Arbitration Agreement

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS – PLEASE READ

THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”) SHALL GOVERN THE MANNER BY WHICH ANY CLAIMS REGARDING THE PRODUCT(S) YOU PURCHASE FROM US SHALL BE RESOLVED. THIS AGREEMENT SETS FORTH IMPORTANT LEGAL RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY.

BY ORDERING A PRODUCT FROM US, YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN US CONCERNING SUCH PRODUCT SHALL BE SETTLED BY BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND AS SUCH, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. YOU ALSO WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN OR REPRESENT A CLASS OF CONSUMERS IN SUCH DISPUTES. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS, YOU MUST RETURN THE PRODUCT WITHIN FIFTEEN (15) DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THE PRODUCT.

1. RESOLUTION BY BINDING ARBITRATION. Any claim or dispute between you and us, or any of our subsidiaries or affiliates, arising out of or relating in any way to the Product or this Agreement shall be resolved through final, binding arbitration. This arbitration obligation applies regardless of whether the claim or dispute involves a tort, fraud, misrepresentation, product liability, negligence, violation of a statute, or any other legal theory. You specifically acknowledge and agree that you waive your right to bring a lawsuit based on such claims or disputes and to have such lawsuit resolved by a judge or jury.
2. WAIVER OF CLASS PARTICIPATION. All arbitrations under this Agreement shall be conducted on an individual (and not a class-wide) basis, and an arbitrator shall have no authority to award class-wide relief. You acknowledge and agree that this Agreement specifically prohibits you from commencing arbitration proceedings as a representative of others or joining in any arbitration proceedings brought by any other person. You also acknowledge and agree that you are giving up your right to serve as a representative, as a private attorney general, or in any other representative capacity, and/or to participate as a member of a class of claimants in any lawsuit filed against us and/or related third parties.
3. ARBITRATION PROCEDURES.
   
   1. Before commencing any arbitration proceedings under this Agreement, you must first present the claim or dispute to us by calling our Legal Representative toll free at 800-423-4248 and providing all requested information. You may be required to provide us with a written statement setting forth the nature of your claim or dispute. We shall have forty-five (45) days from the receipt of such call (or written statement) to resolve such claim or dispute (“Resolution Period”). If your claim or dispute is not resolved within the Resolution Period, you may commence arbitration proceedings in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
   2. The arbitration of any claim or dispute under this Agreement shall be conducted pursuant to the American Arbitration Association’s (“AAA”) United States Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. These rules and procedures are available by calling the AAA or by visiting its web site at www.adr.org Opens in a new window.
   3. The arbitrator shall not conduct class arbitration; that is, the arbitrator shall not allow you to serve as a representative, as a private attorney general, or in any representative capacity for others in the arbitration.
   4. The arbitration of any claim or dispute under this Agreement shall be conducted in the New York County, New York State.
4. COSTS. All administrative expenses of the arbitration proceedings commenced under this Agreement shall be as follows:
   
   1. If the claim or dispute that is the subject of the arbitration proceedings is less than five thousand dollars (US $5,000), your financial responsibility for the administrative costs shall not exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100);
   2. If the claim or dispute that is the subject of the arbitration proceedings is between five thousand dollars (US $5,000) and fifty thousand dollars (US $50,000), your financial responsibility for administrative costs shall not exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300); and
   3. If the claim or dispute that is the subject of the arbitration proceedings exceeds $50,000, your financial responsibility for administrative costs shall be in accordance with the Commercial Fee Schedule provided by the AAA.
   4. Each party shall pay the fees and costs of its own counsel, experts and witnesses.
5. SMALL CLAIMS. All parties shall retain the right to seek adjudication in a small claims tribunal in the county of your residence for disputes within the scope of such tribunal’s jurisdiction. Any dispute that cannot be adjudicated within the jurisdiction of a small claims tribunal shall be resolved by binding arbitration as described in and in accordance with, the terms of this Agreement. Any appeal of a judgment from a small claims tribunal shall be resolved by biding arbitration under the terms of this Agreement.
6. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Agreement is declared or found to be unlawful, unenforceable or void, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent that it is found unlawful, unenforceable or void, and the remainder of the provision and all other provisions shall remain fully enforceable.