
extended because of the claimant’s failure to submit information necessary to
decide a claim, the period for making the benefit determination shall be tolled
from the date notification of the extension is sent to the claimant until the
date the claimant responds to the request for additional information.

(d)           Relevant Documents.  A document, record or other information shall
be considered relevant to a claim if it: (1) was relied upon in making the
benefit determination, (2) was submitted, considered or generated in
making the benefit determination, regardless of whether it was relied upon in
making the benefit determination, or (3) demonstrates compliance with the
administrative processes and safeguards required in making the benefit
determination.

(e)           Disability Claims.  If an internal rule, guideline, protocol, or
other similar criterion is relied upon in making an adverse claim or review
determination, either the specific rule, guideline, protocol, or other similar
criterion, or a statement that such a rule, guideline, protocol, or other
similar criterion was relied upon in making the adverse determination shall be
stated in the claim and review decisions and that a copy of such rule,
guideline, protocol, or other criterion will be provided free of charge to the
claimant upon request.

SECTION 9.

PARTICIPATION BY RELATED COMPANIES

9.1           Participation by
Related Company.  Unless otherwise
designated by the Administrative Committee, each Related Company shall be a
Participating Company in the Plan as to its Eligible Employees.  Participating Companies shall be subject to
all terms and provisions of the Plan.

9.2           Withdrawal of a
Related Company.  The Administrative
Committee may at any time, in its sole discretion, determine that a
Participating Company shall no longer participate in the Plan and may direct
that the Participating Company withdraw from the Plan, provided that
(i) the withdrawal of a Participating Company shall not affect deferral
elections made with respect to the Plan Year in which the Participating Company
withdraws from the

 22
 

Plan, and
(ii) such withdrawal shall not affect the timing of distributions of
amounts previously deferred under the Plan.

9.3           Obligation of
Participating Company.  Each
Participating Company shall make all payments required to be made under the
Plan or provided to or on behalf of the Participants employed by such
Participating Company, and the liability for making such payments and providing
such benefits shall be the sole and exclusive obligation of such Participating
Company.  Each Participating Company
shall pay all fees and reimburse all expenses to the Company as required by the
Company and as agreed to by the parties in connection with the administration
of this Plan.

SECTION 10.

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

10.1         Amendment or
Termination.  The Company reserves
the right to amend, modify, terminate or discontinue the Plan at any time by
appropriate action taken by the Committee, provided, however, that no such
action shall reduce the amounts then credited to any Account of any Participant
except for reductions necessitated by the claims of the Participating Company’s
general creditors as contemplated by Section 10.2, Plan expenses contemplated
by Section 10.6 and offsets contemplated by Section 10.7.  Distributions of Section 409A Accounts shall
be made upon termination of the Plan (including any partial termination
relating to a specified group of Participants) only to the extent permitted
under Code Section 409A.

10.2         Participant’s Rights
Unsecured.  The Participating Company
shall remain the owner of amounts deferred under the Plan.  The Participant and the Participant’s
beneficiary have only the Participating Company’s unsecured promise to
pay.  The rights accruing to the
Participant and the Participant’s beneficiary are those of an unsecured general
creditor of the Participating Company. 
Any contract, policy or other asset which the Participating Company may
utilize to assure itself of the funds to make payment shall not serve in any
way as security to the Participant or the Participant’s beneficiary for the
Participating Company’s obligations under the Plan. Accounts established under
the Plan are for bookkeeping purposes only and shall not be considered to
create a fund for the Participant or the Participant’s beneficiary.

10.3         Nontransferability/Nonalienability.  No right of any Participant or Participant’s
beneficiary to receive any Plan payment shall be subject to alienation,
transfer, sale, assignment, pledge, attachment, garnishment or encumbrance of
any kind.  Any attempt to alienate, sell,
transfer, assign, pledge or otherwise encumber any such payments whether
presently or thereafter payable shall be void.

10.4         Participant Obligation
to Furnish Information.  Each person
entitled to receive a Plan payment, whether a Participant, a duly designated
beneficiary, a guardian or otherwise, shall provide the Administrative
Committee with such information as it may from time to time deem necessary or
in its best interest in administering the Plan. 
Any such person shall also furnish the Administrative Committee with
such documents, evidence, data or

 23
 

other information
as the Administrative Committee may from time to time deem necessary or
advisable.

10.5         No Right of Employment.  The Plan shall not be deemed to constitute a
contract of employment between a Participant and the Participating Company, nor
shall any Plan provision restrict the right of the Participating Company to
discharge a Participant, or restrict the right of a Participant to terminate
his or her employment.

10.6         Plan Expenses.  Unless paid by the Participating Company,
expenses of administering the Plan shall be paid by the Participants, except as
otherwise provided herein, and shall be debited among Participant Accounts in
proportion to the Participant’s Account balance to total Account balances.

10.7         Offsets.  As a condition to eligibility to participate
in the Plan, each Participant consents to the deduction from amounts otherwise
payable under the Plan to the Participant and the Participant beneficiaries all
amounts owed by the Participant to the Participating Company and the
Participating Company and its affiliates to the maximum extent permitted by
applicable law; provided, however that no amounts shall be offset against a
Participant’s Section 409A Account prior to the date on which the offset
amounts would otherwise be distributed under the Plan unless (i) the
offset relates to a debt incurred in the ordinary course of the relationship
between the Participant and a Participating Company, (ii) the entire
amount offset in any calendar year does not exceed $5,000, and (iii) the
offset is made at the same time and in the same amount as the debt otherwise
would have been due and collected by the Participating Company.

10.8         Severability.   The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision in this Plan shall not in any way affect the validity or
enforceability of any other provision and the Plan shall be construed in all
respects as if such invalid or unenforceable provision had never been in the
Plan.

10.9         Enforceability.   The Plan shall be binding upon, inure to the
benefit of and be enforceable by the Participating Company and Participants and
their respective legal representatives, successors and assigns.

10.10       Limitation of Actions.  No lawsuit with respect to any benefit
payable or other matter arising out or relating to the Plan may be brought
before exhaustion of the claim and review procedures set forth in Section 8 and
any lawsuit must be filed no later than one (1) year after a claim is denied or
be forever barred.

10.11       Governing Law.  The Plan shall be construed, administered and
governed in all respects under and by the applicable laws of the State of
Georgia. By participating in the Plan, the Participant irrevocably consents to
the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Georgia and of any
federal court located in Northern District of Georgia in connection with any
action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the Plan, any document or
instrument delivered pursuant to or in connection with the Plan.

 24
 

10.12       Presumed Competency.  Every person receiving or claiming payments
under the Plan shall be conclusively presumed to be mentally competent until
the date on which the Administrative Committee receives a written notice in a
form and manner acceptable to the Administrative Committee that such person is
incompetent and that a guardian, conservator or other person legally vested
with the interest of his or her estate has been appointed.  In the event a guardian or conservator of the
estate or any person receiving or claiming payments under the Plan shall be
appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, payments under the Plan may be
made to such guardian or conservator provided that the proper proof of
appointment and continuing qualification is furnished in a form and manner
acceptable to the Administrative Committee. 
Any such payments so made shall be a complete discharge of any liability
or obligation of Participating Company or the Administrative Committee
regarding such payments.

10.13       Forfeiture of Unclaimed
Benefits.  Each Participant shall
keep the Administrative Committee informed of his or her current address and
the current address of his or her beneficiary. 
The Administrative Committee shall not be obligated to search for the
whereabouts of any person.  If the
Administrative Committee is unable to locate any person to whom a payment is
due under the Plan or a distribution payment check is not presented for
payment, such payment shall be irrevocably forfeited two (2) years after the
date on which the payment was first due. 
Forfeited payments shall be returned to the source of the payment (e.g., if benefits are funded through contributions
by the Participating Company from its general assets, the forfeited payment
shall be returned to the Participating Company; if the forfeited benefit
payment is made from trust funds, the forfeited payment shall revert to the
trust from which the payment was made).

10.14       Code §409A.  The plan is intended to comply with the
applicable requirements of Code Section 409A with respect to a Participant’s
Section 409A Account hereunder, and shall be interpreted and administered to
the extent possible in a manner consistent with the foregoing statement of
intent.

Executed this             
day of August, 2007 but effective January 1, 2008 except as otherwise expressly
provided herein.

	
  

  	
  THE HOME DEPOT, INC.

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  By: 

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Timothy A. Crow

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
  Executive Vice President—Human Resources

  

 

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