1. | Transition from Employment |
2. | Termination Payments |
3. | Continuing Covenants. |
5. | General Provisions. |
Very truly yours, | ||
CHENIERE ENERGY, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Neal A. Shear | |
Accepted and Agreed: | ||
/s/ R. Keith Teague | ||
R. Keith Teague | ||
Date: May 4, 2016 |
1. | This Release (the “Release Agreement”) is being entered into by R. Keith Teague (the “Employee”) and Cheniere Energy, Inc. (the “Company”) in order to further the mutually desired terms and conditions set forth herein and as a condition to payment under the Cheniere Energy, Inc. 2015 Long-Term Cash Incentive Plan Phantom Award Agreement, dated April 21, 2015, by and between the Employee and the Company (the “Phantom Unit Award Agreement”). The term “Company” shall include Cheniere Energy, Inc., its present and former parents, trusts, plans, direct or indirect subsidiaries, affiliates and related companies or entities, regardless of its or their form of business organization. |
2. | The Employee’s timely execution of this Release Agreement and non-revocation of the General Release and/or ADEA Release contained in Sections 3 and 5 herein is in partial consideration of the benefits under the Employee’s Phantom Unit Award Agreement and to which the Employee agrees he is not entitled until and unless he executes this Release Agreement and does not revoke the General Release and/or ADEA Release. |
3. | General Release. Except with respect to the Excluded Benefits, the Employee, on behalf of himself, his heirs, beneficiaries, personal representatives and assigns, hereby releases, acquits and forever discharges the Company, its present and former owners, officers, employees, shareholders, directors, partners, attorneys, agents and assignees, and all other persons, firms, partnerships, or corporations in control of, under the direction of, or in any way presently or formerly associated with the Company (each, a “Released Party” and collectively the “Released Parties”), of, from and against all claims, charges, complaints, liabilities, obligations, promises, agreements, contracts, damages, actions, causes of action, suits, accrued benefits or other liabilities of any kind or character, in law or in equity, whether known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, vested or contingent, matured or unmatured, suspected or unsuspected, that may now or hereafter at any time be made or brought against any Released Party, arising from or in any way connected with or related to his employment with the Company and/or his termination of employment with the Company, including, but not limited to, allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, breach of contract, anticipatory breach, fraud, conspiracy, promissory estoppel, retaliatory discharge, constructive discharge, discharge in violation of any law, statute, regulation or ordinance providing whistleblower protection, discharge in violation of public policy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, defamation, harassment, sexual harassment, invasion of privacy, any action in tort or contract, any violation of any federal, state, or local law, including, but not limited to, any violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq., the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq., the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A et seq., the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2109, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, Tex. Lab. Code § 21.001, et. seq., the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, Tex. Lab. Code §§ 451.001 - 451.003, the Texas Payday Act, Tex. Lab. Code § 61.011, et seq., or any other employment or civil rights act, and any and all claims for severance pay, vacation pay, paid time off or benefits under any compensation, cash award, bonus, stock grant, equity grants or awards, or employee benefit plan, program, policy, contract, agreement, but excluding any claim for unemployment compensation, any claim for workers’ compensation benefits; and any benefits which the Employee is entitled to receive under any Company plan that is a qualified plan under IRC §401(a) or is a |
4. | The Employee agrees not to commence any legal proceeding or lawsuit against any Released Party arising out of or based upon his employment with the Company or the termination of his employment with the Company. The Employee represents that he has not filed any charges, complaints, or other proceedings against the Company or any of the Released Parties that are presently pending with any federal, state, or local court or administrative or governmental agency. Notwithstanding this release of liability, nothing in this Agreement prevents the Employee from filing any non-legally waivable claim (including a challenge to the validity of this Agreement) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) or comparable state or local agency or participating in any investigation or proceeding conducted by the EEOC, NLRB or comparable state or local agency; however, the Employee understands and agrees that he is waiving any and all rights to recover any monetary or personal relief or recovery as a result of such EEOC, NLRB or comparable state or local agency proceeding or subsequent legal actions. |
5. | ADEA Release. The Employee hereby completely and forever releases and irrevocably discharges the Company and the other Released Parties, as that term is defined in Section 3 above, from any and all liabilities, claims, actions, demands, and/or causes of action, arising under the ADEA on or before the date of this Agreement (“ADEA Release”), and hereby acknowledges and agrees that: |
a. | The Release Agreement, including the ADEA Release, was negotiated at arms-length; |
b. | The Release Agreement, including the ADEA Release, is worded in a manner that the Employee fully understands; |
d. | The Employee knowingly and voluntarily agrees to all of the terms set forth in the Release Agreement, including the ADEA Release; |
e. | The Employee acknowledges and understands that any claims under the ADEA that may arise after the date of the Release Agreement are not waived; |
f. | The rights and claims waived in the Release Agreement, including the ADEA Release, are in exchange for consideration over and above anything to which the Employee was already undisputedly entitled; |
g. | The Employee has been and hereby is advised in writing to consult with an attorney prior to executing the Release Agreement, including the ADEA Release; |
h. | The Employee understands that he has been given a period of up to 21 days to consider the ADEA Release prior to executing it, although he may accept it at any time within those 21 days; |
i. | The Employee understands and agrees that any changes to Company’s offer, whether material or immaterial, do not restart the running of the 21-day review period; and |
j. | The Employee understands that he has been given a period of seven (7) days from the date of the execution of the ADEA Release to revoke the ADEA Release, and understands and acknowledges that the ADEA Release will not become effective or enforceable until the revocation period has expired. |
6. | The Employee voluntarily accepts the consideration cited herein, as sufficient payment for the full, final, and complete release stated herein, and agrees that no other promises or representations have been made to him by the Company or any other person purporting to act on behalf of the Company, except as expressly stated herein. |
7. | The Employee understands that this is a full, complete, and final release of the Released Parties. As evidenced by the signature below, the Employee expressly promises and represents to the Company that he has completely read the Release Agreement and understands its terms, contents, conditions, and effects. The Employee represents that he has made no assignment or transfer of the claims covered by Sections 3 or 5 above. |
8. | The Employee is advised to consult with an attorney prior to executing the Release Agreement. The Employee understands that he has the right to consult an attorney of his choice and has consulted with an attorney or has knowingly and voluntarily decided not to do so. |
9. | The Employee states that he is not presently affected by any disability which would prevent him from knowingly and voluntarily granting the Release Agreement, and further states that the promises made herein are not made under duress, coercion, or undue influence and were not procured through fraud. |
10. | The Employee acknowledges that the business and services of the Company are highly specialized and that the following information is not generally known, is highly confidential, and constitutes trade secrets: proprietary technical and business information relating to any Company plans, analyses, or strategies concerning international or domestic acquisitions, possible acquisitions, or new ventures; development plans or introduction plans for products or services; unannounced products or services; operation costs; pricing of products or services; research and development; personnel information (other than his own); manufacturing processes; installation, service, and distribution procedures and processes; customer lists; any know-how relating to the design, manufacture, and marketing of any of the Company’s services and products, including components and parts thereof; non-public information acquired by the Company concerning the requirements and specifications of any of the Company’s agents, vendors, contractors, customers, and potential customers; non-public financial information, business and marketing plans, pricing and price lists; non-public matters relating to employee benefit plans; quotations or proposals given to agents or customers or received from suppliers; documents relating to any of the Company’s legal rights and obligations; the work product of any attorney employed by or retained by the Company; and any other information which is sufficiently secret to derive economic value from not being generally known (the “Confidential Information”). However, Confidential Information does not include information (A) that was or becomes generally available to the Employee on a non-confidential basis, if the source of this information was not reasonably known to the Employee to be bound by a duty of confidentiality, (B) that was or becomes generally available to the public, other than as a result of a disclosure by the Employee, directly or indirectly, that is not authorized by the Company or its affiliate, as applicable, or (C) that the Employee can establish was independently developed by the Employee without reference to any Confidential Information. The Employee acknowledges that he will maintain the confidential nature of all Confidential Information. The Employee further agrees to maintain in the strictest confidence and to not, directly or indirectly, intentionally or inadvertently, use, publish, or otherwise disclose to any person or entity whatsoever, any of the Company’s Confidential Information or any confidential information belonging to any agent, joint venture, contractor, customer, vendor, or supplier of the Company regardless of its form, without the prior written explicit consent of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Employee shall take reasonable precautions to protect the inadvertent disclosure of information. |
11. | The Employee acknowledges and agrees that any work product prepared, conceived, or developed by him during the term of his employment with the Company, including but not limited to all written documents and electronic data pertaining thereto, is and shall remain the exclusive property of the Company, and will be considered Confidential Information subject to the terms of this Release Agreement. The Employee agrees that when appropriate, and upon written request of the Company, he will acknowledge that his work product constitutes "works for hire" and will cooperate in the filing for patents or copyrights with regard to any or all such work product and will sign documentation necessary to evidence ownership of such work product in the Company. |
12. | The Employee shall not make or publish any disparaging statements (whether written, electronic, or oral) regarding, or otherwise maligning the business reputation of, any Released Party. The Company, likewise, agrees that its Executive Officers and members of its Board of Directors will not make or publish any disparaging statements (whether written, electronic, or oral) regarding the Employee. In the event that the Company receives any requests for employment verification or references pertaining to the Employee’s employment with the Company, the Company shall provide a neutral reference that includes only confirmation of the Employee’s employment, dates of employment, and the job positions held. If requested, the Company will neither confirm nor deny any basis for the Employee’s separation of employment. |
13. | The Employee represents that he has returned to the Company, except to the extent such return is expressly excused by the Company in writing, all expense reports, notes, memoranda, records, documents, employment manuals, pass keys, computers, computer diskettes, office equipment, sales records and data, and all other information or property, no matter how produced, reproduced or maintained, kept by the Employee in his possession, used in or pertaining to the business of the Company, including but not limited to lists of customers, prices, marketing plans, Company operating manuals, and other Confidential Information obtained by the Employee in the course of his employment. |
14. | Nothing in the Release Agreement shall be deemed to affect or relieve the Employee from any binding obligation contained in any agreement with the Company or any of the Released Parties related to the terms of his employment or separation therefrom, including, but not limited to, any confidentiality, non-solicitation, non-disclosure or other protective covenant, entered into between the Employee and the Company or any of the Released Parties, which covenants the Employee expressly reaffirms and re-acknowledges herein. |
15. | Should any future dispute arise with respect to the Release Agreement, both parties agree that it should be resolved solely in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Release Agreement and the laws of the State of Texas. Any disputes between the parties concerning the Employee’s employment with the Company and/or the Release Agreement shall be settled exclusively in Harris County, Texas. |
16. | The Employee hereby waives all rights to recall reinstatement, employment, reemployment, and past or future wages from the Company. The Employee further agrees not to apply for employment with the Company. The Employee additionally represents, warrants and agrees that he has received full and timely payment of all wages, salary, overtime pay, commissions, bonuses, other compensation, remuneration and benefits that may have been due and payable by the Released Parties and that he has been appropriately paid for all time worked and in accordance with all incentive awards. |
17. | The Employee expressly represents and warrants to the Company that he has completely read the Release Agreement prior to executing it, has had an opportunity to review it with his counsel and to consider the Release Agreement and to understand its terms, contents, conditions and effects and has entered into the Release Agreement knowingly and voluntarily. |
18. | The Employee agrees that the terms and conditions of the Release Agreement, including without limitation the amount of money and other consideration, shall be treated as confidential, and shall not be revealed to any other person or entity whatsoever, except as follows: |
a. | to the extent as may be compelled by legal process; or |
b. | to the extent necessary to the Employee’s legal or financial advisors and provided that the Employee’s instructs the foregoing not to disclose the same to anyone. |
19. | The Employee agrees that the confidentiality provisions, including but not limited to those in Sections 10 and 11, of the Release Agreement are a material part of it and are contractual in nature. |
20. | The Employee acknowledges that he may hereafter discover claims or facts in addition to or different than those which he now knows or believes to exist with respect to the subject matter of the release set forth above and which, if known or suspected at the time of entering into the Release Agreement, may have materially affected the Release Agreement and his decision to enter into it. Nevertheless, the Employee hereby waives any right, claim or cause of action that might arise as a result of such different or additional claims or facts. |
21. | The Employee agrees that he will forfeit the amounts payable by the Company in respect of the Phantom Unit Award Agreement if he challenges the validity of the Release Agreement. The Employee also agrees that if he violates the Release Agreement by suing the Company or the other Released Parties on the claims released hereunder, the Employee will pay all costs and expenses of defending against the suit incurred by the Released Parties, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, and return all payments received by the Employee pursuant to the Release Agreement. |
22. | Whenever possible, each provision of the Release Agreement shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law; however, if any provision of the Release Agreement, other than Sections 3 and 5, shall be finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law by a court of competent jurisdiction, that part shall be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability only, without in any way affecting the remaining parts of said provision or the remaining provisions of this Release Agreement. If the Employee challenges the validity of the |
/s/ R. Keith Teague | ||
R. Keith Teague | ||
Date: | May 4, 2016 | |
CHENIERE ENERGY, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Neal A. Shear | |
Name: | Neal A. Shear | |
Title: | Interim Chief Executive Officer and President | |
Date: | May 4, 2016 |