Identiqs, Inc. (“Identiqs”) provides the website Identiqs.com or mobile applications that link to or reference these Consumer Terms and Conditions (collectively, including all content and functionality available through Identiqs.com and related domain names and any mobile applications, “Identiqs.com”) to you (“You” or “Your”) subject to these Consumer Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) and subject to Identiqs’s other policies, including our Payment Policy, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, incorporated herein by reference. These Terms require that disputes between us be resolved by binding arbitration rather than by jury trials or class actions and limit Your remedies in the event of a dispute.
You accept these Terms by creating an account (“Account”) or by accessing or using Identiqs.com in any manner, even if You do not create an Account with Identiqs.com. You represent and warrant that You are at least 18 years of age and of legal competence to enter into this agreement. If You are using Identiqs.com on behalf of another person or any entity, such as a corporation or other organization, You also represent and warrant that You are accepting the Terms on that person's or entity's behalf. You also represent and warrant that You (i) are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) You are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
Identiqs may change these Terms at any time, including by adding new provisions or removing existing provisions, except as otherwise provided in these Terms. The most current version of these Terms can be accessed at https://www.identiqs.com/terms-of-use-consumer. By continuing to access or use Identiqs.com after the effective date of the changes to the Terms, You accept the changes. If You don't accept the changes, You must close your Account before the effective date of the changes.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THESE TERMS DO NOT USE IDENTIQS.COM
References to “Identiqs,” “we,” and “us” in Sections 5-6, 12-13, and 19-23 of these Terms include Identiqs's past, present, and future subsidiaries, parent companies, members, and affiliates, as well as Identiqs's and each of these entities' agents, employees, officers, directors, predecessors in interest, successors, and assigns. In addition, in these same Sections, references to "You" include all authorized or unauthorized users or beneficiaries of services provided by Identiqs to You or Your representative or agent.
a) You represent and warrant that all information You provide in connection with the creation of an Account with Identiqs.com is accurate and true. You agree that, if any Account information changes, You will update Your Account to maintain accurate information.
b) In connection with Your creation of an Account, You will create a Login and Password. You agree that You will not distribute Your Login or Password to any other person, and You will not authorize use of Your Account by any other person. You agree that You will not transfer, sub-license, sell, or assign Your rights in Your Account to any other person. If You believe that a third-party has gained access to Your Account, You agree to notify Identiqs by sending an email to legal@identiqs.com. You're responsible for any activity that occurs on or through Your Account. Identiqs does not guarantee the security of your Account.
c) Identiqs reserves the right to terminate Your Account at any time for any reason, with or without notice. If Your Account is terminated Identiqs has no obligation to retain any data associated with Your Account.
d) Any unauthorized use of Your Account by any third-party is subject to these Terms as though You were using the Account.
e) To cancel Your Account at any time for any reason, You may do so through the Account page at https://www.identiqs.com/users/edit.
a) Identiqs grants You a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited and revocable license to use Identiqs.com subject to the Terms. You may use Identiqs.com and information acquired from Identiqs.com for personal use only, provided that such personal use is not to determine consumer eligibility for any purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (as further described herein) and is all times for lawful purposes. You may not use Identiqs.com in a manner that exceeds the rights granted for Your use. Certain content provided on Identiqs.com may be sourced from other third party sites and if noted, is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareALike License or, in the case of content provided by haveibeenpwned.com, the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License. Your use of any such content must also comply with those license terms.
b) Other than connecting to Identiqs.com by http request using a web browser, You may not attempt to access Identiqs’s servers or Identiqs.com by any means. In particular, You are prohibited from scraping, crawling, data-mining, or using any robot, spider, or other automatic device to send queries to the Identiqs’s servers or Identiqs.com. You may not use Identiqs.com to compile data or images for use by any commercial entity.
c) You agree not to disrupt, modify or interfere with Identiqs.com, or its associated software, hardware, and servers in any way. You agree not to impede or interfere with others’ use of Identiqs.com. You further agree not to alter or tamper with any information or materials on or associated with Identiqs.com.
d) You may not use Identiqs.com or any information acquired from Identiqs.com:
i) to engage in activities that would violate applicable local, state, national or international law, or any regulations having the force of law, including the laws, regulations, and ordinances of any jurisdiction from which You access Identiqs.com;
ii) to make any phone call or send any email or text message that does not comply with CAN-SPAM, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or any other applicable federal or state law. You acknowledge that You are solely responsible for ensuring that telephone calls made or email or text messages sent using information obtained from Identiqs.com are in compliance with CAN-SPAM, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or all other applicable federal or state laws. Identiqs does not scrub any phone numbers displayed on Identiqs.com through the National Do Not Call Registry or any other do-not-call registries;
iii) to evaluate a consumer’s eligibility for credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, to evaluate a person’s eligibility for employment or volunteering purposes, to evaluate a person’s eligibility for a government license or benefit, to evaluate a person for renting a dwelling property, or for any other purpose specified in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681b) (the “FCRA”), Federal Trade Commission or court interpretations of the FCRA, or similar state statutes.;
iv) in any manner that may violate any local, state, federal, or international privacy law to which You may be subject on the basis of Your location or the location of the person searched. You agree not to search for, or submit to Identiqs, information relating to persons that reside outside of the United States.
a) Identiqs may assign this agreement or parts of it at any time without notice to You. Upon assignment by Identiqs, You agree that Identiqs will have no liability or obligation to You, and your recourse will solely be against the assignee. You may not assign this agreement or any rights or legal claims arising from it to anyone else, and any attempt to assign shall be void.
a) Identiqs aggregates publicly available information from phone books, social networks, marketing surveys, real estate listings, business websites, and other public sources (“Public Information”). This Public Information may be made available to users through the Identiqs.com people search.
b) Identiqs does not verify this Public Information. Identiqs does not evaluate each piece of information provided and makes no guarantees to Identiqs users about the accuracy, legitimacy, or legality of any information or how recently any information was collected or updated. As a user of Identiqs.com, You agree that there are no warranties or guarantees whatsoever regarding the information provided. Further, You agree to rely on the information available through Identiqs.com at Your own risk. The Public Information may include photos obtained from social network profiles. Identiqs takes no responsibility for these photos.
c) Court records are provided for informational purposes only. While we endeavor to provide You with the most up to date and comprehensive information, certain inaccuracies may still exist and certain records may be omitted. Identiqs shall not be liable for any errors or omissions on this site. Anyone who uses any information provided by Identiqs to commit a crime or to harass an individual or his or her family may be subject to criminal prosecution and civil liability. MANY GOVERNMENT RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE FREE OR AT A NOMINAL COST FROM GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO GIVE YOU A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT RECORD UPON REQUEST, AT NO CHARGE OR FOR A NOMINAL FEE.
d) Identiqs does not allow individuals to opt-out (i.e. suppress display) of court records which pertain to them, unless an Order of Expunction or Sealing is provided. You may email a copy of any such Order to expungement@identiqs.com. Identiqs will only suppress or delete only those records specifically noted in the Order. A conviction may be expunged, but unless the Order also specifies expungement of the associated arrest record, it will remain on our systems.
Identiqs maintains a Privacy Policy describing its collection, retention, and use of information about users of Identiqs.com. This policy can be accessed at https://www.identiqs.com/privacy, and is incorporated herein by reference.
Identiqs maintains a Payment Policy regarding all payments made to Identiqs in connection with premium subscriptions. This policy can be accessed at https://www.identiqs.com/payment, and is incorporated herein by reference.
Once You create an Account on our site or become a subscriber, You may, from time to time, receive e-mail communications from us about Your account or features of our service. You may elect to opt-out of these communications at any time by following the instructions and link provided within the e-mail communication.
You may find links to other Internet sites or resources on Identiqs.com that offer content, goods, or services. You acknowledge and agree that Identiqs has no responsibility or liability (directly or indirectly) for: the availability of such external sites or resources; any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources; any damage, loss, claim, or complaint (actual or alleged) caused by, arising from, or in connection with Your use of or reliance on any such content, goods, or services available on or through any such site or resource.
a) Identiqs utilizes mapping functionality provided by Google Maps, which are subject to additional terms found at https://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps.html
b) Identiqs may provide certain content sourced from third party websites, including Wikipedia.com. The Original Authors of such content may be found on the Source site. Your use of this content may be subject to additional terms, including, but not limited to, the Creative Commons Attribution ShareALike License.
a) Identiqs is the exclusive owner of trademark rights in the IDENTIQS mark, copyright in the software used through Identiqs.com, and except as otherwise noted herein, copyright in the Identiqs.com screen displays, and all other rights in the Identiqs.com website and technology under U.S. and international intellectual property laws.
b) Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication, or otherwise.
c) Except as expressly authorized by Identiqs, You agree not to use Identiqs’s trademark or any mark confusingly similar to the IDENTIQS mark. You agree not to reproduce, distribute, display or create derivative works of any part of Identiqs.com or any information presented to You through Identiqs.com, in whole or in part. This prohibition includes unauthorized copying or distribution of any of the content displayed or used on Identiqs.com, framing content from Identiqs.com, or creating any unauthorized derivative work.
d) Identiqs uses third-party trademarks on Identiqs.com to identify the owners of those marks. Use of any third-party trademark is meant only to identify the trademark owner and its goods and services, and is not intended to imply any association or sponsorship between the trademark owner and Identiqs.com.
e) Identiqs may provide certain content sourced from third party websites, including Wikipedia.com. The Original Authors of such content may be found on the Source site. Identiqs does not assert any copyright in these materials.
a) From time to time users submit ideas to Identiqs for improving Identiqs.com either by email or in the course of a customer care interaction. Identiqs has no obligation to treat this material as confidential information. To the extent that You wish to have Your idea remain confidential, to retain rights in Your idea, or wish to be compensated for submission of Your idea, please do not submit it to Identiqs.
b) Portions of the content on Identiqs.com are submitted by You and other users ('User Provided Content'), to which You may contribute appropriate material. User Provided Content includes, but is not limited to, any information You upload to Identiqs.com or any Identiqs.com mobile applications, any posts You make on Identiqs.com or any Identiqs.com mobile applications, and any comments or suggestions You send to us. For User Provided Content, we are merely hosting and providing access as well as providing tools to post and share content, and we cannot accept any liability with regard to such material (including with respect to its accuracy). While we cannot preview or monitor the User Provided Content, Identiqs may delete any content that we believe to be in violation of this Agreement. We reserve the right, but do not have the obligation, to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any User Provided Content that we believe violates this Agreement. We are also sensitive to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of others.
The decision to upload or share User Provided Content is Your responsibility and You should only submit or share User Provided Content that belongs to You (or where You have obtained all necessary permissions or consents) and that will not violate the rights of others. Be aware that copyright and other intellectual property rights will normally belong to the creator of the material in question and You should not reproduce or submit anything without permission of the owner. By submitting User Provided Content, You represent and warrant that You have the right to do so or that You have obtained any necessary third party consents (e.g., under privacy or intellectual property laws). You agree that You will be liable to us and indemnify us for any loss or damage we suffer as a result of Your breach of the foregoing warranties. Upon our request You agree to furnish Identiqs with any documentation, substantiation and releases necessary and reasonably required to verify and substantiate Your compliance with this provision.
By submitting User Provided Content, You grant Identiqs a perpetual, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide, royalty-free, license to host, store, copy, publish, distribute, provide access to create derivative works of, and otherwise use User Provided Content submitted by You, to the extent and in the form or context we deem appropriate on or through any media or medium and with any technology or devices now known or hereafter developed or discovered. You hereby release Identiqs from any and all claims, liens, demands, actions or suits in connection with the User Provided Content You submit, including, without limitation, any and all liability for any use or nonuse of Your User Provided Content, claims for defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, emotional distress or economic loss. This license continues even if You stop using Identiqs.com. Identiqs may scan, image and/or create an index from the User Provided Content You submit. In this situation, You grant Identiqs a license to the User Provided Content as described above and Identiqs will own the digital version of documents created by Identiqs as well as any indexed information that Identiqs creates. Except for the rights granted in this Agreement, Identiqs acquires no title or ownership rights in or to any User Provided Content You submit and nothing in this Agreement conveys any ownership rights in such User Provided Content. The licenses granted continue for the maximum time permitted by applicable law, even if You stop using Identiqs.com.
You acknowledge and agree that Identiqs may preserve any User Provided Content and may disclose any User Provided Content (including its origin) if Identiqs believes that it is required to do so by law or that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process or governmental requests; (b) enforce the Agreement; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or safety of Identiqs.com, other users, or the public.
a) If You believe that Your copyright has been infringed in any way by Identiqs.com, promptly provide in writing the following information to dmca@identiqs.com:
i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at a single on-line site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
iv) Information reasonably sufficient to permit Identiqs to contact You, such as an address, telephone number and e-mail address;
v) A statement that You have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law;
vi) A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that You are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
b) The Designated Agent for Identiqs.com is:
Attn: DMCA Manager
Identiqs, Inc.
30 N Gould St
Suite R
Sheridan, WY 82801 USA
c) If You believe that Your other intellectual property rights have been infringed in any way by Identiqs.com, please provide a detailed description of the alleged infringement for further investigation via e-mail to legal@identiqs.com. Identiqs’s receiving, investigating, or responding to Your e-mail shall not constitute Identiqs’s agreement or verification of Your claim(s) nor any admission of liability therefor. Identiqs makes no commitment, covenant, promise, warranty, representation, or guarantee that it will receive, review, investigate, or respond to Your claim within any particular time.
a) Any notices to be given to Identiqs under these Terms shall be made in writing to legal@identiqs.com or to the following address:
Identiqs, Inc.
30 N Gould St
Suite R
Sheridan, WY 82801 USA
b) You agree that Identiqs can send You electronic notices to the e-mail address that You provided to Identiqs in creating Your Account or by displaying the notice on Identiqs.com. You agree that all notices, agreements, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to You electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
a) YOU USE IDENTIQS.COM AT YOUR SOLE RISK (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM, LOSS OF DATA, DAMAGE RESULTING FROM RELIANCE ON INFORMATION FROM IDENTIQS.COM, OR OTHER DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM OBTAINING ANY CONTENT FROM THE WEBSITE INCLUDING COMPUTER VIRUSES) EVEN IF IDENTIQS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR IS AWARE OF THE RISK OF SUCH DAMAGE. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IDENTIQS PROVIDES IDENTIQS.COM, THE SERVICES, THE INFORMATION AND THE CONTENT “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE,” AND “WITH ALL FAULTS,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND IDENTIQS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT.
b) NO INFORMATION OR ADVICE PROVIDED ON IDENTIQS.COM, BY IDENTIQS, OR BY IDENTIQS’S EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.
c) IDENTIQS MAKES NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION, COVENANT, OR GUARANTEE WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED:
i) AS TO THE VALUE, QUALITY, TIMELINESS, USEFULNESS, RELIABILITY, SECURITY, SUITABILITY, TRUTHFULNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF IDENTIQS.COM, THE SERVICES, YOUR ACCOUNT, THE INFORMATION, OR THE CONTENT;
ii) THAT IDENTIQS.COM WILL OPERATE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE;
iii) THAT IDENTIQS.COM, THE SERVICES, THE INFORMATION, OR THE CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS;
iv) AS TO THE QUALITY OR VALUE OF ANY OF IDENTIQS’S PRODUCTS, SERVICES, CONTENT, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL YOU PURCHASE OR OBTAIN VIA THE WEBSITE; OR
v) THAT ANY ERRORS ON IDENTIQS.COM WILL BE CORRECTED.
a) To the extent permitted by law, Identiqs shall have no liability to You for:
i) consequential, incidental, exemplary, special, or punitive damages even if advised of the possibility of such;
ii) loss of business, profits, business information, data, or business interruption, or any other pecuniary loss (even if Identiqs has been told of the possibility of those damages);
iii) for damages of any kind resulting in any way from unauthorized access to your Account (even if the unauthorized access was the result of our negligence); or
iv) for direct damages, actually proven, exceeding the greater of (1) $1,000.00 USD or (2) the total amount You paid Identiqs during the preceding 24-month period. This limitation shall be enforced even if it causes an exclusive remedy to fail of its essential purpose.
b) To the extent permitted by law, You must commence any legal action (including an arbitration or lawsuit) within two years of the date of the event or facts giving rise to the dispute or You waive the right to pursue that claim. (This contractual limitations period is tolled by the submission of a valid Notice of Dispute under Section 23.)
c) Identiqs reserves the right, at any time, in Identiqs’s sole and exclusive discretion, to amend, modify, suspend, or terminate Identiqs.com, any services, information or content, or any part thereof, and/or Your use of or access to them, with or without notice. Identiqs shall have no liability to You or any other person or entity for any modification, suspension, or termination, or any loss of related information.
a) You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Identiqs, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers, harmless from and against any claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements including without limitation, reasonable legal and related fees and expenses, resulting from, or alleged to result from, Your violation of these Terms or Your use of Identiqs.com.
b) Identiqs reserves the right to assume exclusive control of its defense in any matter subject to Your indemnification, which shall not excuse Your obligation to indemnify Identiqs. You shall not settle any dispute subject to Your indemnification under these Terms without written consent from Identiqs.
a) If You are a citizen or resident of the United States, the law of the state of Your residence governs this contract and any claim or dispute that You may have against us, without regard to that state’s conflict of laws rules, to the extent that such law is not preempted by federal law. If You are a citizen or resident of another country, the law of the State of Wyoming shall apply.
b) The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall have no applicability.
Please read this carefully. It affects Your rights.
a) Disputes Subject to Arbitration. Identiqs and You agree to arbitrate all disputes and claims between You and us, including, but not limited to:
• claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between You and us, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory;
• claims that arose before this or any prior agreement between us (including, but not limited to, claims relating to advertising or disclosures); and
• claims that may arise after the termination of this agreement.
Despite this arbitration provision, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court, provided that it seeks relief that does not affect other customers and the action is not removed or appealed de novo to a court of general jurisdiction.
Only a court can decide the following:
• issues relating to the scope and enforceability of this arbitration provision,
• whether a dispute can or must be brought in arbitration,
• whether the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) cannot or will not administer the arbitration in accordance with this arbitration provision,
• whether Section 23(b) has been complied with or violated for purposes of awarding relief under that Section that a court can award, and
• whether Sections 23(e), (f), or (g) have been complied with or violated.
These Terms evidence a transaction in interstate commerce, and thus the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of the agreement between us. By agreeing to arbitrate, You and Identiqs both agree to waive the right to sue in court, to trial by jury, and to bring or participate in class actions.
(b) Starting the Dispute-Resolution Process. A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send to the other, by U.S. mail or professional courier service, a written Notice of Dispute (“Notice”). The Notice to Identiqs should be addressed to: General Counsel, Identiqs, Inc., 556 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Suite # 101-179, Pasadena, CA USA 91105 (“Notice Address”). The Notice to You will be sent by email to the address You provided with Your Account, if any, or by other reasonable means. The Notice must (i) state the claimant's name, mailing address, email address, phone number, and Account name (if any); (ii) describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (iii) set forth the specific relief sought (“Demand”). The Notice must be personally signed by You (if You are the claimant) or by a Identiqs representative (if we are the claimant). To safeguard your Account and protect Your privacy, you might be required to provide both your authentication and consent for us to discuss your Account or share your Account or other private information with anyone but you, including an attorney (“Authentication and Consent”).
Whoever sends the Notice must give the other party 60 days after receipt of a complete Notice (including Your Authentication and Consent, if required) to investigate the claim. During that period, either You or Identiqs may request an individualized discussion (by phone call or videoconference) regarding settlement (“Informal Settlement Conference”). You and Identiqs must work together in good faith to select a mutually agreeable time for the Informal Settlement Conference (which can be after the 60-day period). You and a Identiqs representative must personally participate, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Your and Identiqs's lawyers (if any) also can participate.
Any applicable statute of limitations or contractual limitations period will be tolled for the claims and requested relief in the Notice during the “Informal Resolution Period.” The Informal Resolution Period is the number of days between the date that the complete Notice (and Authentication and Consent, if required) is received by the other party and the later of (i) 60 days later or (ii) the date the Informal Settlement Conference is completed, if timely requested.
Any arbitration proceeding cannot be commenced until after the Informal Resolution Period has ended. (Section 23(f) has additional requirements for commencing certain coordinated arbitrations.) All of the pre-arbitration dispute resolution requirements are essential so that You and Identiqs have a meaningful chance to resolve disputes informally. If any aspect of these requirements has not been met, a court can enjoin the filing or prosecution of an arbitration. In addition, unless prohibited by law, the AAA may not accept or administer such an arbitration nor assess or demand fees in connection with one. If the arbitration already is pending, it must be dismissed.
(c) Arbitration Procedures. The arbitrator shall be bound by the terms of this arbitration provision. The arbitration will be governed by the Consumer Arbitration Rules (“AAA Rules”) of the AAA, as modified by this arbitration provision. The AAA Rules are available online at www.adr.org, or by writing to the Notice Address. The AAA shall administer the arbitration. If the AAA is unavailable or unwilling to administer the arbitration in accordance with this arbitration provision, the arbitration will be administered by another arbitration provider that the parties agree to or that the court selects.
As in court, You and Identiqs agree that any counsel representing someone in arbitration certifies that they're complying with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b), including a certification that the claim or the relief sought is neither frivolous nor brought for an improper purpose. The arbitrator is authorized to impose any sanctions available under the AAA Rules, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, or applicable federal or state law against all appropriate represented parties and counsel.
Unless Identiqs and You agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) of Your residence at the time of the filing of the Demand. If You bring a claim for $10,000 or less, we agree that You may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a telephonic hearing, or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. If Your claim exceeds $10,000, the right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules.
Arbitrators may consider rulings in prior arbitrations involving different Identiqs users, but an arbitrator's ruling will not be binding in proceedings involving different Identiqs users.
Unless the parties agree otherwise, You and we must bring all directly related claims in a single arbitration proceeding. If You or we later initiate a subsequent arbitration asserting claims that are directly related to ones that were raised in a prior arbitration between the same parties, the AAA or the arbitrator shall either (i) consolidate the subsequent arbitration with the earlier proceeding if it is ongoing or (ii) dismiss any claims raised in the subsequent arbitration that would be barred by applicable law if brought in court.
Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator shall issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based. Except as provided in Section 23(e), the arbitrator can award the same damages and relief that a court can award under applicable law. Although under some laws Identiqs may have a right to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in an arbitration, Identiqs agrees that it will not seek such an award unless You are represented by an attorney and the arbitrator has determined that Your claim is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).
(d) Costs of Arbitration. Identiqs will pay all AAA filing, administration, case-management, hearing, and arbitrator fees (“AAA Fees”) for any arbitration we initiate. Identiqs will also pay some or all of the AAA Fees for an arbitration that You initiate, so long as you have fully complied with the requirements of Section 23(b). First, if Your claims are valued at $1,000 or less (both to You and us), Identiqs will pay all AAA Fees. Second, if Your claims are valued at greater than $1,000 but less than $10,000, Identiqs will pay all AAA Fees in excess of $20. In such cases, Identiqs will pay its share of your filing fee directly to the AAA upon receiving a written request from You at the Notice Address or, if the AAA requires You to pay the filing fee to commence arbitration, Identiqs will send that amount to the AAA and request that the AAA reimburse you.
If, however, the arbitrator finds that either the substance of Your claim or the relief sought is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), then the payment of all AAA Fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and You agree to reimburse us for any amounts we have paid on Your behalf to the AAA.
(e) Requirement of Individual Arbitration. YOU AND IDENTIQS AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF, CLASS MEMBER, OR PARTICIPANT IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL PROCEEDING. Further, unless both You and Identiqs agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a class, representative, or private attorney general proceeding. The arbitrator may award any relief that a court could award, so long as the relief is individualized to the claimant and would not affect other Identiqs users. Neither You nor we may seek non-individualized relief that would affect other Identiqs users. If (after exhaustion of all appeals) a court decides that any of this Section's limitations are unenforceable as to some aspect of the case, then all other aspects of the case must be arbitrated first. After completing arbitration, the remaining (non-arbitrable) aspects of the case will then be decided by a court.
(f) Administration of Coordinated Arbitrations. If 25 or more claimants submit Notices or seek to file arbitrations raising similar claims and are represented by the same or coordinated counsel (whether such case are pursued simultaneously or not), all the cases must be resolved in staged proceedings. You agree to this process even though it may delay the arbitration of Your claim. In the first stage, claimants’ counsel and Identiqs will each select up to 25 cases each (50 cases total) to be filed in arbitration and resolved individually by different arbitrators. If feasible, the arbitrators will be from the respective claimants’ home states. In the meantime, no other cases may be filed or proceed in arbitration, and the AAA must not assess or demand payment of fees for the remaining cases or administer or accept them.
The arbitrators are encouraged to resolve the cases within 120 days of appointment or as swiftly as possible thereafter, consistent with fairness to the parties. After the first stage is completed, the parties must engage in a single mediation of all remaining cases, and Identiqs will pay the mediation fee. If the parties cannot agree how to resolve any of the remaining cases after mediation, they will repeat the process of selecting and filing up to 50 cases to be resolved individual by different arbitrators, followed by mediation.
If any cases remain after the second stage, the process will be repeated until all claims are resolved, with four differences. First, a total of 100 cases may be filed in the third and later stages. Second, the cases will be randomly selected. Third, arbitrators who decided cases in the first two stages may be appointed in later stages if different arbitrators are not available. Fourth, mediation is optional at the election of counsel for the claimants.
Between stages, counsel will meet and confer regarding ways to improve the efficiency of the staged proceedings, including whether to increase the number of cases filed in each stage. Either party may also negotiate with the AA regarding the amount or timing of AAA fees.
If this Section applies to a Notice, the Informal Resolution Period for the claims and relief set forth in that Notice will be extended (including the tolling of any applicable statute of limitations or contractual limitations period for the claims and requested relief) until that Notice is selected for a staged proceeding, withdrawn, or otherwise resolved. A court will have the authority to enforce this Section, including by enjoining the mass filing, the prosecution or administration of arbitrations, or the assessment or collection of AAA fees.
This Section and each of its requirements are intended to be severable from the rest of this arbitration provision. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, a court decides that the staging process in this Section is not enforceable, then the cases may be filed in arbitration and the payment of AAA Fees will be assessed as the arbitrations advance and arbitrators are appointed rather than when arbitrations are initiated fees.
(g) Future Changes to Agreement to Arbitrate. Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms to the contrary, if Identiqs makes any future change to this arbitration provision (other than a change to the Notice Address, website links, or telephone numbers listed in this provision), You may reject any such change by sending us written notice via U.S. mail within 30 days of the first notice of the change to the Notice Address Above. Include Your name, address, phone number, account name, and a statement personally signed by You that You wish to reject the changes to the arbitration provision. By rejecting any future change, You are agreeing that you will arbitrate any dispute between You and Identiqs in accordance with the language of this arbitration provision.
(h) Forum Selection. Unless You and Identiqs agree otherwise, to the greatest extent permitted by law, the state and federal courts in Delaware will have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes (except for disputes brought in small claims court) that are not subject to arbitration or over any action involving the applicability or enforceability of the arbitration provision or any of its parts. You and Identiqs consent to the jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objections as to personal jurisdiction or venue in those courts, or any other basis or right to seek to transfer or change venue to another court.
These Terms and any Identiqs policies posted on Identiqs.com constitute the entire contract between You and Identiqs and supersede all previous written or oral contracts. Except as provided in Section (23)(e), if any part of the Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Any failure by us to enforce any term of the Terms shall not affect our right to require performance at any subsequent time, nor shall the waiver by us of any breach by You of any provisions of these terms be taken to be a waiver of the provision or provisions itself.
Last Updated: October 22, 2024