Exhibit 10.19
EMPLOYMENT AND NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
This EMPLOYMENT AND NON-COMPETITION AGREEMENT (this "AGREEMENT"), dated
as of March 16, 1998, is between Community Distributors, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the "EMPLOYER"), and Xxxxxxx Xxxxx (the "EMPLOYEE").
WHEREAS, the Employer wishes to employ the Employee as an executive
officer of the Employer, and the Employee wishes to work as an executive officer
of the Employer, on the terms set forth below.
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed as follows:
Section 1. EMPLOYMENT. The Employer hereby employs the
Employee, and the Employee hereby accepts employment, upon the terms and subject
to the conditions hereinafter set forth.
Section 2. DUTIES. The Employee shall be employed as the Vice
President-Merchandising. In such capacity, the Employee shall have such
executive responsibilities and duties as are assigned by the Employer's Board of
Directors (the "BOARD") or the President of the Employer. The Employee agrees to
devote his full time and best efforts to the performance of his duties to the
Employer.
Section 3. TERM. The initial term of employment of the Employee
hereunder shall commence on the date hereof (the "COMMENCEMENT DATE") and shall
continue until the third anniversary of the Commencement Date (the "INITIAL
TERM"), unless earlier terminated pursuant to Section 6, and shall be renewed
automatically for additional one (1) year terms thereafter unless terminated by
either party by written notice to the other given at least ninety (90) days
prior to the expiration of the then current term.
Section 4. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS. Until the termination of
the Employee's employment hereunder, in consideration for the services of the
Employee hereunder, the Employer shall compensate the Employee as follows:
(a) BASE SALARY. The Employer shall pay the Employee, in accordance
with the Employer's then current payroll practices, a base salary (the "BASE
SALARY"). The Base Salary will be paid at an annual rate of $125,000. Such Base
Salary may be increased from time to time at the sole discretion of the Board
and is in addition to the other benefits set forth herein.
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(b) VACATION. The Employee shall be entitled to three (3) weeks
vacation each calendar year. Any vacation shall be taken at the reasonable and
mutual convenience of the Employer and the Employee. Accrued vacation not taken
in any calendar year will not be carried forward or used in any subsequent
calendar year.
(c) INSURANCE; OTHER BENEFITS. Accident, disability, life and health
insurance for the Employee shall be provided by the Employer under group
accident, life and health insurance plans maintained by the Employer for its
full-time, salaried employees as such employment benefits may be modified from
time to time by the Board for all full-time, salaried employees. In addition,
the Employer shall either continue the Employee's current individual disability
insurance policy or arrange for coverage under an alternative disability
insurance policy which is no less favorable. The amount and extent of such
coverage shall be subject to the discretion of the Board; PROVIDED, THAT the
amount and extent of such coverage shall be no less favorable than such coverage
provided by the Employer to the Employee immediately prior to the date hereof.
Section 5. EXPENSES. The Employer shall reimburse the Employee for
all reasonable expenses of types authorized by the Employer and incurred by the
Employee in the performance of his duties hereunder. The Employee shall comply
with such budget limitations and approval and reporting requirements with
respect to expenses as the Employer may establish from time to time.
Section 6. TERMINATION. The Employee's employment hereunder
shall commence on the Commencement Date and continue until the expiration of
the Initial Term, and any extension of such term pursuant to Section 3,
except that the employment of the Employee hereunder shall earlier terminate:
(a) DEATH OR DISABILITY. Upon the death of the Employee during the
term of his employment hereunder or, at the option of the Employer, in the
event of the Employee's disability, upon thirty (30) days' written notice
from the Employer. The Employee shall be deemed disabled if an independent
medical doctor (selected by the Employer's health or disability insurer)
certifies that the Employee has for 180 days, consecutive or non-consecutive,
in any twelve (12) month period been disabled in a manner which seriously
interferes with his ability to perform his responsibilities under this
Agreement. Any refusal by the Employee to submit to a medical examination for
the purpose of certifying disability under this Section 6(a) shall be deemed
to constitute conclusive evidence of the Employee's disability.
(b) FOR CAUSE. For "Cause" immediately upon written notice by the
Employer to the Employee. For purposes of this Agreement, a termination shall be
for Cause if the Board shall determine that any one or more of the following has
occurred:
(i) the Employee shall have committed an act of fraud,
embezzlement, misappropriation or breach of fiduciary duty against the
Employer, including, but
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not limited to, the offer, payment, solicitation or acceptance of any
unlawful bribe or kickback with respect to the Employer's business; or
(ii) the Employee shall have been convicted by a court of competent
jurisdiction of, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, any felony;
or
(iii) the Employee shall have committed a breach of any of the
covenants, terms and provisions of Sections 8 or 9 hereof; or
(iv) the Employee shall have breached any one or more of the
provisions of this Agreement (excluding Sections 8 and 9 hereof) or any
one or more of the provisions of the Stockholder Agreement dated as of
January 30, 1995 among CDI Group, Inc. and its stockholders, AND such
breach shall have continued for a period of ten (10) days after written
notice to the Employee specifying such breach in reasonable detail; or
(v) the Employee shall have refused, after explicit written notice,
to obey any lawful resolution of or direction by the Board which is
consistent with his duties hereunder.
(c) RESIGNATION OR TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE. Upon ninety (90) days'
written notice by the Employer to the Employee without Cause or by the Employee
to the Employer.
(d) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ON TERMINATION.
(i) If the Employee's employment hereunder is terminated pursuant to
Section 6(a) or by the Employer pursuant to Section 6(c), then the Employee
(or his estate, as applicable) shall be entitled to receive payment, in
accordance with the Employer's then current payroll practices, of the
Employee's Base Salary in effect at the time of such termination for one year
following such termination; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in the case of a
termination by the Employer pursuant to Section 6(c), the Employee shall be
required to mitigate his damages by accepting other suitable employment
during such period and the Employer shall be entitled to reduce the amount
payable by the Employer under this Section 6(d)(i) by an amount equal to the
income received by the Employee pursuant to such new employment.
(ii) Except as otherwise set forth in this Section 6(d), the
Employee shall not be entitled to any severance or other compensation after
termination other than payment of any portion of his Base Salary through the
date of his termination and any expense reimbursements under Section 5 hereof
for expenses incurred in the performance of his duties prior to termination.
Section 7. INVENTIONS; ASSIGNMENT. All rights to discoveries,
inventions, improvements and innovations (including all data and records
pertaining thereto) related
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to the Employer's business, whether or not patentable, copyrightable,
registrable as a trademark, or reduced to writing, that the Employee may
discover, invent or originate during the term of his employment hereunder, and
for a period of twelve (12) months thereafter, either alone or with others and
whether or not during working hours or by the use of the facilities of the
Employer ("INVENTIONS"), shall be the exclusive property of the Employer. The
Employee shall promptly disclose all Inventions to the Employer, shall execute
at the request of the Employer any assignments or other documents the Employer
may deem necessary to protect or perfect its rights therein, and shall assist
the Employer, at the Employer's expense, in obtaining, defending and enforcing
the Employer's rights therein. The Employee hereby appoints the Employer as his
attorney-in-fact to execute on his behalf any assignments or other documents
deemed necessary by the Employer to protect or perfect its rights to any
Inventions.
Section 8. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. The Employee recognizes and
acknowledges that certain assets of the Employer, including without limitation
information regarding customers, pricing policies, methods of operation,
proprietary computer programs, sales, products, profits, costs, markets, key
personnel, formulae, product applications, technical processes, and trade
secrets (hereinafter called "CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION") are valuable, special,
and unique assets of the Employer and its affiliates. The Employee shall not,
during or after his term of employment, disclose any or any part of the
Confidential Information to any person, firm, corporation, association, or any
other entity for any reason or purpose whatsoever, directly or indirectly,
except as may be required pursuant to his employment hereunder; PROVIDED, that
Confidential Information shall in no event include (a) Confidential Information
which was generally available to the public at the time of disclosure by the
Employer or (b) Confidential Information which becomes publicly available other
than as a consequence of the breach by the Employee of his confidentiality
obligations hereunder. In the event of the termination of his employment,
whether voluntary or involuntary and whether by the Employer or the Employee,
the Employee shall deliver to the Employer all documents and data pertaining to
the Confidential Information and shall not take with him any documents or data
of any kind or any reproductions (in whole or in part) or extracts of any items
relating to the Confidential Information.
Section 9. NON-COMPETITION. During the term of the Employee's
employment hereunder and until one year after termination of the Employee's
employment hereunder, the Employee will not (a) anywhere within New Jersey, New
York or Pennsylvania or anywhere within 100 miles of any store operated by the
Employer at the time of the Employee's termination, engage, directly or
indirectly, alone or as a shareholder (other than as a holder of less than five
percent (5%) of the common stock of any publicly traded corporation), partner,
officer, director, employee or consultant of any other business organization
that is engaged or becomes engaged in a business involving or relating to the
operation of retail drug stores or in any other business activity that the
Employer is conducting at the time of the Employee's termination or has notified
the Employee that it proposes to conduct and for which the Employer has, prior
to the time of
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such termination, expended substantial resources (the "DESIGNATED INDUSTRY"),
(b) divert to any competitor of the Employer any customer of the Employer, or
(c) solicit or encourage any officer, key employee or consultant of the
Employer to leave its employ for alternative employment or hire or offer
employment to, any person to whom the Employer has offered employment. The
Employee will continue to be bound by the provisions of this Section 9 until
their expiration and shall not be entitled to any compensation from the
Employer with respect thereto except as provided in Section 6(d) hereof. If
at any time the provisions of this Section 9 shall be determined to be
invalid or unenforceable, by reason of being vague or unreasonable as to
area, duration or scope of activity, this Section 9 shall be considered
divisible and shall become and be immediately amended to only such area,
duration and scope of activity as shall be determined to be reasonable and
enforceable by the court or other body having jurisdiction over the matter;
and the Employee agrees that this Section 9 as so amended shall be valid and
binding as though any invalid or unenforceable provision had not been
included herein.
Section 10. GENERAL.
(a) NOTICES. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in
writing or by written telecommunication, and shall be deemed to have been duly
given if delivered personally or if mailed by certified mail, return receipt
requested, postage prepaid or sent by written telecommunication or telecopy, to
the relevant address set forth below, or to such other address as the recipient
of such notice or communication shall have specified to the other party hereto
in accordance with this Section 10(a):
If to the Employer, to:
Community Distributors, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xx. Xxxxx Xxxxxxx, President
With a copy to:
Xxxxxx X. Xxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxxx Xxxx LLP
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000-0000
If to the Employee, to:
Mr. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
c/o Community Distributors, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx 00000
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(b) EQUITABLE REMEDIES. Each of the parties hereto acknowledges and
agrees that upon any breach by the Employee of his obligations under
Sections 7, 8 and 9 hereof, the Employer will have no adequate remedy at law,
and accordingly will be entitled to specific performance and other
appropriate injunctive and equitable relief.
(c) SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Agreement is or becomes
invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any law, the validity,
legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not in any
way be affected or impaired.
(d) WAIVERS. No delay or omission by either party hereto in exercising
any right, power or privilege hereunder shall impair such right, power or
privilege, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right, power or
privilege preclude any further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other
right, power or privilege.
(e) COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in multiple
counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which
together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
(f) ASSIGNS. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the
benefit of the heirs and successors of each of the parties hereto, including any
entity which acquires substantially all of the assets or stock of the Employer.
(g) ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement contains the entire understanding
of the parties, supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to
the subject matter hereof and shall not be amended except by a written
instrument hereafter signed by each of the parties hereto.
(h) GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement and the performance hereof shall be
construed and governed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, and intending to be legally bound hereby, the
parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date and
year first above written.
COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
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Title:Chief Executive Officer
/s/ Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
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Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
