j523130s8.htm
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24, 2013 Registration No. 333-__________
 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
________________

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

1ST CONSTITUTION BANCORP
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

New Jersey
  
22-3665653
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
  
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

2650 Route 130
P.O. Box 634
 Cranbury, New Jersey 18512
(Address, including zip code of registrant’s principal executive offices)

1ST CONSTITUTION BANCORP 2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
(Full title of the Plan)

Mr. Robert F. Mangano
President and Chief Executive Officer
1st Constitution Bancorp
2650 Route 130
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
(609) 655-4500
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
_______
With a Copy to:
Frank E. Lawatsch, Jr., Esq.
Day Pitney LLP
7 Times Square
New York, New York 10036
(212) 297-5830

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

        Large accelerated filer   o
  
        Accelerated filer  o
        Non-accelerated filer  o(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
  
        Smaller reporting company x

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 
Title of securities
to be registered (1)
 
Amount to be
Registered (2)
Proposed maximum
Offering price
per share (4)
Proposed maximum
Aggregate offering
Price (3)
 
Amount of
Registration fee
Common Stock, no par value per share
 
369,000 shares (3)
 
 
$8.94
 
$3,298,860
 
$449.96
 
 
 
 
 
__________________________

(1)           Includes, with respect to each share of common stock, rights, pursuant to the Registrant’s Rights Agreement, dated as of March 18, 2004, between the Registrant and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent. Until a triggering event thereunder, the rights trade with, and cannot be separated from, the common stock.
 
(2)           This Registration Statement also covers such indeterminable number of shares of common stock as may become subject to the 1st Constitution Bancorp 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) as a result of the anti-dilution provisions thereof.
 
(3)           Represents 369,000 shares authorized under the Plan.

(4)           Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Securities Act Rules 457(c) and 457(h), based upon the average of the high and low sales price per share of the Registrant’s common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market on May 22, 2013.
 
PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

ITEM 1.                  Plan Information.

Not filed with this Registration Statement.

ITEM 2.                  Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information.

Not filed with this Registration Statement.


PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.                  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed by 1st Constitution Bancorp (the “Company”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement:

 
1.
The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Commission on March 22, 2013.

 
2.
The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2013, filed with the Commission on May 14, 2013.
 
 
3.
The Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on May 24, 2013.
 
 
4.
The description of the Company’s common stock, no par value per share, set forth in the Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed by the Company with the Commission on August 16, 2012, and any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.
 
 
 
 
 
In addition, all documents filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, hereby are incorporated herein by reference and shall be deemed a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 4.                  Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5.                  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Certain legal matters relating to the issuance of the shares of the Company’s Common Stock offered hereby have been passed upon by Day Pitney LLP counsel to the Company.  Attorneys in the law firm of Day Pitney LLP beneficially own an aggregate of 22,627 shares of Company common stock as of May 24, 2013.

ITEM 6.                  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Limitation of Liability of Directors and Officers. The Company’s certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may limit the liability of any director or officer of the Company to the Company or its shareholders for damages for an alleged breach of any duty owed to the Company or its shareholders. This limitation will not relieve an officer or director from liability based on any act or omission (i) in breach of such person’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its shareholders; (ii) not in good faith or involving a knowing violation of law; or (iii) resulting in receipt by such officer or director of an improper personal benefit. These provisions are explicitly permitted by Section 14A:2-7(3) of the New Jersey Business Corporation Act.
 
Indemnification of Directors, Officers, Employees and Agents.  The Company’s certificate of incorporation provides that the Company will indemnify to the full extent from time to time permitted by law, any person made, or threatened to be made, a party to, or a witness or other participant in, any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil or criminal, administrative, arbitrative, legislative, investigative or of any other kind, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or other agent of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company or serves or served any other enterprise at the request of the Company against expenses, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding and any appeal therein. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act generally prohibits indemnification of a holding company’s directors and officers for any penalty or judgment resulting from any administrative or civil action instituted by a federal banking agency.
 
Section 14A:3-5 of the New Jersey Business Corporation Act empowers a corporation to indemnify a corporate agent against its expenses and liabilities incurred in connection with any proceeding (other than a derivative lawsuit) involving the corporate agent by reason of his being or having been a corporate agent if (a) the agent acted in good faith and in a manner that the agent reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and (b) with respect to any criminal proceeding, the corporate agent had no reasonable cause to believe its conduct was unlawful. For purposes of the New Jersey Business Corporation Act, the term “corporate agent” includes any present or former director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, and a person serving as a “corporate agent” for any other enterprise at the request of the corporation.
 
 
 
 
 
With respect to any derivative action, the Company is empowered to indemnify a corporate agent against its expenses (but not its liabilities) incurred in connection with any proceeding involving the corporate agent by reason of the agent being or having been a corporate agent if the agent acted in good faith and in a manner that the agent reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company. However, only the court in which the proceeding was brought can empower a corporation to indemnify a corporate agent against expenses with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which the agent was adjudged liable to the corporation.
 
The Company may indemnify a corporate agent in a specific case if a determination is made by any of the following that the applicable standard of conduct was met: (i) the board of directors, or a committee thereof, acting by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of disinterested directors; (ii) by independent legal counsel if there is not a quorum of disinterested directors or if the disinterested quorum empowers counsel to make the determination; or (iii) by the shareholders.
 
A corporate agent is entitled to mandatory indemnification to the extent that the agent is successful on the merits or otherwise in any proceeding, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter in the proceeding. If a corporation fails or refuses to indemnify a corporate agent, whether the indemnification is permissive or mandatory, the agent may apply to a court to grant the agent the requested indemnification. In advance of the final disposition of a proceeding, the corporation may pay an agent’s expenses if the agent agrees to repay the expenses if it is ultimately determined that the agent is not entitled to indemnification.
 
Insurance.  The Company maintains insurance policies insuring the Company’s directors and officers against liability for wrongful acts or omissions arising out of their positions as directors and officers, subject to certain limitations.
 
ITEM 7.                  Exemption from Registration Claimed.
 
Not applicable.

ITEM 8.                  Exhibits.

Exhibit No.
  
Description
     
4.1
  
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (conformed copy) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(i)(A) to the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 27, 2009)
     
4.2
  
By-Laws of the Company (conformed copy) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(ii)(A) to the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 22, 2007)
     
4.3
  
Amendment No. 2 to By-Laws of the Company  (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(ii)(B) to the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 22, 2007)
     
4.4
  
Specimen Share of Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Form 10-KSB (SEC File No. 000-32891) filed with the SEC on March 22, 2002)
 
 
 
 
 
4.5
  
Rights Agreement, dated as of March 18, 2004, between 1st Constitution Bancorp and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent, (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the Company’s Form 8-A12G (SEC File No. 000-32891) filed with the SEC on March 18, 2004)
     
4.6
  
1st Constitution 1st Constitution Bancorp 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A of the Company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 11, 2013)
     
5
  
Opinion Letter of Day Pitney LLP regarding legality of securities
     
23.1
  
Consent of ParenteBeard LLC
     
23.2
  
Consent of Day Pitney LLP
(contained in the opinion letter included as Exhibit 5)
     
24
  
Power of Attorney for Directors and Executive Officers
(included on signature page hereto)

ITEM 9.                  Undertakings.

 
(a)
The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
 
(1)           To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
 
(i)           To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”);
 
 
(ii)          To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii)         To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
 
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.
 
 
 
 
 
(2)           That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3)           To remove from the registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
 
(b)           The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
 
(c)           Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
 
 
 
 
 
SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the Town of Cranbury, State of New Jersey, on May 24, 2013.
 
 
1ST CONSTITUTION BANCORP
  
       
       
Date:  May 24, 2013
By:  
 /s/ ROBERT F. MANGANO   
   
Robert F. Mangano
  
   
President and Chief Executive Officer
  
   
(Principal Executive Officer)
  

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints Robert F. Mangano and Joseph M. Reardon, or either of them, as their attorney-in-fact, with power of substitution, to execute for and on behalf of the undersigned this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and any and all amendments (whether pre- or post-effective) or supplements to this Registration Statement and all related documents and instruments, and to file the same with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting to this attorney-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, full power and authority to take such action as he deems advisable or necessary to carry out the intent of this Power of Attorney and hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated effective as of May 24, 2013.

Signature
  
Capacity
Date
 
/s/ ROBERT F. MANGANO
  
 
President, Chief Executive Officer and
 
May 24, 2013
Robert F. Mangano  
Director
(Principal Executive Officer)
  
 
/s/ CHARLES S. CROW, III
  
 
Chairman of the Board
 
May 24, 2013
Charles S. Crow, III
      
       
/s/ JOHN P. COSTAS
  
Director
 May 24, 2013
John P. Costas
  
 
 
       
/s/ DAVID C. REED   Director May 24, 2013
David C. Reed      
       
/s/ WILLIAM M. RUE                                        
  
Director
 May 24, 2013
William M. Rue
  
 
 
       
/s/ FRANK E. WALSH, III
  
Director
May 24, 2013
Frank E. Walsh, III
      
       
/s/ JOSEPH M. REARDON
   Senior Vice President and Treasurer May 24, 2013
Joseph M. Reardon
  
(Principal Accounting Officer)
 


 
 
 
 
INDEX TO EXHIBITS


Exhibit No.
  
Description
     
4.1
  
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (conformed copy) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(i)(A) to the Company’s
Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 27, 2009)
     
4.2
  
Bylaws of the Company (conformed copy) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(ii)(A) to the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC
on October 22, 2007)
     
4.3
  
Amendment No. 2 to By-Laws of the Company  (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3(ii)(B) to the Company’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 22, 2007)
     
4.4
  
Specimen Share of Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Form 10-KSB (SEC File No. 000-32891) filed with the SEC on March 22, 2002)
     
4.5
  
Rights Agreement, dated as of March 18, 2004, between 1st Constitution Bancorp and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights
Agent, (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 to the Company’s Form 8-A12G (SEC File No. 000-32891) filed with the SEC on March 18, 2004)
     
4.6
  
1st Constitution 1st Constitution Bancorp 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A of the Company’s proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 11, 2013)
     
5
  
Opinion Letter of Day Pitney LLP regarding legality of securities
     
23.1
  
Consent of ParenteBeard LLC
     
23.2
  
Consent of Day Pitney LLP
(contained in the opinion letter included as Exhibit 5)
     
24
  
Power of Attorney for Directors and Executive Officers
(included on signature page hereto)