The Terms of Use shall also contain the following language:
Agreement to Arbitrate
You and we each agree that any and all disputes or claims that relate to or arise from your use of or access to our Services, or any products or services sold, offered, or purchased through our Services, including any contact from our subsidiaries, affiliates, or agents including, but not limited to, Aragon Advertising LLC and its clients, shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration between us and you, or between our subsidiaries, affiliates, or agents and you, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate section (this “Agreement to Arbitrate”).
Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief
You and we agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding, including but not limited to actions under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. Unless both you and we agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not or join more than one person’s or party’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form if a consolidated, representative, or class proceeding. The arbitrator may award relief, including monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief, only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief necessitated by that party’s individual claim(s). Any relief awarded cannot affect our other users.
Arbitration Procedures
The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Agreement to Arbitrate, any part of it, or of this Agreement including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of the Agreement to Arbitrate or this Agreement is void or voidable.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures, including the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement to Arbitrate. The AAA’s rules and a form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s site at http://www.adr.org. The arbitration shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or we may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and us subject to the arbitrator’s discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. Attendance at an in-person hearing may be made by telephone by you and/or us unless the arbitrator requires otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving our other users but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of this Agreement to Arbitrate and the closing of your Account or your use of or access to our Services, or any products or services sold, offered, or purchased through our Services.
Costs of Arbitration
Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, we will pay all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request for payment of fees by us should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your Demand for Arbitration and we will arrange to pay all necessary fees directly to the AAA. If the value of the relief sought is more than $10,000 and you can demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, we will pay as much of the filing, administration, and arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from being cost-prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse us for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by us on your behalf, which you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA’s rules.
Confidentiality
The arbitration proceedings and arbitration award shall be maintained by the parties as strictly confidential, except as is otherwise required by court order or as is necessary to confirm, vacate or enforce the award and for disclosure in confidence to the parties’ respective attorneys, tax advisors and senior management and to family members of a party who is an individual.
Severability
Except for any of the provisions in this Agreement to Arbitrate (“Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”), if an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall still apply. If an arbitrator or court decides that any of the provisions in Section __ [fill in] of this Agreement to Arbitrate (“Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief”) is invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall be null and void.
