14.1 Application. You and ActiveJunky.com agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these arbitration provisions. This Section is intended to be interpreted broadly and governs any and all disputes between us including but not limited to claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between us, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory; claims that arose before these Terms or any prior agreement (including, but not limited to, claims related to advertising); and claims that may arise after the termination of these Terms. The only disputes excluded from this broad prohibition are the litigation of certain intellectual property and small court claims, as provided below.
14.2 Initial Dispute Resolution. Most disputes can be resolved without resort to arbitration. If you have any dispute with us, you agree that before taking any formal action, you will contact us at
[email protected], and provide a brief, written description of the dispute and your contact information (including your username, if your dispute relates to an account). Except for intellectual property and small claims court claims, the parties agree to use their best efforts to settle any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement directly through consultation with ActiveJunky.com, and good faith negotiations shall be a condition to either party initiating a lawsuit or arbitration.
14.3 Binding Arbitration. If the parties do not reach an agreed-upon solution within a period of sixty (60) days from the time informal dispute resolution is initiated under the Initial Dispute Resolution provision above, then either party may initiate binding arbitration as the sole means to resolve claims, (except as provided in section 14.7 below) subject to the terms set forth below. Specifically, all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms (including the Terms’ formation, performance, and breach), the parties’ relationship with each other, and/or your use of ActiveJunky.com shall be finally settled by binding arbitration administered by JAMS in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Procedure Rules for claims that do not exceed $250,000 and the JAMS Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures for claims exceeding $250,000 in effect at the time the arbitration is initiated, excluding any rules or procedures governing or permitting class actions.
14.4 Arbitrator’s Powers. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of these Terms including but not limited to any claim that all or any part of these Terms is void or voidable, whether a claim is subject to arbitration, or the question of waiver by litigation conduct. The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity. The arbitrator’s award shall be written and shall be binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.
14.5 Filing a Demand. To start an arbitration, you must do the following: (a) Write a Demand for Arbitration that includes a description of the claim and the amount of damages you seek to recover (you may find a copy of a Demand for Arbitration at www.jamsadr.com); (b) Send three copies of the Demand for Arbitration, plus the appropriate filing fee, to JAMS, Two Embarcadero Center, Suite 1500, San Francisco California 94111; and (c) Send one copy of the Demand for Arbitration to us at ActiveJunky.com, Attn: Legal Department, 150 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, New York 10011.
To the extent the filing fee for the arbitration exceeds the cost of filing a lawsuit, ActiveJunky.com will pay the additional cost. If the arbitrator finds the arbitration to be non-frivolous, ActiveJunky.com will pay the fees invoiced by JAMS, including filing fees and arbitrator and hearing expenses. You are responsible for your own attorneys’ fees unless the arbitration rules and/or applicable law provide otherwise.
The parties understand that, absent this mandatory arbitration provision, they would have the right to sue in court and have a jury trial. They further understand that, in some instances, the costs of arbitration could exceed the costs of litigation and the right to discovery may be more limited in arbitration than in court. Arbitration may take place in the county where you reside at the time of filing, unless you and we both agree to another location or telephonic arbitration.
14.6 Class Action Waiver. The parties further agree that the arbitration shall be conducted in the party’s respective individual capacities only and not as a class action or other representative action, and the parties expressly waive their right to file a class action or seek relief on a class basis. YOU AND ACTIVEJUNKY.COM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. If any court or arbitrator determines that the class action waiver set forth in this paragraph is void or unenforceable for any reason or that an arbitration can proceed on a class basis, then the arbitration provisions set forth above shall be deemed null and void in their entirety and the parties shall be deemed to have not agreed to arbitrate disputes.
14.7 Exception: Litigation of Intellectual Property and Small Claims Court Claims. Notwithstanding the parties’ decision to resolve all disputes through arbitration, either party may bring enforcement actions, validity determinations or claims arising from or relating to theft, piracy or unauthorized use of intellectual property in state or federal court or in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect its intellectual property rights (“intellectual property rights” means patents, copyrights, moral rights, trademarks, and trade secrets, but not privacy or publicity rights). Either party may also seek relief in a small claims court for disputes or claims within the scope of that court’s jurisdiction.
14.8 30-Day Right to Opt Out: You have the right to opt out and not be bound by the arbitration and class action waiver provisions set forth above by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to at
[email protected] with the subject line, “ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER OPT-OUT.” The notice must be sent within thirty days of your first use of the Services. Otherwise you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of these paragraphs. If you opt out of these arbitration provisions, ActiveJunky.com also will not be bound by them.
14.9 Changes to This Section: ActiveJunky.com will provide thirty (30) days’ notice of any changes to this section by posting on the Services. Amendments will become effective thirty (30) days after they are posted on the Services or sent to you by email. Changes to this section will otherwise apply prospectively only to claims arising after the thirtieth (30th) day. If a court or arbitrator decides that this subsection on “Changes to This Section” is not enforceable or valid, then this subsection shall be severed from the section entitled Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver, and the court or arbitrator shall apply the first Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver section in existence after you began using the Services.
14.10 Survival. This Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver section shall survive any termination of your use of ActiveJunky.com.