AAA Portal Terms of Use

Please Read the Following Terms of Use Carefully.

This Portal (including the Online Services and all other pages under such second level domain name, collectively, the "Portal") is provided by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") subject to these terms of use, the [Privacy Policy] and all modifications of either of the foregoing (collectively, the "Terms of Use"). By using this Portal, you ("You") and other users and visitors (together with You, the "Visitors"), including parties to arbitrations and arbitrators, are deemed to have agreed to these Terms of Use. 

Your access to some areas of the Portal ("Online Services") may be subject to certain membership and/or registration requirements in AAA's discretion. The Portal's Online Services includes an Internet-based alternative dispute resolution system through which You may have Your arbitration or mediation proceedings conducted online, as administered by AAA via AAA WebFile® ("WebFile").

 Your use of Web File is subject to AAA's acceptance of Your online registration and Your agreement to these Terms of Use and the applicable AAA rules and dispute resolution procedures (including but not limited to the Supplementary Procedures for On-Line Arbitration, collectively, the "AAA Rules"), which are incorporated herein by reference. You shall pay to AAA all fees owing to AAA for Your use of the Online Services (including without limitation WebFile) in accordance with the AAA Rules. Such fees are nonrefundable.

Internet Access 
You acknowledge and agree that in connection with Your use of the Portal, You must: (a) provide for Your own access to the World Wide Web and pay any service fees associated with such access, and (b) provide all equipment necessary for You to make such access and connection to the World Wide Web, including a computer, software and a means of connecting to or accessing the Internet. AAA shall not be responsible for any malfunctions, errors, crashes or other adverse events that may occur from Your use of the Portal.

Portal Content 
This Portal contains content, including but not limited to that which is protected by trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual property rights owned by AAA and others ("Portal Content"). As between You and AAA, AAA is the sole owner of all rights, title and interest in and to Portal Content. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, Your use of the Portal does not grant to You a license to any Portal Content. You may not download, archive or save a copy of the Portal for any purpose, except You may download, print or make copies of individual screens and documents appearing as part of the Portal solely for Your own internal business purposes, provided that any marks, logos or other legends that appear on such screens and documents remain on, and are not removed from the downloaded, printed or stored screens or documents. Except as expressly permitted in these Terms of Use, You may not modify, copy, publish, translate, display, transmit, distribute, transfer, frame, adapt, create derivative works from or in any way exploit the Portal Content. You may not allow access to or use of the Portal, or any portion thereof, by or for the benefit of any third parties including, without limitation, providing timeshare services, service bureau services, outsourcing or consulting services. Any commercial exploitation of the Portal is strictly prohibited. 

Peer Groups, Visitor Content 
AAA may make available certain public and/or private forums such as bulletin boards, email lists or chat rooms (collectively, "Peer Groups") on the Portal. Use of any Peer Group is subject to these Terms of Use and any other notice or policy applicable to a particular Peer Group or Peer Groups in general. Information, data, text, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages and other content and materials that You may post to the Portal via e-mail, uploading, posting, chat room, bulletin board or otherwise, or that You otherwise supply to AAA shall be referred to herein as "Visitor Content." Visitors should be aware that when they voluntarily disclose personal information (e.g., user name, e-mail address, phone number) on or through Peer Groups, that such information is generally accessible to and may be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited messages from other people. Visitors of the Portal are encouraged to exercise caution when providing personal information about themselves. You agree that AAA takes no responsibility and that You are solely responsible for the origination, accuracy, completeness, ownership, publication and dissemination of, and that You, and not AAA, are entirely responsible for, Your Visitor Content. By submitting or sending Visitor Content to the Portal or AAA You represent and warrant that such Visitor Content is original to You, that no other party has any rights to such Visitor Content and that such Visitor Content does not violate, infringe or misappropriate any third party right or applicable law. 

Subject to any privacy and confidentiality obligations of AAA with respect to Your use of the Online Services (including WebFile), by submitting or sending Visitor Content to AAA or otherwise making Visitor Content available for display on or through the Portal, You grant AAA the royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Visitor Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, in connection with the Portal.

Other than under dispute resolution proceeding(s) and in connection with our e-voting Online Services, AAA does not solicit nor does it wish to receive any confidential, secret or proprietary information, personal data, or other material from You through the Portal, any of its services, by e-mail, or in any other way, and, subject to any applicable privacy and confidentiality obligations of AAA, any information or material submitted or sent to AAA will be deemed not to be confidential or secret. You agree and acknowledge that any ideas, concepts, methods, systems, designs, plans, techniques or other similar materials that You submit or otherwise communicate to the Portal, other than under Your arbitral proceeding(s) or those protected by applicable privacy or confidentiality laws or other requirements, may be used by AAA in any manner. 

AAA does not pre-screen, monitor, review or otherwise edit Visitor Content posted, or otherwise made available, on or through the Portal. However, AAA (or a designee) reserves the right (but assumes no obligation) to, at its sole discretion, refuse, edit or remove any Visitor Content, in whole or part, that, in AAA's sole judgment, does not comply with these Terms of Use, is illegal, or is otherwise undesirable, inappropriate or inaccurate. AAA is not responsible for any failure, non-failure or delay in refusing, editing or removing such Visitor Content. 

Visitor Conduct 
You may not upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transmit any Visitor Content on or through the Portal that: (i) infringes any proprietary or privacy rights of any party or person; (ii) is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, sexually graphic, invasive of another's privacy, or hateful; (iii) victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability; (iv) contains unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "spam," "chain letters," or any other form of solicitation; or (v) contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to or which may interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment or any other similarly destructive activity. 

You further agree that You will not: (i) use the Portal, or any part thereof, to "stalk" or harm any other Visitor or any other person in any way; (ii) impersonate any person or entity, including but not limited to a AAA officer, director, or representative, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent Your identity or affiliation with a person or entity; (iii) forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Visitor Content transmitted on or through the Portal; (iv) disrupt the normal flow of dialogue in a Peer Group; (v) interfere with or disrupt the Portal or servers or networks connected to the Portal, or the use thereof, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Portal; (vi) "hack," infiltrate or otherwise seek to gain unauthorized access to, or compromise the integrity of, the Portal; (vii) harvest, collect or store information about the Visitors of this Portal, the Visitor Content posted by others on this Portal or any other data or information on this Portal, or use such information for any purpose inconsistent with the purpose of this Portal; (viii) breach or attempt to breach the security of software, network, servers, data, computers or other hardware relating to the Portal or that of any third party that is hosting or interfacing with any part of the Portal; (ix) create any frames at any other Web sites containing or incorporating the Portal or any Portal Content; or (x) violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulation. 

You agree to maintain the strict confidentiality of any passwords issued to You for Your use or access to the Portal, the Online Services, Web File, or any portion of either of the foregoing, and You agree not to allow any other entity to use any username(s) or password(s) that are issued to You.

Linked Sites
You may be able to link to third parties' Web sites ("Linked Sites") from the Portal. Linked Sites are not necessarily reviewed, controlled or examined by AAA in any way and AAA is not responsible for the content, availability, advertising, products or other materials of any such Linked Sites, or any additional links contained therein. These links do not imply AAA's endorsement of or association with the Linked Sites.

Privacy Policy 
We encourage You to read our [Privacy Policy], which is incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

Disclaimer of Warranties 
THIS PORTAL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE SERVICES AND WEBFILE, IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITATION OF THE FOREGOING, AAA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: (i) ANY WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, APPROPRIATENESS, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, USEFULNESS, OR OTHERWISE OF THE PORTAL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE SERVICES AND WEB FILE, AND THE CONTENT THEREON; AND (ii) ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE, WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE INFORMATION ON THE PORTAL SHALL IN NO EVENT BE CONSIDERED OR RELIED UPON AS LEGAL ADVICE OR AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SEEKING THE ADVICE AND CONSULT OF A LICENSED ATTORNEY. 

Limitation of Liability 
IN NO EVENT SHALL AAA OR ANY OF ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONSULTANTS, PARENTS, AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS OR CONTENT OR SERVICE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE USE OF, THE INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE ON THE PORTAL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE SERVICES AND WEBFILE, OR THE CONTENT, MATERIALS AND FUNCTIONS RELATED THERETO, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF REVENUE, ANTICIPATED PROFITS, BUSINESS, PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, EVEN IF AAA OR SUCH ENTITY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO CERTAIN VISITORS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AAA BE LIABLE FOR OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CONTENT POSTED, TRANSMITTED, EXCHANGED OR RECEIVED BY OR ON BEHALF OF ANY VISITOR OR OTHER PERSON ON OR THROUGH THE PORTAL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE SERVICES AND WEBFILE. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF AAA TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING FROM THESE TERMS AND USE OR YOUR USE OF THE PORTAL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ONLINE SERVICES AND WEBFILE, EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, THE AMOUNT OF PORTAL USE FEES, IF ANY, PAID BY YOU TO AAA TO USE THE PORTAL.

Maintenance of Accounts, Portal and Online Services 
AAA may, at any time, temporarily limit or suspend in whole or in part, a Visitor's access to the Portal if such Visitor is in breach, or if AAA has reason to believe such Visitor is in breach, of these Terms of Use. AAA may change, add or remove any of the services or features available on the Portal, or may discontinue the Portal as a whole, at any time. AAA shall not be responsible for any outages, technical failures or defects in the Portal, including but not limited to the Online Services and Web File. 

Visitor Warranties
You represent and warrant that Your use of the Portal shall be in accordance with these Terms of Use and all applicable laws, statutes, rules, regulations, ordinances and policies of all applicable worldwide jurisdictions. 

Visitor Indemnification 
By agreeing to use the Portal, You agree to defend, indemnify and hold AAA, its affiliates, officers, directors and employees harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising in any way from Your use of the Portal, any violation of these Terms of Use by You, or any Visitor Content You post on or through the Portal. 

Copyright Agent 
We respect the intellectual property rights of others, and require that Visitors of the Portal do the same. If You believe that Your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please forward the following information to the Copyright Agent named below: 

  • Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address; 
  • A description of the copyrighted work that You claim has been infringed; 
  • A description of where the alleged infringing material is located; 
  • A statement by You that You have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by You, the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; 
  • An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest; and 
  • A statement by You, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in Your Notice is accurate and that You are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf. 

Copyright Agent: 
Eric P. Tuchmann, Esq.
Office of the General Counsel
American Arbitration Association, Inc.
120 Broadway, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10271
Phone: (212) 716-5800
Fax: (646) 663-3074

Changes to Terms of Use 
AAA MAY CHANGE THESE TERMS OF USE FROM TIME TO TIME AND AT ANY TIME, AND WITHOUT ACTUAL NOTICE TO YOU. ALL SUCH CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF USE WILL APPEAR ON THIS PAGE OF THE PORTAL. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK FOR CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF USE REGULARLY. BY USING THE PORTAL FOLLOWING ANY MODIFICATIONS TO THESE TERMS OF USE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ANY SUCH MODIFICATIONS TO THESE TERMS OF USE.

Applicable Laws/Jurisdiction 
We control and operate this Portal from our offices in the United States of America. Materials on the Portal may not be appropriate or available for use in other locations. Persons who choose to access this Portal from other locations do so on their own initiative, and are responsible for compliance with local laws. For additional information about the rights afforded to data subjects in the EU, please review AAA’s [Privacy Policy].

Choice of Law 
These Terms of Use and the relationship between You and AAA shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes hereunder and venue in the federal and state courts in the State of New York located in New York County. 

Miscellaneous 
The failure of AAA to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms of Use remain in full force and effect. 

Neutrals 
AAA has right to disclose to Parties background information about arbitrators, mediators and other neutrals (Neutrals) which was previously provided to the AAA by such Neutrals. Neutrals acknowledge that such background information is intended to be used by the Parties when selecting Neutrals. 

Arbitrator Online Education Services 
AAA reserves the right to cancel or suspend any Arbitrator training or development courses offered in the Online Services.