Terms of Use

What is arbitration?

An alternative to a court case.

In arbitration, a neutral third party (a “Neutral”) resolves Claims in a hearing without a jury.

Is it different from court and jury trials?

Yes.

The hearing is private. There is no jury. It is usually less formal, faster, and less expensive than a lawsuit. Pre-hearing fact finding is limited. Appeals are limited. Courts rarely overturn arbitration awards.

Can you opt out of this Arbitration Agreement?

Yes, within 60 days.

If you do not want this Arbitration Agreement to apply, you must send us a signed notice within 60 calendar days after the date you become subject to this Agreement. You must send the notice in writing (and not electronically) to EasyPay Finance at P.O. Box 2549, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (or any subsequent address we provide to you) (the “Notice Address”), Attn. Legal Department. Provide your name, address, and date. State that you “opt out” of the Arbitration Agreement.

What is this Arbitration Agreement about?

The parties’ agreement to arbitrate Claims.

Unless prohibited by applicable law and unless you opt out, you and we agree that any party may elect to arbitrate or require arbitration of any “Claim” arising out of or in connection with your use of the Site (as defined below).

Who does the Arbitration Agreement cover?

You, us, and certain related parties.

This Arbitration Agreement governs you and us. Solely as used in this Arbitration Agreement, the words “we,” “us” and “our” mean: (1) EasyPay Finance; (2) its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, assignees, and successors; (3) the employees, directors, officers, shareholders, members, and representatives of EasyPay Finance; and (4) any person or company that is named in a Claim you pursue at the same time you pursue a related Claim against any company or person referenced in items (1)-(3).

What Claims does the Arbitration Agreement cover?

All Claims (except certain Claims about this Arbitration Agreement).

This Arbitration Agreement governs all “Claims” that would usually be decided in court and are between us and you arising out of or in connection with your use of the Site. In this Arbitration Agreement, the word “Claims” has the broadest reasonable meaning. It includes contract and tort claims (including fraud and intentional tort claims) and claims under constitutions, statutes, ordinances, rules, and regulations. It includes all claims. However, it does not include disputes about the validity, coverage, or scope of this Arbitration Agreement or any part of this Arbitration Agreement. All such disputes are for a court and not the Neutral to decide.

Who administers the arbitration? What rules apply?

Usually, the AAA administers arbitrations under its rules.

Arbitrations will be conducted under this Arbitration Agreement. Except for some group arbitrations (“Group Arbitrations”) of common issues of law or fact (“Common Issues”) conducted without an arbitration administrator, as described below, arbitrations will also be subject to the rules of the arbitration administrator in effect at the time the arbitration is commenced. However, arbitration rules that conflict with this Arbitration Agreement do not apply. The arbitration administrator (if any) will be either: (1) the American Arbitration Association (“AAA“), 1633 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019, www.adr.org; or (2) any other company picked by agreement of the parties. If both of the above options are unavailable, a court will pick the administrator (if any). No arbitration brought on a class basis may be administered or conducted without our consent by any administrator or Neutral that would permit class or representative arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement.

The Neutral will be selected under the rules of the administrator (if any). However, the Neutral must be a lawyer with at least ten years of experience or a retired judge unless you and we otherwise agree.

We may waive any rights under this Arbitration Agreement, either on our own or at your request.

Can Claims be brought in court?

Sometimes.

Either party may bring a lawsuit if the other party does not demand arbitration. Also, either you or we may require that any individual Claim within the jurisdiction of a small claims court shall be resolved by such small claims court. However, either party may demand arbitration of any appeal of a small-claims decision or any small-claims action brought on a class basis.

Are you giving up any rights?

Yes.

For Claims subject to this Arbitration Agreement, you give up your right to:

1.      Have juries decide Claims.

2.      Have courts, other than small-claims courts, decide Claims.

3.      Serve as a private attorney general or in a representative capacity (provided that public injunction Claims may be litigated as provided under the caption “What happens if part of this Arbitration Agreement cannot be enforced?”).

4.      Without our consent (and except for Group Arbitrations described below), join a Claim you have with a claim by other consumers.

5.      Bring or be a class member in a class action or class arbitration.

We also agree to these limits.

Can you or another consumer start class arbitration?

No.

The Neutral is not allowed to handle any Claim on a class or representative basis. This Arbitration Agreement will be void if a court rules that the Neutral can decide a Claim on a class or representative basis and the court’s ruling is not reversed on appeal.

What happens if part of this Arbitration Agreement cannot be enforced?

It depends.

If any portion of this Arbitration Agreement cannot be enforced, the rest of this Arbitration Agreement will continue to apply, except that:

(1) If a court rules that the Neutral can decide a Claim on a class or other representative basis and the court’s ruling is not reversed on appeal, only this sentence will apply and the remainder of this Arbitration Agreement will be void; and

(2) If you bring a Claim seeking public injunctive relief and a court determines that the restrictions in this Arbitration Agreement prohibiting the Neutral from awarding relief on behalf of third parties are unenforceable with respect to such Claim (and that determination becomes final after all appeals have been exhausted), the Claim for public injunctive relief will be determined in court and any individual Claims seeking monetary relief will be arbitrated. In such a case, the parties agree to request that the court stay the Claim for public injunctive relief until the arbitration award pertaining to individual relief has been entered in court.

In no event will a Claim for class relief or public injunctive relief be arbitrated, either individually or in a Group Arbitration.

In sum, what options do I have in order to assert Claims against you?

Subject to limited exceptions, most Claims are subject to arbitration.

All Claims subject to this Arbitration Agreement must be decided in: (1) an individual arbitration; (2) a Group Arbitration of Common Issues; (3) a lawsuit if (and only if) the defendant does not demand arbitration; (4) an individual action in small-claims court; or (5) a lawsuit that solely addresses a Claim for public injunctive relief, but only as provided under the caption “What happens if part of this Arbitration Agreement cannot be enforced?”

What law applies?

The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).

The Terms of Use involve interstate commerce. Thus, the FAA governs this Arbitration Agreement. The Neutral must apply substantive law and comply with the FAA. The Neutral must honor statutes of limitation and privilege rights. Punitive damages are governed by the constitutional standards that apply in judicial proceedings.

Will anything I do make this Arbitration Agreement ineffective?

No.

This Arbitration Agreement stays in force even if we (1) terminate your access to the Site; (2) suspend or terminate your user account; (3) or if you go into or through bankruptcy.

What must a party do before starting a lawsuit or arbitration?

Send a written Claim Notice and work to resolve the Claim.

Before starting a lawsuit or arbitration, the complaining party (the “Claimant”) must give the other party (the “Respondent”) written notice of the Claim (a “Claim Notice”). The Claim Notice must explain in reasonable detail the nature of the Claim, any supporting facts, and the requested relief. If you are the Claimant, you must send the Claim Notice in writing (and not electronically) to the Respondent, c/o EasyPay Finance at the Notice Address, Attn. Legal Department. You or an attorney you have personally hired must sign the Claim Notice and must provide your full name and a phone number where you (or your attorney) can be reached. Once a Claim Notice is sent, the Claimant must give the Respondent a reasonable opportunity over the next 30 days to resolve the Claim on an individual basis.

How does arbitration start?

Per the administrator’s rules.

If the parties do not reach an agreement to resolve a Claim within 30 days after notice of the Claim is received, the Claimant may commence a lawsuit or arbitration, subject to the terms of this Arbitration Agreement. To start arbitration, the Claimant must follow the administrator’s rules. If a Claimant begins or threatens a lawsuit, the Respondent can demand arbitration. This demand can be made in court papers. It can be made if a Claimant begins a lawsuit on an individual basis and then tries to pursue a class action. Once an arbitration demand is made, no lawsuit may be brought and any existing lawsuit must stop.

Will any hearing be held nearby?

Yes.

The Neutral may decide that an in-person hearing is unnecessary and that he or she can resolve a Claim based on written filings and/or a conference call. However, any in-person arbitration hearing must be held at a place reasonably convenient to you.

What about appeals?

Very limited.

Appeal rights under the FAA are very limited. Except for: (1) FAA appeal rights; (2) Claims involving more than $50,000 (including Claims involving requests for injunctive relief that could cost more than $50,000); and (3) Claims involving Common Issues resolved in a Group Arbitration, the Neutral’s award will be final and binding. For Claims involving more than $50,000 and Claims involving Common Issues resolved in a Group Arbitration, any party (including a majority of the Claimants in a Group Arbitration) may appeal the award to a three-Neutral panel selected in accordance with this Arbitration Agreement, which will reconsider from the start anything in the initial award that is appealed. The panel’s decision will be final and binding, except for any FAA appeal right. Any appropriate court may enter judgment upon the Neutral’s award.

Do arbitration awards affect other disputes?

No.

You and we agree that no arbitration involving you will have any effect on issues or claims in a dispute we have with anyone who is not a party to such arbitration (including the parties in a Group Arbitration that does not involve you), nor will an arbitration award in disputes that do not involve you have any impact in an individual arbitration or Group Arbitration involving you.

Who bears arbitration fees?

Usually, we do.

Except for Group Arbitrations, we will agree to pay all filing, administrative, hearing, and Neutral fees if you act in good faith, cannot get a waiver of such fees, and ask us to pay. We will always pay these amounts if required under applicable law or the administrator’s rules or if payment is required to enforce this Arbitration Agreement.

When will we cover your legal fees and costs?

Usually, if you win.

If you win an arbitration you initiate (meaning you recover more than we offered before the arbitration), we will pay your reasonable fees and costs for attorneys, experts, and witnesses. We will always pay these amounts if required under applicable law or the administrator’s rules or if payment is required to enforce this Arbitration Agreement. The Neutral shall not limit his or her award of these amounts because your Claim is for a small amount. Despite the foregoing, unless required by law or to enforce this Arbitration Agreement, the Neutral is not required to award any fees and costs for your attorneys, experts, and witnesses that are incurred by you with respect to a Claim after the time we make a written offer to resolve such Claim for relief in excess of the relief ultimately awarded by the Neutral.

Will you ever owe us for arbitration or attorneys’ fees?

Generally, only for bad faith or breaches of this Agreement.

The Neutral can require you to pay our fees if: (1) the Neutral finds that you have acted in bad faith (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)); and (2) this power does not make this Arbitration Agreement invalid. Also, you may be liable for certain arbitration fees in a Group Arbitration, as provided below. Finally, you may be responsible for some or all of our legal fees resulting from a bad faith breach of this Arbitration Agreement, if a court or arbitrator determines that assessing such fees to be warranted under the circumstances and the power to assess such fees does not make this Arbitration Agreement invalid.

Can a failure to resolve a Claim informally result in a larger recovery for you?

Yes, except in Group Arbitrations.

Except for Claims resolved in or after a Group Arbitration, you are entitled to an arbitration award of at least $7,500 if: (1) you give us Claim Notice on your own behalf (and not on behalf of any other party) and comply with all of the requirements of this Arbitration Agreement (including the requirements described in response to the question reading “What must a party do before starting a lawsuit or arbitration?”); and (2) the Neutral awards you money damages greater than the last amount you requested at least ten days before the arbitration commenced. This is in addition to any attorneys’ fees and expenses (including expert witness fees and costs) to which you are otherwise entitled. This $7,500 minimum award is a single award that applies to all Claims you have raised or could have raised in the arbitration. Multiple awards of $7,500 are not contemplated by this Arbitration Agreement. Settlement demands and offers are strictly confidential. They may not be used in any proceeding by either party except to justify a minimum recovery of $7,500.

Can an award be explained?

Yes.

A party may request details from the Neutral, within 14 days of the ruling. Upon such request, the Neutral will explain the ruling in writing.

Can you arbitrate or can we require arbitration of Common Issues in a Group Arbitration?

Sometimes.

It is possible that many Claimants will pursue or threaten Claims against us involving Common Issues. Depending upon the circumstances, this may make individual arbitrations impractical or unduly costly. The Group Arbitration provisions of this Agreement are designed to address this problem.

Any group of 50-250 Claimants who have given Claim Notices that involve Common Issues and are not already participating in individual arbitrations under this Arbitration Agreement may form a “Qualifying Group” to participate jointly in a Group Arbitration, provided that no Claimant who is already a member of a Qualifying Group may join a different Qualifying Group. Also, we may form a Qualifying Group of 50-250 such Claimants, provided that no Claimant who is already a member of a Qualifying Group may be included in a different Qualifying Group. The Qualifying Group for a Group Arbitration shall be deemed to be formed upon delivery of notice from such Qualifying Group to us or from us to the members of such Qualifying Group or their counsel (a “Group Arbitration Notice”). All rights and duties of a Qualifying Group under this Arbitration Agreement will be exercised or performed by a majority of the members of the Qualifying Group (a “Group Majority”) or a Qualifying Group representative appointed by a Group Majority (a “Group Agent”).

In the event a new Claimant asserts a Claim that involves a Common Issue that is being addressed in an existing Group Arbitration, either we, a Group Majority or a Group Agent may require the new Claimant to participate in the existing Group Arbitration, so long as the Claimants in such Group Arbitration will remain a Qualifying Group.

Different Qualifying Groups may bring separate Group Arbitrations to resolve the same or different Common Issues (for example, if there are more than 250 Claimants with Common Issues) but no Claimant may participate in an arbitration of the same Common Issue in more than one Qualifying Group. A different Neutral must be appointed for each Group Arbitration, and no single Neutral may hear more than one Group Arbitration of the same Common Issues. Claims on a class basis or Claims for public injunctions may not be heard or decided in Group Arbitrations.   

Upon formation of a Qualifying Group, all Common Issues affecting such Qualifying Group shall be resolved by Group Arbitration under this Agreement. Before commencement of a Group Arbitration for such Qualifying Group, the AAA shall be consulted about the fees and charges (or fee schedule) it will impose for such Group Arbitration, including Neutral charges. For 15 days after receiving final fee and charge information from the AAA, either we or the Qualifying Group may elect for the Group Arbitration to be conducted without assistance of the AAA, in accordance with the provisions set forth under the caption “What happens if a party wishes a Group Arbitration to be conducted without an administrator?”

Who bears arbitration costs in Group Arbitrations?

Usually, arbitration costs will be shared 50/50 by us and the Qualifying Group.

In a Group Arbitration, fees and charges of the arbitration administrator (if any) and Neutral will normally be shared 50/50 by us and the Qualifying Group. However, we will bear some or all of the Qualifying Group’s share of such fees and charges to the extent: (1) required by law; (2) required to enforce this Arbitration Agreement; and/or (3) awarded by the Neutral in the Neutral’s discretion.

What happens if you are a Claimant in a Qualifying Group but have a Claim that cannot be resolved in a Group Arbitration?

The Claim can be resolved in a lawsuit or an arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement.

After a Group Arbitration, any Claim that cannot be resolved in the Group Arbitration will be subject to this Arbitration Agreement. Before initiating a lawsuit or arbitration with respect to such Claim, the Claimant must give the Respondent a new Claim Notice and right to resolve such Claim, as described under the caption “What must a party do before starting a lawsuit or arbitration?”

What happens if a party wishes a Group Arbitration to be conducted without an administrator?

Special rules will apply.

If either we or a Qualifying Group give timely notice of a desire for the Group Arbitration to be conducted without AAA, we and the Qualifying Group shall try to agree upon a Neutral to conduct the Group Arbitration. If we and the Qualifying Group do not reach agreement upon a Neutral within 30 days after the date of the notice referenced above, we or a Group Majority may petition a court with jurisdiction for appointment of a Neutral. The court shall give due regard to the qualifications of the Neutral and the fees charged by the Neutral. Neutral fees exceeding the Neutral fees paid by the AAA in its consumer arbitrations are disfavored. A court-appointed Neutral must be a lawyer with at least ten years of experience or a retired federal or state judge unless we and the Qualifying Group otherwise agree.

Once a Neutral has been selected and retained, such Neutral will commence and conduct the Group Arbitration in accordance with this Arbitration Agreement and, to the extent not inconsistent with this Arbitration Agreement: (a) Rules R-2, R-7 through R-9, R-14 and R-18 through R-54 of the AAA’s Consumer Arbitration Rules, Amended and Effective September 1, 2014 (even if subsequently revised), available online at adr.org/consumer or available from us (the “Governing Rules”); and (b) such additional procedures as the Neutral shall adopt. However:

(i)          The AAA shall have no role in the arbitration and no filings with or notices to the AAA shall be required. Such filings will be made with the Neutral or not at all, as the circumstances shall dictate.

(ii)        Subject to subsection (i), any reference to the AAA in the Governing Rules shall be deemed to refer instead to the Neutral or, if a function delegated to the AAA under the Governing Rules cannot reasonably be performed by the Neutral, whether by virtue of a conflict of interest or otherwise, by a court with jurisdiction. Any objection to the Neutral under R-19 shall be decided by a court with jurisdiction.

(iii)       No administrative fees under R-4 shall be payable.

(iv)       Despite R-29, an in-person or telephonic hearing shall be held upon agreement of the parties or for good cause shown.

(v)        Despite R-33, the Neutral may allow the filing of a dispositive motion without prejudging the likelihood of success.

(vi)       Despite R-40 and R-42, the Neutral may extend the applicable time limits in unusual and extreme circumstances.

(vii)     R-43(c) shall not apply.

The Costs of Arbitration and fee sections of the Governing Rules shall not apply, provided that the Arbitrator Compensation terms shall be used as guidelines.