EX-3.1 2 d301032dex31.htm EX-3.1 EX-3.1

Exhibit 3.1

AMENDED AND RESTATED

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

SANTANDER CONSUMER USA HOLDINGS INC.

FIRST: The name of the corporation is Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (the “Corporation”).

SECOND: The address of its registered office in the State of Delaware is c/o Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Drive in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, State of Delaware 19808. The name of its registered agent at such address is Corporation Service Company.

THIRD: The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (“Delaware Law”).

FOURTH: The total number of shares of all classes of stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 310,000,000 shares of common stock, and the par value of such share is $0.01 per share.

FIFTH: The Board of Directors shall have the power to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation.

SIXTH: Election of directors need not be by written ballot unless the bylaws of the Corporation so provide.

SEVENTH: The Corporation expressly elects not to be governed by Section 203 of Delaware Law.

EIGHTH:

 

  a)

Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she or a person of whom he or she is the legal representative is or was, at any time during which this Certificate of Incorporation is in effect

 

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  (whether or not such person continues to serve in such capacity at the time any indemnification or payment of expenses pursuant hereto is sought or at the time any proceeding relating thereto exists or is brought), a director or officer of the Corporation or is or was at any such time serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefit plans maintained or sponsored by the Corporation (hereinafter, an “indemnitee”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent, shall be (and shall be deemed to have a contractual right to be) indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation (and any successor of the Corporation by merger or otherwise) to the fullest extent authorized by the Delaware Law as the same exists or may hereafter be amended or modified from time to time (but, in the case of any such amendment or modification, only to the extent that such amendment or modification permits the Corporation to provide greater indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment or modification), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, excise taxes or penalties arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that except as provided in paragraph (c) of this Article EIGHTH, the Corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnification in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors. The right to indemnification conferred in this Article EIGHTH shall include the right, without the need for any action by the Board of Directors, to be paid by the Corporation (and any successor of the Corporation by merger or otherwise) the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition, such advances to be paid by the Corporation within twenty (20) days after the

 

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  receipt by the Corporation of a statement or statements from the claimant requesting such advance or advances from time to time; provided, that if the Delaware Law requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by a director or officer in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such person while a director or officer, including, without limitation, service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (hereinafter, the “undertaking”) by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right of appeal (a “final disposition”) that such director or officer is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Article EIGHTH or otherwise. The rights conferred upon indemnitees in this Article EIGHTH shall be contract rights between the Corporation and each indemnitee to whom such rights are extended that vest at the commencement of such person’s service to or at the request of the Corporation and all such rights shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director or officer of the Corporation or ceased to serve at the Corporation’s request as a director, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, as described herein, and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators.

 

  b)

To obtain indemnification under this Article EIGHTH, a claimant shall submit to the Corporation a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and information as is reasonably available to the claimant and is reasonably necessary to determine whether and to what extent the claimant is entitled to indemnification. Upon written request by a claimant for indemnification pursuant to the first sentence of this paragraph (b), a determination, if required by applicable law, with respect to the claimant’s entitlement thereto shall be made as follows: (i) if requested by the claimant, by Independent Counsel (as hereinafter defined), or (ii) if no request is made by the claimant for a determination by Independent Counsel, (A) by the Board of Directors by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of Disinterested Directors (as hereinafter defined), (B) if a quorum of the Board consisting of Disinterested Directors is not obtainable or, even if obtainable, such quorum of Disinterested Directors so

 

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  directs, by Independent Counsel in a written opinion to the Board of Directors, a copy of which shall be delivered to the claimant, or (C) if a quorum of Disinterested Directors so directs, by a majority of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the determination of entitlement to indemnification is to be made by Independent Counsel, the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the Board of Directors unless there shall have occurred within two years prior to the date of the commencement of the action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification is claimed a Change in Control (as defined in the Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. Omnibus Incentive Plan) in which case the Independent Counsel shall be selected by the claimant unless the claimant shall request that such selection be made by the Board of Directors. If it is so determined that the claimant is entitled to indemnification, payment to the claimant shall be made within ten (10) days after such determination.

 

  c)

If a claim under paragraph (a) of this Article EIGHTH is not paid in full by the Corporation within thirty (30) days after a written claim pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Article EIGHTH has been received by the Corporation (except in the case of a claim for advancement of expenses, for which the applicable period is twenty (20) days provided that any required undertaking has been made by such claimant), the claimant may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim and, if successful in whole or in part, the claimant shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting such claim. It shall be a defense to any such action that the claimant has not met the standard of conduct which makes it permissible under the Delaware Law for the Corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed or that the claimant is not entitled to the requested advancement of expenses, but (except where the required undertaking, if any, has not been tendered to the Corporation) the burden of proving such defense shall be on the Corporation. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, Independent Counsel or stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because he or she has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the Delaware Law, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, Independent Counsel or stockholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct.

 

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  d)

If a determination shall have been made pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Article EIGHTH that the claimant is entitled to indemnification, the Corporation shall be bound by such determination in any judicial proceeding commenced pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Article EIGHTH.

 

  e)

The Corporation shall be precluded from asserting in any judicial proceeding commenced pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Article EIGHTH that the procedures and presumptions of this Article EIGHTH are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in such proceeding that the Corporation is bound by all the provisions of this Article EIGHTH.

 

  f)

The right to indemnification and the payment of expenses incurred in defending a proceeding in advance of its final disposition conferred in this Article EIGHTH: (i) shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of this Certificate of Incorporation, bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or Disinterested Directors or otherwise and (ii) cannot be terminated by the Corporation, the Board of Directors or the stockholders of the Corporation with respect to a person’s service prior to the date of such termination. Any amendment, modification, alteration or repeal of this Article EIGHTH that in any way diminishes, limits, restricts, adversely affects or eliminates any right of an indemnitee or his or her successors to indemnification, advancement of expenses or otherwise shall be prospective only and shall not, without the written consent of the indemnitee, in any way diminish, limit, restrict, adversely affect or eliminate any such right with respect to any actual or alleged state of facts, occurrence, action or omission then or previously existing, or any action, suit or proceeding previously or thereafter brought or threatened based in whole or in part upon any such actual or alleged state of facts, occurrence, action or omission.

 

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  g)

The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any current or former director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the Delaware Law. To the extent that the Corporation maintains any policy or policies providing such insurance, each such current or former director or officer, and each such agent or employee to which rights to indemnification have been granted as provided in paragraph (h) of this Article EIGHTH, shall be covered by such policy or policies in accordance with its or their terms to the maximum extent of the coverage thereunder for any such current or former director, officer, employee or agent.

 

  h)

The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors or the Chief Executive Officer, grant rights to indemnification, and rights to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in connection with any proceeding in advance of its final disposition, to any current or former employee or agent of the Corporation to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Article EIGHTH with respect to the indemnification and advancement of expenses of current or former directors and officers of the Corporation.

 

  i)

If any provision or provisions of this Article EIGHTH shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Article EIGHTH (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Article EIGHTH containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and (ii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Article EIGHTH (including, without limitation, each such portion of any paragraph of this Article EIGHTH containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid, illegal or unenforceable.

 

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  j)

The Corporation acknowledges that the indemnitees may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by other persons or entities (collectively, the “Other Indemnitors”). The Corporation hereby agrees that, with respect to service by each indemnitee as a director of the Corporation (or at their request for any third party), (i) it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to each indemnitee are primary and any obligation of Other Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by any indemnitee are secondary), and (ii) it shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by each Indemnitee and shall be liable for the full amount of all expenses and liabilities, in each case, to the extent legally permitted and as required by this Certificate of Incorporation (and any other agreement regarding indemnification between the Corporation and any indemnitee), without regard to any rights an indemnitee may have against any Other Indemnitor. The Corporation further agrees that no advancement or payment by any Other Indemnitor on behalf of any indemnitee with respect to any claim for which such indemnitee has sought indemnification from the Corporation shall affect the foregoing and Other Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of such indemnitee against the Corporation.

 

  k)

For purposes of this Article EIGHTH:

 

  i.

“Disinterested Director” means a director of the Corporation who is not and was not a party to the matter in respect of which indemnification is sought by the claimant.

 

  ii.

“Independent Counsel” means a law firm, a member of a law firm, or an independent practitioner, that is experienced in matters of corporate law and shall include any person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would not have a conflict of interest in representing either the Corporation or the claimant in an action to determine the claimant’s rights under this Article EIGHTH.

 

  l)

Any notice, request or other communication required or permitted to be given to the Corporation under this Article EIGHTH shall be in writing and either delivered in person or sent by telecopy, telex, telegram, overnight mail or courier service, or certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the Secretary of the Corporation and shall be effective only upon receipt by the Secretary.

 

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NINTH: The Corporation reserves the right to amend this Certificate of Incorporation in any manner permitted by Delaware Law and all rights and powers conferred herein on stockholders, directors and officers, if any, are subject to this reserved power.

 

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