WHOLESALING AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT dated as of October , 1999 by and among LINCOLN LIFE &
ANNUITY
COMPANY OF NEW YORK ("LNY"), a New York insurance corporation,
LINCOLN
FINANCIAL ADVISORS CORPORATION ("LFA"), an Indiana corporation, in
its
capacity as principal underwriter for one or more of LNY's life
insurance
and/or annuity separate accounts, and DELAWARE DISTRIBUTORS, L.P.,
a Delaware
limited partnership (hereinafter referred to as "DELAWARE").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, LNY issues and sells certain variable annuity and
variable life
insurance contracts and uses LFA as its principal underwriter for
such
contracts; and WHEREAS, LNY, LFA and DELAWARE desire to establish
an arrangement
whereby DELAWARE will act as a wholesaler for such variable
annuity
and variable life insurance contracts and, as such, will recruit
business firms
to distribute such contracts; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
their mutual
promises, LNY, LFA and DELAWARE hereby agree as follows:
1. DEFINITIONS
a. 1933 ACT - The Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
b. 1934 ACT - The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended.
c. 1940 ACT - The Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended.
d. ACCOUNT - Each and any separate account
established by LNY and
listed on Schedule 1.d to this Agreement, as
amended from time
to time in accordance with Section 2.e of this
Agreement. The
phrase "Account supporting the Contracts" or
"Account supporting
a class of Contracts" shall mean the separate
account identified
in such Contracts as the separate account to which
the Purchase
Payments made, net of any front-end charges, under
such
Contracts are allocated and as to which income,
gains ad losses,
whether or not realized, from assets allocated to
such separate
account, are, in accordance with such Contracts,
credited to or
charged against such separate account without
regard to other
income, gains, or losses of LNY or any other
separate account
established by LNY.
e. ASSOCIATED PERSON - This term as used in this
Agreement shall
have the meaning assigned to it in the 1934 Act.
f. BROKER - An entity registered as a broker-dealer
and licensed as
a life insurance agency or associated with an
entity so licensed
in accordance with any applicable SEC no-action
letter, and
recruited by DELAWARE and subsequently authorized
by LNY to
distribute the Contracts pursuant to the sales
agreement with
LFA entered into in accordance with Section 3 of
this Agreement.
g. CONTRACTS - The variable annuity contracts or
variable life
insurance contracts described more specifically on
Schedule 1.g
to this Agreement, as amended from time to time
pursuant to
Section 2.e. The term "Contracts" shall include
any riders to
such contracts and any other contracts offered in
connection
therewith or any contracts for which such
Contracts may be
exchanged or converted. The
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phrase "a class of Contracts" shall mean those
variable annuity
contracts or variable life insurance contracts, as
the case may
be, issued on the same policy form or forms and
covered by the
same Registration Statement, as shown on Schedule
1.g to this
Agreement.
h. DISTRIBUTOR - LINCOLN FINANCIAL ADVISORS
CORPORATION, principal
underwriter for the Contracts.
i. FUND - any fund or series thereof in which an
Account supporting
the Contracts invests. (Plural, "Funds")
j. FUND PROSPECTUS - At any time while this Agreement
is in effect,
the prospectus for a Fund most recently filed with
the SEC
pursuant to Rule 485 and Rule 497 under the 1933
Act. (For
purposes of Section 11 of this Agreement, however,
the term
"Fund Prospectus" means any document that is or at
any time was
a Fund Prospectus within the meaning of this
Section 1.j.)
k. FUND REGISTRATION STATEMENT - At any time while
this Agreement
is in effect, the currently effective registration
statement of
a fund filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act, or
currently
effective post-effective amendment thereto, for
shares of a
fund. (For purposes of Section 11 of this
Agreement, however,
the term "Fund Registration Statement" means any
document that
is or at any time was a Fund Registration
Statement within the
meaning of this Section 1.k.)
l. NASD - Collectively, The National Association of
Securities
Dealers, Inc. ("Association") and NASD Regulation,
Inc.
("NASDR").
m. PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT - an agreement between LNY
and a Fund
relating to the investment of assets of LNY
separate accounts in
such Fund.
n. PROCEDURES - The administrative procedures
prepared and
distributed by LNY or LFA, as such may be amended
or
supplemented from time to time, relating to the
solicitation,
sale, issue and delivery of the Contracts.
o. PROSPECTUS - At any time while this Agreement is
in effect, the
current prospectus relating to the Contracts most
recently filed
with the SEC pursuant to Rule 485 or Rule 497 of
the 1933 Act.
(For purposes of Section 5.a and 11 of this
Agreement,
however, the term "any Prospectus" means any
document that is or
at any time was a Prospectus within the meaning of
this
Section 1.o.)
p. PREMIUM PAYMENT - a payment made under a Contract
by an
applicant or purchaser to purchase benefits under
the Contract.
q. REGISTRATION STATEMENT - At any time while this
Agreement is in
effect the pending or currently effective
registration statement
(including post-effective amendments) filed with
the SEC under
the 1933 Act, as applicable, relating to a class
of Contracts,
including financial statements included in, and
all exhibits to,
such registration statement or post-effective
amendment. (For
purposes of Sections 5.a and 11 of this Agreement,
however, the
term "Registration Statement" means any document
that is or at
any time was a Registration Statement within the
meaning of this
Section 1.q.)
r. REGULATIONS - The rules and regulations
promulgated by the SEC
under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and the 1940 Act,
and the rules
and regulations of the NASD, as in effect at the
time this
Agreement is executed or thereafter promulgated,
and as they may
be amended from time to time.
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s. REPRESENTATIVE - An Associated Person of DELAWARE
or a Broker
registered with the NASD as a registered
representative or
principal of DELAWARE or Broker, as the case may
be.
t. SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission.
u. STATE - Any state or commonwealth of the United
States, the
District of Columbia or any other territory of the
United
States.
v. TERRITORY - Any State or territory of the United
States
(including the District of Columbia) where the
contracts have
been filed and approved for sale by the
appropriate regulatory
authorities.
w. WHOLESALER - DELAWARE when it performs the
functions assigned
to it in this agreement (including, but not by way
of
limitation, those functions set forth in Sections
2, 3 and 4
hereof).
2. APPOINTMENT AND WHOLESALING DUTIES
a. LNY and LFA hereby authorize DELAWARE under
applicable
securities laws to engage in the activities
contemplated in this
Agreement relating to the wholesaling of the
Contracts for which
LFA acts as principal underwriter.
b. DELAWARE undertakes to use its best efforts to
contact, recruit,
screen, and recommend Brokers in accordance with
Section 3 of
this Agreement, consistent with market conditions
and compliance
with its responsibilities under the federal
securities laws and
regulations.
c. (1) The appointment and authorization of DELAWARE
to engage in
wholesaling activities pursuant to this Agreement
is exclusive
as to the Contracts listed on Schedule 1.g, as
amended from time
to time in accordance with Section 2.e of this
Agreement. LNY
and LFA shall not authorize any other person to
engage in
wholesaling activities with respect to the
Contracts or to
recruit business firms to engage in wholesaling
activities with
respect to the Contracts (other than business
firms recommended
by DELAWARE pursuant to Section 3 of this
Agreement) without
DELAWARE's prior written consent, nor shall LNY
and LFA
separately engage in wholesaling or distribution
activities
relating to the Contracts. Nothing in this
Agreement, however,
shall preclude or limit LFA's ability to
distribute the
Contracts through its own registered
representative.
(2) To the extent that any Contract offers a
general account
option, LNY shall, if required by the SEC,
register that option
under the 1933 Act.
(3) LNY shall register each Account with the SEC.
The
subaccounts of each Account available under the
Contracts or a
class of Contracts are listed on Schedule 1.a to
this Agreement,
as amended form time to time in accordance with
Section 2.e of
this Agreement.
d. LNY shall obtain appropriate authorizations, to
the extent
necessary, whether by Registration, qualification,
approval or
otherwise, for the issuance and sale of the
Contracts in any
State. From time to time LNY shall notify DELAWARE
in writing of
all States other than New York in which each class
of Contract
may then lawfully be offered.
e. The parties to this Agreement may amend Schedules
1.d and 1.g to
this Agreement from time to time by mutual
agreement to reflect
changes in or relating to the Contracts and the
Accounts and to
add new classes of variable
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annuity contracts and variable life insurance
contracts to be
issued by LNY for which DELAWARE will act as
wholesaler. The
provisions of this Agreement shall be equally
applicable to each
such class of Contracts, unless the context
otherwise requires.
Schedule 9.a to this Agreement may be amended only
by mutual
agreement of the parties to this Agreement
pursuant to Section 9
of this Agreement.
f. Either party may recommend the addition of funding
options for
one or more Accounts. DELAWARE will have final
approval of fund
additions (including additions pursuant to
substitutions) as
long as each such addition satisfies LNY's then
current
selection criteria.
3. RECRUITMENT OF BROKERS AND RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES
a. LNY hereby authorized DELWARE to contact, recruit,
screen, and
recommend to LNY and LFA business firms
appropriate to act as
Brokers for the sale of the Contracts, and
DELAWARE agrees to do
so. DELAWARE will use its best efforts, upon
diligent inquiry,
to recruit only Brokers. LNY shall have the right
to reject any
such recommendation, but shall not do so
arbitrarily or
unreasonably.
b. LNY shall have the responsibility for and bear the
cost of:
(i)executing appropriate sales agreements with the
business
firms recommended by DELAWARE; and (ii) appointing
and renewing
appointments for, such business firms, and/or
Associate Persons
of such firms, as insurance agents of LNY in those
states where
such business firms and/or Associated Persons
possess insurance
agent licenses (except as provided in Section 9.c
hereof).
DELAWARE shall provide LNY with such information
as LNY requests
for this process. Neither DELAWARE nor LFA nor LNY
shall have
responsibility for, or bear the cost of, any
registration or
licensing of Brokers or any of their Associated
Persons with the
SEC, NASD or any state insurance governmental or
regulatory
agency. LNY shall maintain the appointment records
of all agents
appointed by LNY to distribute the Contracts
contemplated by
this Agreement.
c. Any sales agreement entered into by LFA with a
Broker shall
provide that:
(1) The Broker (or an affiliated person duly
registered as a
broker-dealer with the SEC) shall train,
supervise, and be
solely responsible for the conduct of, all of its
Associated
Persons in the proper method of solicitation, sale
and delivery
of the Contracts for the purpose of complying on a
continuous
basis with the NASD Conduct Rules and with federal
and state
securities and insurance law requirements
applicable in
connection with the offering and sale of the
Contracts;
(2) Premium Payments shall be made payable to
LNY and shall
be delivered together with all applications and
related
information in accordance with the Procedures;
(3) The Broker shall be solely responsible for
all
compensation paid to its Representatives and all
related tax
reporting that may be required under applicable
law;
(4) The Broker and its Representatives shall
not use,
develop or distribute any promotional, sales or
advertising
material that has not been approved in writing by
LNY and filed
with the appropriate governmental or regulatory
agencies; and
(5) The Broker shall not have authority, on
behalf of LNY,
LFA or DELAWARE, to make, alter or discharge any
Contract or
other contract entered
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into pursuant to a Contract; to waive any Contract
forfeiture
provision; to extend the time of paying any
Premium Payment; to
receive any monies or Premium Payments (except for
the sole
purpose of forwarding monies or Premium Payments
to LNY); or to
expend, or contract for the expenditure of, funds
of LNY, LFA or
DELAWARE.
d. DELAWARE shall provide assistance to LNY at a
level acceptable
to LNY, to facilitate the appointment of Brokers
and their
Representatives.
e. DELAWARE shall train, supervise, and be solely
responsible for
the conduct of, all of its Associated Persons (but
not Brokers
or their Representatives unaffiliated with
DELAWARE), for the
purpose of complying on a continuous basis with
the NASD Conduct
Rules and with federal securities laws and state
securities and
insurance laws applicable to the wholesaling
activities
contemplated in this Agreement. DELAWARE shall be
responsible
for the maintenance and updating of broker-dealer
or agent
registrations that they determine to be necessary
for themselves
and/or their Associated Persons pursuant to any
federal or state
securities law or state insurance law.
f. DELAWARE, LFA and LNY will have no supervisory
responsibility
(as such supervision is contemplated by the 1934
Act or the
NASD's Conduct Rules) with respect to Brokers or
their
Representatives. Under no circumstances will
DELAWARE be
responsible for Brokers' or Broker's
Representatives' failure to
comply with the Procedures.
g. DELAWARE shall not have authority on behalf of LNY
or LFA to
make, alter or discharge any Contract or other
contract entered
into to extend the time of paying any Premium
Payment; or to
receive any monies or Purchase Payments. DELAWARE
shall not
expend, nor contract for the expenditure of, funds
of LNY or
LFA; nor shall DELAWARE possess or exercise any
authority on
behalf of LNY or LFA other than that expressly
conferred on
DELAWARE by this Agreement.
h. DELAWARE shall act as an independent contractor in
the
performance of its duties and obligations under
this Agreement,
and nothing contained in this Agreement shall
constitute
DELAWARE or its respective Associated Persons
employees of LNY
or LFA in connection with the wholesaling
activities
contemplated by this Agreement or otherwise.
i. DELAWARE shall not purchase Contracts from, nor
sell Contracts
for, LNY, nor shall it have any direct or indirect
participation
in such undertakings, and nothing contained in
this Agreement
shall constitute DELAWARE an "underwriter" or a
"principal
underwriter" of any of the Contracts, as those
terms are defined
in the 1933, 1934 or 1940 Acts.
j. The Distributor of the Contracts, as the term
"Distributor" is
customarily used in the variable insurance
products industry,
shall be LFA. LNY shall be identified as such in
all sales,
promotional, and advertising materials for the
Contracts.
4. MARKETING AND SALES MATERIAL
a. (1) DELAWARE shall be responsible for drafting
and designing
all promotional, sales and advertising materials
to be developed
for filing pursuant to section 4(a)(3). LNY and
LFA will
cooperate with DELAWARE in the
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development of these materials. No such materials
shall be used
without the prior approval of LNY and LFA, which
approval shall
not be unreasonably withheld.
(2) LNY/LFA shall be responsible for
maintaining that
portion of any World Wide Web site(s) relating to
the Contracts
and their distribution. DELAWARE will not, without
prior
authorization in writing from LNY or LFA,
establish direct or
indirect hyperlinks or other electronic
connections between the
Web site(s) described in the preceding sentence
and any current
or future Web site(s) in use or to be used for or
in connection
with any other products or services.
(3) (a) DELAWARE shall be responsible for
filing with the
NASD, as required, all promotional, sales and
advertising
material developed for use with the Contracts, and
shall be
responsible for doing any necessary followup with
the NASD.
LFA shall provide DELAWARE with final copies of
all such
material developed it or by LNY, and shall not use
such material
until DELAWARE has informed LFA that such material
has been
filed with and where appropriate, reviewed by, the
NASD. LFA and
DELAWARE agree to cooperate in implementing
requests for changes
received from the NASD.
(b) LNY shall be responsible for
filing, as
required, all promotional, sales and advertising
material,
developed for use with the Contracts, with any
other federal or
state governmental or regulatory agencies,
including any state
insurance governmental or regulatory agencies.
(4) With respect to all promotional, sales and
advertising
material developed by DELAWARE, LFA and LNY shall
have a
reasonable period of time, not to exceed five full
business
days, for review of each of such material. In
response to this
material, LFA may provide to DELAWARE: (1)
changes, if any,
which LFA deems mandatory; and (2) changes which
LFA deems
optional. DELAWARE will make the mandatory
changes. In addition,
DELAWARE may make the optional changes, at its
discretion. Once
DELAWARE has completed the processing of all
changes, DELAWARE
will provide proof copy to LFA for LFA's final
approval before
the materials are filed with the NASD and
disseminated to
Brokers and/or to the public.
b. DELAWARE acknowledges that LNY shall have the
unconditional
right to reject, in whole or in part, any
application for a
Contract. In the event an application is rejected,
any Premium
Payment submitted will be returned by or on behalf
of LNY. In
that event, LNY or LFA on its behalf will use its
best efforts
to so notify DELAWARE when it notifies the
Broker/Dealer which
submitted the Premium Payment.
In the event that a purchaser exercises the free
look right
under the Contract, any amount to be refunded as
provided in
such Contract will be so refunded to the purchaser
by or on
behalf of LNY. LNY will follow the same
notification procedure
that it uses for rejected applications.
c. (1) DELAWARE will bear the cost of printing
and mailing:
(a) all preliminary and definitive
Contract
Prospectuses used for sales purposes; and
(b) all preliminary and definitive
Fund Prospectuses
used for sales purposes, except to the extent that
these
expenses are borne by a Fund pursuant to the
relevant Fund
Participation Agreement.
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(2) LNY will bear the cost of:
(a) preparing, printing and
mailing all
preliminary and definitive
Contract Prospectuses
used for other than sales
purposes; and
(b) printing and mailing all
preliminary and
definitive Fund Prospectuses used
for other than
sales purposes, except to the
extent that these
expenses are borne by a Fund
pursuant to the
relevant Fund Participation
Agreement.
d. DELAWARE will pay the following expenses
contemplated by this
Agreement for: (i) the compensation, if any, of
its Associated
Persons; (ii) expenses associated with the initial
and ongoing
NASD licensing and training of its Associated
Persons involved
in the wholesaling activities; (iii) the drafting,
design,
printing and mailing of all promotional, sales or
advertising
material developed by DELAWARE for use in
connection with the
distribution of the Contracts; (iv) expenses
associated with
telecommunications with LNY and LFA at the sites
of DE LAWARE or
its Associated Persons, including site
installations and
purchases, leases or rentals of modems, terminals
and other
hardware, and lease line telephone charges for
their Associated
Persons; (v) continuing education courses
sponsored by DELAWARE
for all Brokers and relating to the contracts;
(vi) fees
associated with NASD filings of promotional, sales
or
advertising material developed by DELAWARE; (vii)
development
and maintenance of DELAWARE's Internet Web sites
and related
functions; (viii) media advertising and promotion
(e.g., broker
trade journals) for use in connection with the
distribution of
the Contracts; and (ix) any other expenses
incurred by DELAWARE
or its Associated Persons for the purpose of
carrying out the
obligations of DELAWARE hereunder.
e. LNY will pay all expenses in connection with: (i)
the
preparation and filing with appropriate
governmental or
regulatory agencies of the Registration Statement
and each
preliminary Prospectus and definitive Prospectus;
(ii) the
preparation and issuance of the Contracts; (iii)
any
authorization, registration, qualification or
approval of the
Contracts required under the securities, blue-sky
laws or
insurance laws of the States; (iv) registration
fees for the
Contracts payable to the SEC or to any other
governmental or
regulatory agency; (v) the mailing of Prospectuses
for the
Contracts and Fund Prospectuses and any
supplements thereto, as
required by federal securities laws, and proxy
soliciting
materials and periodic reports relating to a Fund
or the
Accounts to Contractowners; (vi) the printing of
applications,
the Procedures and any other administrative forms
utilized in
connection with the servicing of the Contracts;
(vii)
compensation as provided in Section 9 hereof;
(viii) the design
and maintenance of any product-specific Web site
for the
contracts, if LNY determines that such a Web site
is necessary
or advisable; and (ix) any other expenses related
to the
distribution of the Contracts except as provided
in Sections 4.c
and 4.d of this Agreement.
f. Except to the extent for which DELAWARE is
responsible under
section 6.5 hereof, LNY alone shall be responsible
for and bear
the cost of administration of the Contracts
following their
issues, including all Contractowner service and
communication
activities.
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g. LFA will confirm to each owner of a Contract, in
accordance with
Rule 10b-10 under the 1934 Act, LNY's acceptance
of Premium
Payments and such other transactions as are
required by Rule
10b-10 or administrative interpretations
thereunder and in
accordance with Release 8389 under the 1934 Act.
Except for
material which is required by law to accompany
these
confirmations, nothing shall be included with them
that has not
been approved in advance by LNY or LFA and
DELAWARE.
5. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
a. LNY represents and warrants to DELAWARE, as of the
effective
date of each Registration Statement for the
Contracts (or class
of Contracts) and at each time that a Contract is
sold, as
follows:
(1) The Registration Statement has been
declared effective
by the SEC or has become effective in accordance
with the
Regulations.
(2) The Registration Statement and the
Prospectus each
comply in all material respects with the
provisions of the 1933
Act and the 1940 Act and the Regulations, and
neither the
Registration Statement nor the Prospectus contains
an untrue
statement of a material fact or omits to state a
material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make
the
statements therein not misleading, in light of the
circumstances
in which they were made; provided, however, that
none of the
representations and warranties in this Section
5.a(2) shall
apply to statements in or omissions from the
Registration
Statement or Prospectus made in reliance upon and
in conformity
with information furnished to LNY in writing by
DELAWARE
expressly for use in the Registration Statement.
(3) LNY has not received notice from the SEC
with respect to
the Registration Statement or the Account
supporting the
Contracts described in the Registration Statement
pursuant to
Section 8(e) of the 1940 Act and no stop order
under the 1933
Act has been issued and no proceeding therefor has
been
instituted or threatened by the SEC.
(4) The accountants who certified the
financial statements
included the Registration Statement and Prospectus
are
independent public accountants as required by the
1933 Act, the
1940 Act and the Regulations.
(5) The financial statements included in the
Registration
Statement for the Account and for LNY present
fairly the
respective financial positions of LNY and the
Account supporting
the Contracts described in the Registration
Statement as of the
dates indicated; and, for the Account, such
financial statements
have been prepared in conformity with generally
accepted
accounting principles in the United States applied
on a
consistent basis, and for LNY, such financial
statements have
been prepared in conformity with statutory
accounting principles
in the United States applied on a consistent
basis.
(6) Subsequent to the respective dates as of
which
information is given in the Registration Statement
or the
Prospects, there has not been any material adverse
change in the
condition, financial or otherwise, of LNY or the
Account
supporting the Contracts described in the
Registration Statement
that would cause such information to be materially
misleading.
(7) LNY has been duly organized and is validly
existing as a
corporation in good standing under the laws of New
York, with
full power and authority to own,
8
lease and operate its properties and conduct its
business in the
manner described in the Prospectus, is duly
qualified to
transact the business of a life insurance company
and is validly
existing or in good standing in each State in
which the
Contracts are or will be offered.
(8) Each Account supporting the Contracts
described in the
Registration Statement has been duly authorized
and established
and is validly existing as an insurance company
separate account
under the laws of New York and is duly registered
with the SEC
as a unit investment trust under the 1940 Act.
(9) The form of the Contracts has been (or,
before it is
offered for sale, will be) approved to the extent
required by
the New York Superintendent of Insurance and by
the governmental
agency responsible for regulating insurance
companies in each
other state in which the Contracts are offered.
(10) The execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated in
this Agreement
have been duly authorized by all necessary
corporate action by
LNY and when so executed and delivered this
Agreement will be
the valid and binding obligation of LNY
enforceable in
accordance with its terms.
(11) LNY has filed with the SEC all statements
and other
documents required for registration under the
provisions of the
1940 Act and the Regulations thereunder for the
Account
supporting the Contracts described in the
Registration
Statement, and such registration is (or, prior to
being offered
to the public, will be) effective; there are no
agreements or
documents required by the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act
or the
Regulations to be filed with the SEC as exhibits
to the
Registration Statement that have not been so
filed; and LNY has
obtained all exemptive or other orders of the SEC
necessary to
make the public offering and consummate the sale
of the
Contracts pursuant to this Agreement and to permit
the operation
of the Account supporting the Contracts described
in the
Registration statement, as contemplated in the
Prospectus.
(12) The Contracts have been duly authorized by
LNY and
conform to the descriptions thereof in the
Registration
Statement and the Prospectus and, when issued as
contemplated by
the Registration Statement, will constitute legal,
validly
issued and binding obligations of LNY in
accordance with their
terms.
b. DELAWARE represents and warrants to LNY and LFA on
the date
hereof as follows:
(1) DELAWARE has been duly organized and is
validly existing
as a limited partnership in good standing under
the laws of
Delaware with full power and authority to own,
lease and operate
its properties and conduct its business as a
broker-dealer
registered with the SEC and with the securities
commission of
every State where such registration is required,
and is a member
in good standing of the NASD.
(2) DELAWARE has taken all action including,
without
limitation, those necessary under its limited
partnership
agreement, by-laws and applicable state law,
necessary to
authorize the execution, delivery and performance
of this
Agreement and all transactions contemplated
hereunder.
(3) DELAWARE is and during the term of this
Agreement shall
remain duly registered as a broker-dealer under
the 1934 Act, a
member in good standing with
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the NASD, and duly registered as a broker-dealer
under
applicable state securities laws.
c. LFA represents and warrants to DELAWARE in the
date hereof as
follows:
(1) Delaware has been duly organized and is
validly
existing as a limited partnership in good standing
under the
laws of Indiana with full power and authority to
own, lease and
operate its properties and conduct its business as
a
broker-dealer registered with the SEC and with the
securities
commission of every State where such registration
is required,
and is a member in good standing of the NASD.
(2) DELAWARE has taken all action including,
without
limitation, those necessary under its charter, by-
laws and
applicable state law, necessary to authorize the
execution,
delivery and performance of this Agreement and all
transactions
contemplated hereunder.
(3) DELAWARE is and during the term of this
Agreement shall
remain duly registered as a broker-dealer under
the 1934 Act, a
member in good standing with the NASD, and duly
registered as a
broker-dealer under applicable state securities
laws.
6. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF LNY
a. LNY shall:
(1) maintain the registration of the Contracts
with the SEC
and any state securities commissions of any State
where the
securities or blue-sky laws of such State require
registration
of the Contracts, including without limitation
using its best
efforts to prevent a stop order from being issued
or if a stop
order has been issued using its best efforts to
cause such stop
order to be withdrawn;
(2) maintain the approval or other
authorization of the
Contract forms where required under the insurance
laws and
regulations of any State;
(3) keep such registration, approval and
authorization in
effect thereafter so long as the Contracts are
outstanding, to
the extent required by law; and
b. During the term of this Agreement, LNY shall take
all action
required to cause each class of Contracts to
comply, and to
continue to comply, as annuity contracts or life
insurance
contracts, as the case may be, and to cause the
Registration
Statement and the Prospectus for each class of
Contracts to
comply, and to continue to comply, with all
applicable federal
laws and regulations and all applicable laws and
regulations of
each State.
c. LNY, during the term of this Agreement, shall
notify DELAWARE
immediately:
(1) When each Registration Statement (or
amendment or
supplement to it) has become effective;
(2) Of the initiation of any legal proceeding
commenced by
any regulatory body or by any third party alleging
that any
material statement made in a Registration
Statement or a
Prospectus is untrue in any material respect or
results in a
material omission in a Registration Statement or
Prospectus;
(3) Of the issuance by the SEC of any stop
order with
respect to a Registration Statement or any
amendment thereto; or
the initiation by the SEC of any proceedings for
that purpose or
for any other purpose relating to the registration
and/or
offering of the Contracts (or class of Contracts);
10
(4) Of all those States in which registration
of the
Contracts (or class of Contracts) is required
under the
securities or blue-sky laws, and the date on which
such
registrations have become effective.
d. LNY shall furnish to DELAWARE without charge,
promptly after
filing, on copy of each Registration Statement as
originally
filed, including financial statements and all
exhibits
(including exhibits incorporated therein by
reference).
e. LNY shall file in a timely manner all reports,
statements and
amendments required to be filed by or for each
Account or class
of Contracts under the 1933 Act and/or the 1940
Act or the
Regulations.
f. LNY shall provide DELAWARE access to such records,
officers and
employees of LNY and of each Account at reasonable
times as is
necessary to enable DELAWARE to fulfill its
obligations under
the federal securities laws, Regulations and NASD
rules.
6.5 ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF DELAWARE
DELAWARE shall:
a. assist LNY with certain administrative activities
relating to
the Contracts, to the extent agreed upon from time
to time by
LNY and DELAWARE.
b. provide LNY and LFA access to such of its records,
officers and
employees at reasonable times as is necessary to
enable each of
LNY and LFA to fulfill its obligations under the
federal
securities laws and the Regulations.
c. be responsible for duplication and distribution of
illustration
and asset allocation software programs originated
by LNY.
7. CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF
DELAWARE, LNY AND
LFA
a. LNY acknowledges that the names and addresses of
all customers
and prospective customers (for purposes of this
Section 7.a, the
terms "customers" and "prospective customers"
shall not mean
Brokers) of any Broker that may come to the
attention of LNY or
LFA as a result of its relationship with any
Broker and not from
any independent source, are confidential and shall
not be used
by LNY or LFA for any purpose whatsoever, except
(1) as agreed
upon between LNY or LFA and any Broker; and (2) as
may be
necessary in connection with the administration of
the Contracts
sold by the Brokers, including responses to
specific requests
made to LNY for service by Contractowners or
efforts to prevent
the replacement of such Contracts or to encourage
the exercise
of options under the terms of the Contracts. The
restrictions
set forth in the previous sentence do not apply if
and to the
extent a Broker knowingly discloses the names and
addresses of
its customers or prospective customers to LNY or
LFA outside the
operation of this Agreement. In no event shall the
names and
addresses of such customers and prospective
customers be
furnished by LNY to any other person not
affiliated with LNY or
LFA. The intent of this paragraph is that LNY and
LFA shall not
utilize or permit to be utilized (other than as
provided above)
its knowledge of any Broker, derived as a result
of the
relationship created through the funding and sale
of the
Contracts, for the solicitation of sales of any
product or
11
service other than the Contracts. This paragraph
shall remain
operative and in full force and effect regardless
of the
termination of this Agreement, and shall survive
any such
termination.
b. The intellectual property rights of the parties
are set forth in
Exhibit A to this Agreement, which is hereby
incorporated herein
by this reference.
8. RECORDS
LNY, LFA and DELAWARE each shall maintain such accounts,
books and other
documents as are required to be maintained by each of them
by applicable
laws and regulations and shall preserve such accounts,
books and other
documents for the periods prescribed by such laws and
regulations. The
accounts, books and records of LNY, the Account, LFA and
DELAWARE as to
all transactions hereunder shall be maintained so as to
clearly and
accurately disclose the nature and details of the
transactions,
including such accounting information as necessary to
support the
reasonableness of the amounts paid by LNY hereunder. Each
party shall
have the right to inspect and audit such accounts, books
and records of
the other party during normal business hours upon
reasonable written
notice to each other party. Each party shall keep
confidential all
information obtained pursuant to such an inspection or
audit, and shall
disclose such information to third parties only upon
receipt of written
authorization from the other party, except as required
under compulsion
of law.
9. COMPENSATION
a. BASIS.
(1) LNY shall compensate DELAWARE for sales of
the Contracts
by the Brokers pursuant to Schedule 9.a to this
Agreement, as
such Schedule may be amended from time to time
upon mutual
agreement of the parties to this Agreement. Such
compensation
shall be based on Premium Payments received and
accepted by LNY
for all Contracts issued on applications obtained
by the Brokers
or any of their respective Representatives. LNY
will pay
compensation due DELAWARE in accordance with the
procedures set
forth on Schedule 9.a. The compensation provided
for in this
Section 9 shall cease after the termination date
of the
Agreement.
(2) If LNY informs DELAWARE that any State, by
insurance
rule, regulation or statue, prohibits any payment
of
compensation by LNY to a class of business
entities including
DELAWARE, DELAWARE shall designate in writing a
business entity
or natural person, including an insurance agency
affiliate of
DELAWARE meeting the requirements of such State,
to receive any
amounts that may otherwise be payable to DELAWARE
hereunder, and
LNY shall have the right to rely upon the legality
of all such
designations. DELAWARE may change such designation
from time to
time, upon prior written notice to LNY. Any
payments made by LNY
to any person or entity so designated by DELAWARE
shall
discharge LNY's liability to DELAWARE hereunder.
(3) If a purchaser rescinds a Contract or
exercises a right
to surrender a contract for return of all Premium
Payments,
DELAWARE will repay to LNY, on demand, the amount
of any
compensation it received on the Premium Payments
returned.
12
b. INDEBTEDNESS. Nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed as
giving DELAWARE the right to incur any
indebtedness on behalf of
LNY.
c. RENEWAL APPOINTMENT FEES FOR LOW-PRODUCING FIRMS
AND ASSOCIATED
PERSONS. LNY shall consult with DELAWARE prior to
any refusal by
LNY, on grounds of insufficient production of
premium income for
LNY products, to renew the appointment of any firm
or Associated
Person appointed to LNY under Section 3.b above.
DELAWARE shall
not unreasonably object to any such non-renewal.
d. REPORTING. DELAWARE shall be responsible for all
tax reporting
information DELAWARE is required to provide under
applicable tax
law to its Associated Persons with respect to the
Contracts.
Nothing contained in this Agreement or any sales
agreement with
a Broker is to be construed to require DELAWARE to
provide any
tax reporting information directly or indirectly
to any
unaffiliated Broker or its Representatives.
10. INVESTIGATION AND PROCEEDINGS
a. LNY, LFA and DELAWARE will cooperate fully in any
securities or
insurance regulatory investigation or proceeding,
or judicial
proceeding brought by any regulatory authority,
arising in
connection with the offering, sale or distribution
of the
Contracts for which DELAWARE acts as wholesaler
pursuant to this
Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, each
party agrees to
furnish to the other party any official notices
received about
these proceedings.
(1) In the case of a complaint involving the
terms of the
Contract, DELAWARE will provide LNY and LFA with
all available
information and will cooperate fully in LNY's and
LFA's
investigation of the complaint.
(2) In the case of a complaint involving
DELAWARE, LNY or
LFA will provide DELAWARE with all available
information and
will cooperate fully in DELAWARE's investigation
of the
complaint.
11. INDEMNIFICATION
a. LNY shall indemnify and hold harmless DELAWARE and
any officer,
director, employee or agent of DELAWARE, against
any and all
losses, claims, damages or liabilities (including
reasonable
investigative and legal expenses incurred in
connection with any
action, suit or proceeding, or any amount paid in
settlement
thereof with the prior approval of LNY), to which
DELAWARE
and/or any such person may become subject under
any statute or
regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as
such losses,
claims, damages or liabilities:
(1) arise out of or are based upon: (a) any
untrue statement
or allege untrue statement of a material fact
contained in (i)
any Registration Statement, Prospectus, Blue-Sky
application or
other document executed by LNY specifically for
the purpose of
qualifying any or all of the Contracts for sale
under the
securities laws of the United States or any State;
(ii) any
promotional, sales or advertising material for the
Contracts;
(iii) the Contracts themselves; or (iv) any
amendment or
supplement to any of the foregoing; or (b) the
omission or the
alleged omission to state therein a material fact
required to be
stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not
misleading in case of (a) or (b) above this
obligation to
indemnify shall not apply if such untrue statement
or
13
omission or such alleged untrue statement or
alleged omission
was made in reliance upon ad in conformity with
information
furnished in writing to LNY by DELAWARE
specifically for use in
the preparation of any such Registration
Statement, Prospectus
or Blue-Sky application or other document,
material, or Contract
(or any such amendment or supplement thereto),
(2) arise out of or are based upon any untrue
statement or
alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged
omission of a
material fact by or on behalf of LNY (other than
statements or
representations contained in any Fund Registration
Statement,
Fund Prospectus or promotional, sales or
advertising material of
a Fund that were not supplied by LNY or by persons
under its
control) or the gross negligence or intentional
misconduct of
LNY or persons under its control with respect to
the sale or
distribution of the Contracts; or
(3) result because of the terms of any
Contract or because
of any material breach by LNY of any terms of this
Agreement or
of any Contracts or that proximately result from
any activities
of LNY's officers, directors, employees or agents
or their
failure to take action in connection with the sale
of a
Contract, to the extent of LNY's obligations under
the Agreement
or otherwise, or the processing or administration
of the
Contracts.
This indemnification obligation will be in
addition to
any liability that LNY may otherwise have;
provided, however,
that DELAWARE shall not be entitled to
indemnification pursuant
to this Section 11.a if such loss, claim, damage
or liability is
due to the willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross
negligence or
reckless disregard of duty by DELAWARE.
b. DELAWARE shall indemnify and hold harmless LNY and
LFA and any
officer, director, employee or agent of LNY or
LFA, against any
and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities
(including
reasonable investigative and legal expenses
incurred in
connection with, any action, suit or proceeding or
any amount
paid in settlement thereof wit the prior approval
of DELAWARE),
to which LNY and/or any such person may become
subject under any
statute or regulation, at common law or otherwise,
insofar as
such losses, claims, damages or liabilities arise
out of or are
based upon:
(1) (a) any untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of
a material fact contained in any Registration
Statement,
Prospectus or Blue-Sky application or other
document executed by
LNY specifically for the purposes of qualifying
any or all of
the Contracts for sale under the securities law of
any state (or
any amendment or supplement to the foregoing), or
(b) omission
or alleged omission to state therein a material
fact required to
be stated therein or necessary in order to make
the statements
therein not misleading, in light of the
circumstances in which
they were made; in the case of (a) and (b) to the
extent, but
only to the extent, that such untrue statement or
alleged untrue
statement or omission or alleged omission was made
in reliance
upon and in conformity with information furnished
in writing to
LNY by DELAWARE specifically for use in the
preparation of any
such Registration Statement, Prospectus, such
Blue-Sky
application or other document (or any such
amendment or
supplement thereto); or
(2) any use of promotional, sales or
advertising material
for the Contracts not authorized by LNY or LFA
pursuant to
Section 4.a of this Agreement or any
14
verbal or written misrepresentations or any
unlawful sales
practices concerning the Contracts by DELAWARE
under federal
securities laws or NASD regulations (but not
including state
insurance laws, compliance with which is a
responsibility of LNY
under this Agreement or otherwise); or
(3) claims by agents, representatives or
employees of
DELAWARE for commissions or other compensation or
remuneration
of any type; or
(4) any material breach by DELAWARE of any
provision of this
Agreement. This indemnification obligation will be
in addition
to any liability that DELAWARE may otherwise have;
provided,
however, that LNY shall not be entitled to
indemnification
pursuant to this Section 11.b if such loss, claim,
damage or
liability is due to the willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross
negligence or reckless disregard of duty by LNY
c. After receipt by a party entitled to
indemnification
("indemnified party") under this Section 11 of
notice of the
commencement of any action, if a claim in respect
thereof is to
be made by the indemnified party against any
person obligated to
provide indemnification under this Section 11
("indemnifying
party"), such indemnified party will notify the
indemnifying
party will not relieve it from any liability under
this Section
11, except to the extent that the omission results
in a failure
of actual notice to the indemnifying party and
such indemnifying
party is damaged solely as a result of the failure
to give such
notice. The indemnifying party, upon the request
of the
indemnified party, shall retain counsel reasonably
satisfactory
to the indemnified party to represent the
indemnified party and
any others the indemnifying party designate in
such proceeding
and shall pay the fees and disbursements of such
counsel related
to such proceeding. In any such proceeding, any
indemnified
party shall have the right to retain its own
counsel, but the
fees and expenses of such counsel shall be at the
expense of
such indemnified party unless (i) the indemnifying
party and the
indemnified party shall have mutually agreed to
the retention of
such counsel, or (ii) the named parties to any
such proceeding
(including any impleaded parties) include both the
indemnifying
party and the counsel would be inappropriate due
to the
indemnifying party and the indemnified party and
representation
of both parties by the same counsel would be
inappropriate due
to actual or potential differing interests between
them. The
indemnifying party shall not be liable for any
settlement of any
proceeding effected without its written consent,
but if settled
with such consent or if there be a final judgment
for the
plaintiff, the indemnifying party shall indemnify
the
indemnified party from and against any loss or
liability by
reason of such settlement or judgment.
d. The indemnification provisions contained in this
Section 11
shall remain operative and in full force and
effect, regardless
of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of
LNY or by or on
behalf of any controlling or affiliated person
thereof, (ii)
delivery of any Contracts and Purchase Payments
therefore, or
(iii) any termination of this Agreement. A
successor by law of
DELAWARE, LFA or LNY, as the case may be, shall be
entitled to
the benefits of the indemnification provisions
contained in this
Section 11.
15
12. TERMINATION
a. This Agreement may be terminated at the option of
any party upon
90 calendar days advance written notice to the
other party;
b. This Agreement shall terminate automatically if it
is assigned;
provided, however, that a transaction will not be
deemed an
assignment if it does no result in a change of
actual control or
management of a party. This Agreement may be
terminated at the
option of one party upon the other party's
material breach of
any provision of this Agreement.
c. Upon termination of this Agreement all
authorizations, rights
and obligations shall cease except: (i) the
obligation to settle
accounts hereunder, including incurred
compensation; and (ii)
the provisions contained in Sections 7 and 11 of
this Agreement.
13. RIGHTS, REMEDIES, ETC. ARE CUMULATIVE. The rights,
remedies and
obligations contained in this Agreement are cumulative and
are in
addition to any and all rights, remedies and obligations,
at law or in
equity, which the parties to this Agreement are entitled
to under state
and federal laws.
Failure of one party to insist upon strict compliance by
an other party
with any of the conditions of this Agreement in any one
instance shall
not be construed as a waiver of any of the conditions for
any subsequent
instance, but the same shall remain in full force and
effect. No waiver
of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be
deemed, or shall
constitute, a waiver of any other provisions, whether or
not similar,
nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver.
14. NOTICES. All notices hereunder are to be in writing and
shall be given,
if to LNY, to:
Michael Antrobus
Annuities Product Management
Lincoln Life & Annuity Company
of New York
c/o Lincoln National Life
Insurance Company
1300 South Clinton Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
And
Robert O. Sheppard, Esq.
Lincoln Life & Annuity Company
of New York
120 Madison Street
Suite 1700
Syracuse, New York 13202
If to DELAWARE:
Daniel J. O'Brien
Delaware Distributors, L.P.
1818 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
16
Any party may specify another name and/or address in
writing. Each such
notice to a party shall be hand-delivered; or transmitted
by postage
prepaid registered or certified United States mail, with
return receipt
requested; or sent by an overnight courier service.
15. INTERPRETATION, JURISDICTION, ETC.
a.