Please read the following arbitration agreement in this Section (“Arbitration Agreement”) carefully. It requires you to arbitrate disputes with Company and limits the manner in which you can seek relief from us.
Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. You agree that any dispute, claim, or request for relief relating in any way to your access or use of the Services, to any products sold or distributed through the Services, or to any aspect of your relationship with Company, will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that (1) you may assert claims or seek relief in small claims court if your claims qualify; and (2) you or Company may seek equitable relief in court for infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). This Arbitration Agreement shall apply, without limitation, to all disputes or claims and requests for relief that arose or were asserted before the effective date of this Agreement or any prior version of this Agreement.
Arbitration Rules and Forum. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement. To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your dispute or claim or request for relief to FrenchFounders - Arbitration Request, The Foundery, 27 West, 20th Street, Suite 800, New York, NY 10011. The arbitration will be conducted by JAMS, an established alternative dispute resolution provider. Disputes involving claims, counterclaims, or request for relief under $250,000, not inclusive of attorneys’ fees and interest, shall be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and procedures available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-streamlined-arbitration/; all other disputes shall be subject to JAMS’s most current version of the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures, available at http://www.jamsadr.com/rules-comprehensive-arbitration/. JAMS’s rules are also available at www.jamsadr.com or by calling JAMS at 800-352-5267. If JAMS is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. If the arbitrator finds that you cannot afford to pay JAMS’s filing, administrative, hearing and/or other fees and cannot obtain a waiver from JAMS, Company will pay them for you. In addition, Company will reimburse all such JAMS’s filing, administrative, hearing and/or other fees for disputes, claims, or requests for relief totaling less than $10,000 unless the arbitrator determines the claims are frivolous.
You may choose to have the arbitration conducted by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person in the country where you live or at another mutually agreed location. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to (a) determine the scope and enforceability of this Arbitration Agreement and (b) resolve any dispute related to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Arbitration Agreement including, but not limited to, any assertion that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. The arbitration will decide the rights and liabilities, if any, of you and Company. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties. The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any claim. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under applicable law, the arbitral forum’s rules, and the Agreement (including the Arbitration Agreement). The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The arbitrator has the same authority to award relief on an individual basis that a judge in a court of law would have. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us.
Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND COMPANY HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Company are instead electing that all disputes, claims, or requests for relief shall be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in this Arbitration Agreement. An arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court and must follow this Agreement as a court would. However, there is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.
Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief. ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND REQUESTS FOR RELIEF WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. If a decision is issued stating that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this subsection’s limitations as to a given dispute, claim, or request for relief, then such aspect must be severed from the arbitration and brought into the State or Federal Courts located in the State of New York. All other disputes, claims, or requests for relief shall be arbitrated.
30-Day Right to Opt Out. You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to: legal@frenchfounders.com, within 30 days after first becoming subject to this Arbitration Agreement. Your notice must include your name and address, the email address you used to set up your Company account (if you have one), and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this Arbitration Agreement. If you opt out of this Arbitration Agreement, all other parts of this Agreement will continue to apply to you. Opting out of this Arbitration Agreement has no effect on any other arbitration agreements that you may currently have, or may enter in the future, with us.
Survival of Agreement. This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Company.