(a) The officers and members of the supreme governing body or a subordinate body of a society are not personally liable for benefits provided by a society.
Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 21.84.045
action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) A society shall indemnify and reimburse a person for expenses reasonably incurred by, and liabilities imposed upon, that person in connection with an action, suit, or proceeding, or threat of an action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, in which the person is involved by reason of the fact of service in the capacity of a director, officer, employee, or agent of the society or service in any capacity in a firm, corporation, or organization at the request of the society. However, a society may not indemnify or reimburse a person in connection with a matter in an action, suit, or proceeding, or threat of an action, suit, or proceeding, that has been made the subject of a compromise settlement, or in which the person is adjudged to be guilty of breach of a duty as a director, officer, employee, or agent of the society, unless the person acted in good faith for a purpose the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the society, and, in a criminal action or proceeding, in addition, had no reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct constituted a violation of a criminal law of this state or another jurisdiction. The determination of whether the conduct of the person meets the standard required to justify indemnification and reimbursement may be made by the supreme governing body or the board of directors through a majority vote of a quorum consisting of persons who were not parties to the action, suit, or proceeding or by a court of competent jurisdiction. The termination of an action, suit, or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or plea of no contest as to the person does not in itself create a conclusive presumption that the person did not meet the standard of conduct required to justify indemnification and reimbursement. The right of indemnification and reimbursement is not exclusive of other rights to which a person may be entitled as a matter of law and inures to the benefit of the person’s heirs, executors, and administrators.(c) A society may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the society, or who is or was serving at the request of the society as a director, officer, employee, or agent of a firm, corporation, or organization, against a liability asserted against the person and incurred by the person arising out of that capacity, whether or not the society would have the power to indemnify the person against that liability under this section.(d) A director, officer, employee, member, or volunteer of a society serving without compensation is not liable, and no cause of action may be brought against the person for damages resulting from the exercise of judgment or discretion in connection with the duties or responsibilities of the person for the society unless the act or omission involved reckless or intentional misconduct.
