PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT OR TO PURSUE CLAIMS IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY.
a. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver. We hope we never have a dispute, but if we do, you and we agree to try for 60 days, upon receipt of a Notice of Dispute, to resolve it informally. If we can’t, you and we agree to binding individual arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), and not to sue in court in front of a judge or jury. Instead, a neutral arbitrator will decide, and the arbitrator’s decision will be final except for a limited right of review under the FAA. To the fullest extent permitted by law, class action lawsuits, class-wide arbitrations, private attorney-general actions, requests for public injunctions, and any other proceeding or request for relief where someone acts in a representative capacity aren’t allowed. Nor is combining individual proceedings without the consent of all parties.
b. Disputes Covered-Everything Except IP. The term “dispute” is as broad as it can be. It includes any claim or controversy between you and us that in any way relates to or arises from your use or attempted use of the Site and all matters relating to or arising from this Agreement, including the validity and enforceability of this agreement to arbitrate, under any legal theory including contract, warranty, tort, statute, or regulation, except disputes relating to the enforcement or validity of your, your licensors’, our, or our licensors’ intellectual property rights.
c. Send a Notice of Dispute Before Arbitration. If you have a dispute with Kruze that our customer service representatives can’t resolve and you wish to pursue arbitration, you must first notify us in writing at the following email address: support@kruzeconsulting.com, using the subject line “Notice of Dispute.” Your notice of dispute must be individual to you and must include, as applicable, your name, the email address, and your residential address. The notice of dispute also must describe the dispute, explain the facts of the dispute as you understand them, and tell Kruze what you want us to do to resolve the problem. This Notice of Dispute is a prerequisite to initiating any arbitration. Any applicable statute of limitations will be tolled from the date of a properly submitted individualized Notice of Dispute through the first date on which an arbitration may properly be filed under this Section.
d. Small Claims Court Option. Instead of sending a Notice of Dispute, either you or we may sue the other party in small claims court seeking only individualized relief, so long as the action meets the small claims court’s requirements and remains an individual action seeking individualized relief. The small claims court must be in your county of residence (or, if a business, your principal place of business).
e. Arbitration Procedure. The AAA will conduct any arbitration under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. For more information, see www.adr.org or call 1-800-778-7879. This Agreement, including this Dispute Resolution clause, govern to the extent they conflict with any applicable AAA rules. To initiate an arbitration, submit the Demand for Arbitration form available at https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer_Demand_for_Arbitration_Form_3.pdf to the AAA and email a copy to support@kruzeconsulting.com. The form must contain information that is specific to you and your claim. In a dispute involving $25,000 or less, any hearing will be telephonic or by videoconference unless the arbitrator finds good cause to hold an in-person hearing instead. Any in-person hearing will take place in your county of residence (or, if a business, your principal place of business). The arbitrator may award the same damages to you individually as a court could. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only to you individually to satisfy your individual claim, but not relief that would affect non-parties.
The arbitrator rules on all arbitrability issues, including scope, validity and enforceability of this arbitration agreement, except that a court has exclusive authority: (i) to decide whether the parties have complied with the pre-arbitration requirements (including the individualized Notice of Dispute and Demand for Arbitration form); (ii) to enforce the prohibition on class, representative, private attorney-general, or combined actions or proceedings, or on public injunctive relief in arbitration; and (iii) to enjoin an arbitration from proceeding if it does not comply with this Section.
f. Opting Out. You have the right to opt-out of this Dispute Resolution clause by personally signing and sending us notice by email to support@kruzeconsulting.com. The notice must be sent within 30 days of the date on which you first accessed the Website or Services after these terms were last updated (unless a longer period is required by applicable law); otherwise, you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of this Dispute Resolution clause. If you opt-out of this Dispute Resolution clause, Kruze also will not be bound by them.
g. Severability. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, any part of this Dispute Resolution clause is found to be unenforceable as to any claim or request for a remedy, then the parties agree to arbitrate all claims and remedies subject to arbitration before litigating in court any remaining claims or remedies (such as a request for a public injunction remedy, in which case the arbitrator issues an award on liability and individual relief before a court considers that request). Otherwise, if any other part of this Dispute Resolution clause is found to be unenforceable, the remainder will remain in effect (with an arbitration award issued before any court proceeding begins).
