WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in these Terms, (i) “Behr,” “Behr Paint Company,” “Company,” “us,” “we” and “our” refer to Behr Process LLC, (ii) “Content” refers to any or all text, documents, photographs, images, graphics, logos, emblems, designs, layouts, trademarks, trade names, service marks, copyrighted materials, audio and video presentations and other information and materials provided by us on, through or in connection with any Service, including user interfaces and the selection, coordination and arrangement of such information and/or materials, and (iii) “Software” refers to any software made available to you for downloading through or in connection with any Service.
By using any Service, you confirm that you accept these Terms of Use and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you must not use any Service.
YOU AFFIRM THAT YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE TO ENTER INTO THESE TERMS.
SERVICE SPECIFIC TERMS
CHANGES TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS
INFORMATION SUBMITTED THROUGH THE SERVICES
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LICENSE
REGISTRATION
As part of the registration process, you will be asked to select a username and password. We may reject, or require that you change, any username, password or other information that you provide to us in registering, including if such information impersonates someone else, is or may be illegal, is or may be protected by trademark or other proprietary rights law, is vulgar or otherwise offensive, or may cause confusion, as determined by us in our sole discretion. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your user name and password and such username and password are for your personal use only. You agree not to transfer or resell your use of or access to any Service to any third party. If you have reason to believe that your account with us is no longer secure, you must promptly change your password and immediately notify us of the problem by sending us an e-mail or calling us using the contact information available here. You are entirely responsible for any and all activities that are conducted through your account (including Purchases (as defined below), as applicable) whether or not authorized by you.
PROHIBITED USES
Reproduce, upload, post, transmit, display, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works of, sell, resell, rent, lease, loan, timeshare, distribute, redistribute or otherwise use or exploit any materials or design elements of any Service, or use or access any Service, except as expressly authorized herein, without our prior written consent, provided that, if you have purchased a device manufactured by us for your personal, noncommercial use, these Terms do not prohibit you from selling or otherwise disposing of that device;
Use or access any Service, including any Content or Software, for any commercial purpose;
Reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any Software or otherwise attempt to determine the source code or trade secrets of any Software;
Violate or attempt to violate the security of any Service;
Restrict or inhibit any other person from using any Service, including, without limitation, by means of “hacking” or defacing any portion of any Service;
Use any Service, including any Content or Software, for any tortious or fraudulent purpose or in any way that violates any applicable law or regulation;
Impersonate any person or entity, including without limitation any representative of Company; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity in connection with any Service; or express or imply that any statements you make or any goods or services that you provide or that anyone else provides are endorsed by us, without our prior written consent;
Transmit, post or otherwise make available through or in connection with any Service (a) any content or information that is unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, harassing, degrading, hateful, intimidating, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, indecent, pornographic or otherwise objectionable, or otherwise fails to respect the rights and dignity of others; (b) any material, non-public information about companies without the authorization to do so; (c) any information or material protected by trade secret, copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other intellectual property or proprietary right of any third party, without the express prior written consent of the applicable owner; (d) any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability; that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; or that encourages or provides instructional information about illegal activities or activities such as “hacking,” “cracking,” or “phreaking”; or (e) any advertisements, solicitations, junk mail, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or other unsolicited commercial communication (except as otherwise expressly permitted by us);
Engage in spamming or flooding;
Transmit, post or otherwise make available through or in connection with any Service any software or other materials that contain any viruses, worms, Trojan horses, Easter eggs, defects, date bombs, time bombs, spyware or other computer code, file, program or item of a destructive nature that is or is potentially harmful or invasive or intended to damage, impair or hijack the operation of, or to monitor the use of, any hardware, software or equipment (each, a “Virus”);
Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or relating to any Service, including with respect to any Content or Software;
“Frame” or “mirror” any part of any Website, or otherwise incorporate any portion of such Website into any product or service, without our prior written authorization;
Use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval application or other manual or automatic device or process to retrieve, index, scrape, “data mine” or otherwise gather Service-related content or information or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of any Service or its contents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and subject to compliance with any instructions posted in the robots.txt file located in any Website’s root directory, Company grants to the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy materials from Websites for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials. Company reserves the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases, at any time and without notice.
Use any Service to advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services without our express prior written consent;
Create a database by systematically downloading and storing Content;
Use any Service to defame abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights of others, including without limitation others’ privacy rights or rights of publicity, or to harvest or collect information about others without their express consent;
Otherwise disrupt or interfere with the operation of any Service or the servers or networks used to make such Service available; or violate any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of such networks; or
Otherwise use any Services for anything other than its reasonably intended purpose.
Your use of the Services is conditioned on your compliance with the rules of conduct set forth in this section; your failure to comply with such rules may result in termination or suspension of your access to or use of the Services.
FORUMS; SUBMISSIONS; AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
For purposes of clarity, you retain ownership of your Submissions. For each Submission, your hereby grant to us and our designees a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable, sublicensable (through multiple tiers), assignable, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to create derivative works based upon or improvements of such Submissions and to reproduce, display and perform (publicly or otherwise), distribute, transmit, make, have made, sell, offer for sale, import and otherwise use, analyze, commercialize and exploit such Submission, derivative work or improvement in any way for any purpose, or incorporate such Submission, derivative work or improvement into any format or media now known or later developed, for any purpose whatsoever, including for commercial or promotional purposes, without additional compensation to you or any third party. For all such Submissions, you represent and warrant that you have all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, power, and/or authority necessary for you to grant the licenses granted in this section, and that such Submissions, and your provision thereof through or in connection with any Service, are complete and accurate, and are not fraudulent, tortious or otherwise in violation of any applicable laws, rules, regulations or rights of any third party. You further irrevocably waive any “moral rights” or other rights with respect to attribution of authorship or integrity of materials regarding all Submissions that you may have under any applicable law under any legal theory.
Company cannot prevent other persons who access any Service from using Submissions and personal information they find here, even if their use of that information violates the law, or your personal privacy or safety. None of the Submissions will be subject to any obligation, whether of confidentiality, attribution or otherwise, on our part and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Submissions.
When participating in a Forum, you should not assume that people are who they say they are, know what they say they know or are affiliated with whom they say they are affiliated with. Information obtained in a Forum may not be reliable, and it is not a good idea to trade or make any investment decision based solely or largely on information you cannot confirm. We cannot be responsible for the content or accuracy of any information and shall not be responsible for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.
We may and expressly reserve the right, but have no obligation, to monitor, scan, intercept, review, analyze, store, alter or remove any Submissions or any other messages, information, content or other materials sent to you, or received by you, in connection with any Service or the Forums or its or their features or functionalities, at any time, including while it is in transit, and before and after it is stored or made available through any Service, and to monitor, review or analyze your access to or use of any such Submissions or other messages, information, content or other materials, in each case by manual, automated or other means, and in each case for any purpose, including such purposes as may be described in the Privacy Policy. You acknowledge and agree that we have the right to disclose such information, the circumstances surrounding its transmission, and the identity of the poster to any third party for any reason or purpose.
A testimonial board post or other Submission is not an effective way to tell us you need help with an order or Service feature. If you’d like to tell us about a specific problem, please send an e-mail or call us using the contact information available here. Company disclaims liability for any failure on its part to provide help with a specific problem disclosed on any Forum.
RULES FOR SWEEPSTAKES, CONTESTS AND GAMES
MAKING PURCHASES
The inclusion of a description of, or of an offer to sell or otherwise provide, any Products on any Website or otherwise in connection with any Service at any particular time does not imply or warrant that those Products will be available at any time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we may, for marketing research or other purposes, present offers on the Websites or otherwise for Products that are not then available and that may not ever be made available by us for purchase.
We make reasonable efforts to accurately display the attributes of Products, including the applicable colors; however, the actual color you see will depend on your computer system, and we cannot guarantee that your computer will accurately display such colors. Weights, measures and descriptions are approximate and for convenience only. It is your responsibility to ascertain and obey all applicable local, state, federal and international laws (including minimum age requirements) in regard to the possession, use and sale of any item purchased from a Service. By placing an order, you represent that the Products ordered will be used only in a lawful manner. Company reserves the right, with or without prior notice, to limit the available quantity of or discontinue any Product; to honor, or impose conditions on the honoring of, any coupon, coupon code, promotional code, discount or other similar promotions; to bar any user from making any or all Purchase(s); and/or to refuse to provide any user with any Product. Refunds and exchanges will be subject to Company’s applicable refund and exchange policies then in effect. When an order is placed, it will be shipped to an address designated by the purchaser as long as that shipping address is complete and compliant with any applicable shipping restrictions and located in a jurisdiction where Company, in its sole discretion, permits shipment of the ordered Product(s).
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW (BUT WITHOUT LIMITING THE EXPRESS LIMITED WARRANTIES, IF ANY, APPLICABLE TO ANY PURCHASED PRODUCT), THE SERVICES (INCLUDING ANY CONTENT, SOFTWARE OR FORUMS) AND ANY PRODUCTS AND THIRD PARTY MATERIALS (AS DEFINED BELOW) ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON AN “AS IS,” “WHERE IS,” AND “WHERE AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR WARRANTIES THAT MAY RISE FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING ALL TELEPHONE, MODEMS, ROUTERS, COMPUTER HARDWARE AND OTHER EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO ACCESS AND USE THE SERVICES, AND ALL CHARGES RELATED THERETO. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND YOUR RELIANCE THEREON. ALL DISCLAIMERS OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING IN THIS SECTION AND ELSEWHERE IN THESE TERMS) ARE MADE FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, OWNERS, SHAREHOLDERS, REPRESENTATIVES, SERVICE PROVIDERS, CONSULTANTS, COUNSEL, REPRESENTATIVES, AND AGENTS, WHETHER IN THE PAST, PRESENT, OR FUTURE, AND THE SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING (COLLECTIVELY, THE “AFFILIATED PARTIES”).
APPLICABLE LAW IN SOME LOCATIONS, SUCH AS THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, DOES NOT ALLOW THE WAIVER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SET FORTH ABOVE, SO THIS PROVISION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM US OR THROUGH ANY SERVICE, WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS OR INFORMATION OF THIRD PARTIES, AND YOU RELEASE US FROM ANY CLAIMS AND DAMAGES, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY CLAIM YOU HAVE AGAINST ANY SUCH THIRD PARTIES. IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU WAIVE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE § 1542, WHICH SAYS:
A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.
Any Service, including any Content, Software or Forums, could include inaccuracies or errors, or information or materials that violate or conflict with these Terms. Additionally, unauthorized alterations could be made by third parties to any Service, including to any Content, Software or Forums. Although we try to maintain the integrity, timeliness, and security of the Services, we make no guarantees that the Services are or will remain updated, complete, correct or secure, or that access to the Services will be uninterrupted. If a situation arises in which any Service’s completeness or correctness is in question, please send an email to the address found at Customer Service, with, if possible, a description of the material to be checked and the location (URL) where such material can be found on the Services, as well as information sufficient to enable us to contact you.
THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS; AND LINKS FROM ANY SERVICES
YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY MATERIALS IS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND IS SUBJECT TO ANY ADDITIONAL TERMS, CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICIES APPLICABLE TO SUCH THIRD PARTY MATERIALS (SUCH AS TERMS OF SERVICE OR PRIVACY POLICIES OF THE PROVIDERS OF SUCH THIRD PARTY MATERIALS).
LINKS TO WEBSITE
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
THIS LIABILITY, IF ANY, SHALL BE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS WILL APPLY EVEN IF THE ABOVE STATED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
ALL LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING IN THIS SECTION AND ELSEWHERE IN THESE TERMS) ARE MADE FOR THE BENEFIT OF BOTH COMPANY AND THE OTHER AFFILIATED ENTITIES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF THE USE OF ANY MULTIPLIER ON OR INCREASE TO DAMAGES, OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY TO THE GREATER OF EITHER $100 OR THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU FOR ANY SERVICES OR PRODUCTS, AND CONSEQUENTLY SOME OR ALL OF THESE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLEASE SEE THE “IMPORTANT NOTE TO NEW JERSEY CONSUMERS” SECTION BELOW. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION DO NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT, AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT, NOT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
GOVERNING LAW; AND ARBITRATION
Governing Law. These Terms, including the agreement to arbitrate below, are governed by, and shall be construed in accordance with, the Federal Arbitration Act, United States Code Title 9, and, to the extent consistent therewith, the laws of the State of New York and the United States of America applicable to contracts entered into and performed in New York by residents thereof.
Scope of the Arbitration Agreement. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH BELOW IN THE "EXCEPTIONS” PROVISION, ALL DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR ANY ASPECT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND COMPANY, INCLUDING ANY DISPUTES THAT ARISE OUT OF OR RELATE TO ANY SERVICE, PRODUCT, CONTENT OR SOFTWARE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, WILL BE RESOLVED THROUGH FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR INSTEAD OF IN A COURT BY A JUDGE OR JURY. COMPANY AND YOU ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY A JURY. “DISPUTE” WILL BE GIVEN THE BROADEST POSSIBLE MEANING ALLOWABLE UNDER LAW. VENDORS, INCLUDING SOFTWARE VENDORS, AND ALL OTHER INDEMNIFIED PARTIES (AS DEFINED BELOW) AND AFFILIATED PARTIES ARE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES OF THIS BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER.
THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE COVERS AND INCLUDES THRESHOLD QUESTIONS OF ARBITRABILITY. THE ARBITRATOR, AND NOT ANY FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL COURT OR AGENCY, SHALL HAVE EXCLUSIVE AUTHORITY TO RESOLVE ANY AND ALL DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE FORMATION, EXISTENCE, SCOPE, VALIDITY, INTERPRETATION, APPLICABILITY, OR ENFORCEABILITY OF THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE, OR ANY PART OF IT, OR OF THESE TERMS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY CLAIM THAT ALL OR ANY PART OF THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE OR THE TERMS OF USE IS VOID OR VOIDABLE. IF ANY PARTY DISAGREES ABOUT WHETHER THE FOREGOING PROVISION (OR ANY PORTION OF THIS AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO ARBITRATION) CAN BE ENFORCED OR WHETHER IT APPLIES TO THE DISPUTE, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE ARBITRATOR WILL DECIDE THAT DISPUTE. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, HOWEVER, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ANY ISSUE CONCERNING THE VALIDITY OF THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER AND BATCH ARBITRATION PROVISIONS BELOW MUST BE DECIDED BY A COURT, AND AN ARBITRATOR DOES NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO CONSIDER THE VALIDITY OF THE CLASS ACTION WAIVER OR BATCH ARBITRATION PROVISIONS. AS SET FORTH IN MORE DETAIL BELOW, YOU AGREE THAT ANY ARBITRATION UNDER THESE TERMS WILL TAKE PLACE ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS; CLASS ARBITRATIONS AND CLASS ACTIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED, AND YOU ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP THE ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR OTHER PROCEEDING WHERE A PERSON BRINGS A CLAIM AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY OTHER PERSON OR PERSONS.
Exceptions. Notwithstanding your and our agreement to arbitrate Disputes, you and we agree that the following Disputes will be resolved in court, unless both you and we agree to submit the Dispute to arbitration pursuant to the binding arbitration agreement:
(A) Disputes or claims within the jurisdiction of small claims court, as long as it is brought and maintained as an individual dispute and not as a class, representative, or consolidated action or proceeding;
(B) Disputes or claims where the sole form of relief is injunctive or other equitable relief to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights;
(C) Disputes or claims in any court having jurisdiction to confirm or enforce an arbitral award; or
(D) Disputes or claims where the sole form of relief is injunctive relief, including seeking public injunctive relief in an individual capacity to the extent otherwise permitted by law.
Any litigation in court of the foregoing types of Disputes (except for small claims court actions) may be commenced only in a federal or state court located in Orange County, California, and you and Company each consent to the jurisdiction of those courts for such purposes. Regardless of whether the foregoing types of Disputes in this paragraph are resolved by a court or pursuant to arbitration, you and Company agree that the Dispute is subject to the class action waiver provision set forth below.
You and Company also agree that for Disputes or claims where both injunctive relief (including public injunctive relief) and non-injunctive relief are sought, you and Company will first submit the Dispute or claim for non-injunctive relief to arbitration pursuant to this Governing Law; and Arbitration section. The arbitrator will not be permitted to grant injunctive relief (unless the parties mutually agree otherwise). Once the arbitration of the Dispute or claim for non-injunctive relief has concluded, you and/or Company may seek the injunctive relief (including the public injunctive relief) in court to the extent permitted by law.
Informal Dispute Resolution. We want to address your concerns without the need for a formal legal dispute. Before filing a claim against us, you agree to try to resolve any actual or potential dispute informally by contacting us at Masco Corporation, ATTN: General Counsel, 17450 College Parkway, Livonia, Michigan 48152 to notify us of the actual or potential dispute. Similarly, we will undertake reasonable efforts to contact you to notify you of any actual or potential dispute to resolve any claim we may possess informally before taking any formal action. The party that provides the notice of the actual or potential dispute (the “Notifying Party”) will include in that notice (a “Notice of Dispute”) your name (to the extent known), the Notifying Party’s contact information for any communications relating to such dispute (including for the Notifying Party’s legal counsel if it is represented by counsel in connection with such dispute), and sufficient details regarding such dispute to enable the other party (the “Notified Party”) to understand the basis of and evaluate the concerns raised. If the Notified Party responds within ten (10) business days after receiving the Notice of Dispute that it is ready and willing to engage in good faith discussions in an effort to resolve the dispute informally, then each party shall promptly participate in such discussions in good faith.
If, notwithstanding the Notifying Party’s compliance with all of its obligations under the preceding paragraph, a dispute is not resolved within thirty (30) days after the Notice of Dispute is sent (or if the Notified Party fails to respond to the Notice of Dispute within ten (10) business days), the Notifying Party may initiate an arbitration proceeding as described below. If either party purports to initiate arbitration without first providing a Notice of Dispute and otherwise complying with all of its obligations under the preceding paragraph, then, notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms, the arbitrator will promptly dismiss the claim with prejudice and will award the other party all of its costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with such dispute.
How Arbitration Works. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, as amended by these Terms. The Consumer Arbitration Rules are available here, or you may check the AAA’s website (www.adr.org) to search for the latest Terms. The arbitrator will conduct hearings, if any, by teleconference or videoconference, rather than by personal appearances, unless the arbitrator determines upon request by you or by us that an in-person hearing is appropriate. Any in-person appearances will be held at a location which is reasonably convenient to both parties with due consideration of their ability to travel and other pertinent circumstances. If the parties are unable to agree on a location, such determination should be made by the AAA or by the arbitrator. The arbitrator’s decision will follow the terms of these Terms and will be final and binding. The award rendered by the arbitrator may be confirmed and enforced in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in these Terms will preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state or local agencies, and if the law allows, they can seek relief against us for you.
Payment of all filing, administration, and arbitrator costs and expenses shall be in accordance with the AAA Rules, or in accordance with countervailing law if contrary to the AAA Rules, except that if you demonstrate that any such costs and expenses owed by you under those rules would be prohibitively more expensive than a court proceeding, Company will pay the amount of any such costs and expenses that the arbitrator determines are necessary to prevent the arbitration from being prohibitively more expensive than a court proceeding (subject to possible reimbursement as set forth below). Each party, however, is responsible for his, her, their, or its own attorneys’ fees and expenses, and Company will not pay your attorneys’ fees or expenses except to the extent ordered to do so by the arbitrator. If you prevail in arbitration, however, you will be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent allowed for under applicable law and ordered by the arbitrator. If the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), you agree to reimburse Company for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by the Company that you otherwise would have been obligated to pay under the AAA Rules. In determining whether an action is frivolous, the arbitrator may consider whether Company has offered you a full refund of the sum you paid for items you purchased from Company or has otherwise offered full relief to you in relation to your individual claim. If the arbitrator, upon final disposition of the case, finds your dispute was not frivolous, Company will reimburse any filing fees that you paid and were not otherwise reimbursed. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court that has jurisdiction.
Class Action Waiver. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AND WE EACH AGREE THAT ANY PROCEEDING TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE, CLAIM, OR CONTROVERSY WILL BE BROUGHT AND CONDUCTED ONLY IN THE RESPECTIVE PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS PART OF ANY CLASS OR PURPORTED CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, MULTIPLE-PLAINTIFF, PRIVATE ATTOREY GENERAL, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING (“CLASS ACTION”), AND ANY AND ALL SUCH RIGHTS ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY WAIVED. Without limiting the foregoing, any challenge to the validity of this paragraph shall be determined exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction. For the avoidance of doubt, however, you can seek public injunctive relief to the extent authorized by law and consistent with the Exceptions clause above.
IF THIS CLASS ACTION WAIVER IS LIMITED, VOIDED, OR FOUND UNENFORCEABLE, THEN, UNLESS THE PARTIES MUTUALLY AGREE OTHERWISE, THE PARTIES’ AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE SHALL BE NULL AND VOID WITH RESPECT TO SUCH PROCEEDING SO LONG AS THE PROCEEDING IS PERMITTED TO PROCEED AS A CLASS ACTION. If a court decides that the limitations of this paragraph are deemed invalid or unenforceable, any putative class, private attorney general, or consolidated or representative action must be brought in a court of proper jurisdiction and not in arbitration.
Batch Arbitration. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the foregoing or in the applicable AAA rules, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the parties agree that, in the event there are twenty-five (25) or more individual arbitration demands filed within a ninety (90) day period relating to the same or similar facts and asserting the same or similar claims for relief, brought by claimants represented by the same counsel or counsel coordinating with one another, the following rules shall apply:
- AAA shall administer the arbitration demands in batches of 25 demands per batch (or as close as possible to 25, where there are fewer than 25 demands to fill a batch).
- For each such batch, AAA shall appoint a single arbitrator and resolve the batch as a single consolidated arbitration, with one set of filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees due per batch (with the same fee schedule being applied to the entire batch as would ordinarily apply to a single arbitration)
- Batches may be arbitrated concurrently. Arbitration awards in one batch shall have no precedential effect on subsequently administered batches.
- The parties shall cooperate with one another and with AAA to implement this batch arbitration process in good faith, in the interests of minimizing the costs of arbitration.
Any challenge by a party to the applicability, validity, or enforceability of this Batch Arbitration provision shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. In the event that this Batch Arbitration provision is found to be invalid or unenforceable, or in the event that the AAA declines to implement this Batch Arbitration provision for any reason, the entire arbitration agreement shall be of no force and effect when there are twenty-five (25) or more individual arbitration demands filed within a ninety (90) day period relating to the same or similar facts and asserting the same or similar claims for relief, brought by claimants represented by the same counsel or counsel coordinating with one another. The Class Action Waiver, however, will still apply to the extent permitted by law.
Opt Out Provision. To opt out and not be bound by the arbitration provisions and/or the Class Action Waiver set forth in these Terms, you must send written notice of your decision to opt out to: Masco Corporation, ATTN: General Counsel, 17450 College Parkway, Livonia, Michigan 48152. The notice must be sent to the foregoing address within 30 days of your first agreeing to these Terms. Your written notification must include your name and address, as well as a clear statement that you do not wish to resolve disputes with Company or the other Affiliated Parties through arbitration and/or that you do not agree to the class action waiver. If you do not opt out, you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes on an individual basis in accordance with the provisions of this section. If you opt out of only the arbitration provisions, and not also the Class Action Waiver, the Class Action Waiver still applies. You may not opt out of only the Class Action Waiver, but not the other arbitration provisions. If you opt out of the arbitration and/or the class action waiver, Company also will not be bound by them.
As set forth in the “Changes to the Service or these Terms” section, we will provide notice of any material changes to this binding arbitration agreement and/or Class Action Waiver (which may be satisfied by updating these Terms, unless not otherwise permitted by law), in which case you will have the right to opt out of the arbitration provisions and/or Class Action Waiver within 30 days after such change, consistent with the terms above.
Other Terms. This agreement to arbitrate shall survive the termination or expiration of these Terms. With the exception of the Class Action Waiver and Batch Arbitration provisions (as set forth above), if a court decides that any part of this agreement to arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, then the remaining portions of this agreement to arbitrate shall nevertheless remain valid and in force.
TERMINATION
VIOLATIONS, WAIVERS, AND INDEMNITY
NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA USERS
CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
FILTERING
JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES
INVESTMENT INFORMATION
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in any news release of Company contained on the Website or otherwise on any Service, or communicated orally or in writing, that concern us or our management and that are not historical facts are “Forward-Looking Statements.” Forward-Looking Statements include, without limitation, statements that (a) include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” or words of similar importance or meaning with reference to us or our management; (b) are specifically identified as forward-looking; (c) describe any of our plans, objectives or goals for future operations and products; or (d) concern the characteristics and growth of our markets or customers or our expected liquidity and capital resources. Forward-Looking Statements are only predictions involving important factors and risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in any Forward-Looking Statement. Those important factors and risks include, without limitation, economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Important factors and risks are described in our parent company’s (Masco Corporation’s) current annual report filed with the SEC, and may be detailed from time to time in additional reports and other filings of Masco Corporation filed with the SEC. Copies of the most recent reports and other filings of Masco Corporation can be accessed through the SEC EDGAR system located at www.sec.gov or may be obtained at no charge from the Masco Corporation. Company expressly disclaims any obligation or responsibility to update or revise or supplement any Forward-Looking Statement in any news release or generally to any extent.