The Department shall indemnify its officers and Board members, or in the discretion of the Board, certain employees against all reasonable expense incurred by them in defending claims or suits, irrespective of the time of occurrence of the claim or causes of action in the suits made or brought against them as officers and Board members or employees of the Department, and against all liability in the suits, except in cases as involved gross negligence or wilful misconduct in the performance of their duties. The indemnification shall extend to the payment of judgments against the officers, Board members or employees and to reimbursement of amounts paid in settlement of the claims or actions, and may apply to judgments in favor of the Department or amounts paid in settlement to the Department. The indemnification shall also extend to the payment of counsel fees and expenses of the officers, Board members or employees and suits against them, whether successfully defended by them or unsuccessfully defended, if there is no finding or judgment that the claim or action arose from the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of the officers, Board members or employees. These rights of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any right the officer, Board member or employee shall be entitled to as a matter of law and shall extend and apply to the estates of the deceased officers, Board members or employees.
(Prior Code, § 24.01(20))