Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 15, 2024

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AS DETAILED IN THE ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER SECTION BELOW. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR USE OF AND ACCESS TO THE PLATFORM (DEFINED BELOW) ARE SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS; IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING, YOU MAY NOT USE OR ACCESS THE PLATFORM IN ANY MANNER.

Table of Contents

1. Acceptance of Terms

2. The Platform

3. Additional Premium Services

4. Modiﬁcation of Terms of Platform

5. Eligibility & Account Creation

6. Posts

7. Prohibitions

8. Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

9. Fees, Refund and Cancellation Policy

10. Proprietary Rights and Limited License

11. Feedback

12. Third Party Links & Services

13. Duration and Termination of Agreement

14. Indemnity and Release

15. SMS Terms

16. Disclaimers

17. Limitation of Liability

18. Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

19. Venue and Governing Law

20. Application License

21. General

22. Contact Us

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) are a binding legal agreement between you and the Amicus Curiae Foundation, a 501(c)(3) legal aid nonprofit (“ACF,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

“User,” “you” and “your” refer to the individual or entity that uses the websites, applications, and other offerings from ACF (collectively, the “Platform”).

“Customer” refers to the person who asks a question on the Platform.

“Expert” refers to the person who answers a question on the Platform. Customer and Expert together are “Users”. Except in your capacity as an Expert or in an application to act as an Expert, which shall be governed by the Expert Agreement, these Terms govern your use of the Platform.

By using or otherwise accessing the Platform or clicking to accept or agree to these Terms, you (1) accept and agree these Terms and (2) consent to the collection, use, disclosure and other handling of information as described in our Privacy Policy, and (3) agree to comply with all rules, policies, and disclaimers posted on the Platform or about which you are notiﬁed.

All references to “you” or “your,” as applicable, mean the person who accesses, uses, and/or participates in the Platform in any manner, and each of your heirs, assigns, and successors. If you use the Platform on behalf of an entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity, your acceptance of the Terms will be deemed an acceptance by that entity, and “you” and “your” herein shall refer to that entity, its directors, ofﬁcers, employees, and agents.

2. The Platform

The Platform is an online venue for informational and educational purposes and connects Customers with Experts, for a small fee that the Customers pay and the Expert receives. ACF’s role in this process is merely to connect the parties.

ACF is not in the business of providing or selling information or education that is within any Expert’s area of expertise, and ACF itself otherwise does not provide advice or any professional services to Customers. ACF earns no profit from this connection, though it asks Experts to remind customers that they may tip through donations, which will be retained for nonprofit purposes. ACF also asks Experts to consider making an annual tax-deductible donation to ACF in the amount of 10% of the income they earn from this Platform.

Users of the Platform, not ACF, provide the content in Posts.

Experts are not employees or agents of ACF. ACF is not acting as an agent for any Customer. Experts have sole discretion in selecting which questions from Customers to answer, may elect not to answer any questions from Customers, and have sole discretion in controlling how to perform any services on the Platform.

We are not involved in the conversations you may engage in with other Users on the Platform. ACF shall not be liable for (a) any acts or omissions by you, (b) content in posts made by Users on the Platform, including questions, answers, requests for information, responses, proﬁles, Expert signatures, qualiﬁcations, comments, proﬁle information, and posts in the Expert Forum and other places where Users communicate with one another (collectively “Posts”), or (c) an Expert’s failure to complete a transaction. You are solely responsible for transactions you make with Experts on the Platform, including honoring any payment obligations.

ACF does not refer Customers to or endorse or recommend particular Experts. ACF shall not be liable for any acts or omissions of Experts, Posts, or the ability of Experts to answer questions. We cannot ensure that an Expert will complete a transaction. You understand and acknowledge that ACF cannot and does not edit, modify, ﬁlter, screen, monitor, endorse or guarantee the content of Posts. Notwithstanding the foregoing, ACF reserves the right, but is not obligated, to refuse to post or to remove any content and/or remove any User’s access to the Platform for any reason, including violation of these Terms.

EMERGENCY QUESTIONS AND CRISIS SITUATIONS (particularly regarding medical or mental health issues) should not be directed to the Platform and should, instead be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualiﬁed professionals (e.g. in the U.S., call 911). The Platform is not the appropriate venue to deal with such situations.

Use of the term “Expert” by ACF and on the Platform is only meant to describe the users who answer questions on the Platform, and not to guarantee any particular level of expertise. An Expert’s expertise is based on their experience in their field of practice, which by definition will involve more expertise than that of the ordinary person or Customer.

ACF is not responsible for mediating disputes between Customers and Experts.

ACF contracts with third-party service providers to perform the veriﬁcations described above. The results of the veriﬁcations are only as accurate as the information provided to and by the third-party veriﬁcation service, as of the time of the providing of information to and by the third-party veriﬁcation services. ACF cannot warrant or guarantee an Expert's purported identity and cannot and does not represent, warrant, or guarantee the truthfulness or accuracy of the credentials or identities of Users and information provided by Users including Experts. You acknowledge that ACF will not be liable for any loss or damages caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in Posts.

Answers Experts provide on the Platform are to be used by Customers for general information purposes only, not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or speciﬁc professional (medical, legal, veterinary, tax, ﬁnancial, etc.) advice. No professional-client relationships shall be formed on the Platform. For example, Experts in the Legal category will provide only general information about the law and will not provide legal advice nor propose a speciﬁc course of action for a Customer.

By answering questions, Experts do not intend to form, and do not form attorney-client or doctor-patient relationships with Users of the Platform. The laws, regulations, other governing authorities, standards, practices, and procedures that apply to your particular question may differ depending on your location and information typically discovered through in- person evaluations or visits. Experts in some categories may be licensed, certiﬁed, educated, employed by or have experience in only particular jurisdictions.

Communications on this Platform are not protected by attorney-client privilege or attorney-client conﬁdence, but ACF and the Experts on its Hotline will refrain from sharing any of the information you provide, except as required by law.

Communications on this Platform are limited, and do not involve in-person evaluations or visits, and do not include safeguards and procedures typical of in-person evaluations and visits.

3. Additional Premium Services

You may be presented with an offer for services outside of the Platform’ standard question-and-answer platform (“Additional Premium Services”).

ACF is only a venue which facilitates communication between Experts and potential Users of Additional Premium Services. It does not provide any of the substance or content of any Additional Premium Services initiated through ACF’s Platform.

ACF will in no way be liable for any acts or omissions of Experts in performing Additional Premium Services (or any services) for you or any issues that may arise before, during, or after any Additional Premium Service.

Additional Premium Services may be: (1) “Information Only;” or (2) “Beyond Information Only.” “Information Only” Additional Premium Services are those additional services outside the Platform’s standard question-and-answer platform and may be conducted off the Platform (either by phone, chat, email, remote desktop, or any other third-party tool) but remain for general informational services only. “Beyond Information Only” services facilitate Users’ exchange off Platform that are more than informational and that could potentially evolve into a professional relationship. Charges for Additional Premium Platform will be described in the particular offer. ACF or the Expert may record communications during Additional Premium Services.

Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services

If you decide to accept Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services, you understand that by receiving such Additional Premium Services, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

a. ACF is not involved in any agreements between you and any Experts from whom you choose to receive Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services.

b. ACF does not form any attorney-client/doctor-patient/accountant-client relationship with any User through its question-and-answer platform or by virtue of any Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services.

c. ACF will endeavor to ﬁnd an Expert relevant to your request for Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services. Nevertheless, ACF does not guarantee that any Expert who contacts you can fulﬁll your request for Beyond Information Only Additional Premium Services.

d. ACF is a nonprofit, not a law ﬁrm, and it does not provide any legal advice, counsel, or recommendation to Users, nor is ACF a lawyer referral service.

Information Only Additional Premium Services

If you decide to accept Information Only Additional Premium Services, you understand that by receiving such Services, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

a. Any Information Only Additional Premium Services you receive from a legal, tax, medical or veterinary professional are for general informational purposes only.

b. The legal, tax, medical or veterinary professional from whom you are receiving Information Only Additional Premium Services is not acting as your attorney, tax advisor, doctor or veterinarian and may not be licensed in the jurisdiction where you are located.

c. The Information Only Additional Premium Services are not subject to an attorney- client/ accountant-client/doctor-patient relationship or attorney-client/ accountant- client/doctor-patient privilege. Before applying the Information Only Additional Premium Services to your speciﬁc situation, you should consult with a professional licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.

Terms Relating to Remote Desktop Users

If you agree to accept Remote Desktop Services (whether such services are Information Only or Beyond Information Only) from an Expert, by accepting such offer for services, you are agreeing to give the Expert full access to and control over your computer (including permission to download and use software on your computer, gather system data, modify settings, etc.) for computer diagnosis, service, and repair. You agree that any third-party software acquired, installed, or used during the Remote Desktop session, by you or by the Expert, will be licensed to you, and that any terms of use relating to the third- party software are agreed to by you, that an Expert may record via video the Remote Desktop Session for security purposes, and that you will not use the Platform to do anything unlawful.

4. Modiﬁcation of Terms or Platform

Except for Section 18, providing for binding arbitration and waiver of class action rights, ACF reserves the right, at its reasonable and sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. You are responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any such modiﬁcations. If we determine a revision to the Terms, in our sole discretion, is material, we will notify you as required by law. Use of the Platform by you after any modiﬁcation to the Terms constitutes your acceptance of the Terms as modiﬁed. If you do not accept the changes, you must discontinue using the Platform.

ACF reserves the right at any time to modify, suspend, discontinue, or terminate, temporarily or permanently, the Platform or associated services (or any part thereof), with or without notice. Except for payments or refunds expressly available to you under these Terms (or as required by law), you agree that ACF shall not be liable to you for any modiﬁcation, suspension, or discontinuance of the Platform.

5. Eligibility & Account Creation

Only individuals who are at least 13 years old and can form legally binding contracts under applicable law of their jurisdiction are permitted to access the Platform or be a User. If we learn we have collected personal information from children under 13, we will delete that information in accordance with our legal requirements. If you believe that a child under 13 has provided us personal information, please contact us at help@amicuscf.org.

In order to prevent fraudulent use of the ACF membership program by Customers, Customers who have purchased memberships are ineligible to participate as Experts on ACF during the term of their membership, as are their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and spouse or “step” of each) and those living in the same households (persons, whether related or not, who lived in the same residence as the member for at least three (3) months during the twelve (12)-month period preceding the start of the ACF membership).

You must create an account (“Account”) to access certain features of the Platform. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information that doesn’t infringe on the rights of others at all times when you use the Platform, and to update information to keep it accurate, current, and complete. You are solely responsible for safeguarding your

Account password and for all activity that occurs on your Account, and you will notify ACF immediately of any unauthorized use. We are not liable for any losses by any party caused by an unauthorized use of your Account. You agree to keep your contact and billing information (including but not limited to email address) up-to-date, and to comply with all billing procedures, including providing and maintaining accurate and lawful billing information your Account. Your Account is nontransferable except with ACF’s written permission and in line with ACF policies and procedures. As permitted by applicable law, we may, but have no obligation (unless required by law) to ask Users to provide identiﬁcation or information related to credentials for purposes of using the Platform.

6. Posts

Posts are not conﬁdential and may be used by ACF for any purpose. Posts are not private or conﬁdential, nor are they protected by attorney-client, doctor-patient, or any other privilege, and Posts may be read, collected, and used by others. For example, search engines may index questions, answers, and other Posts to allow them to appear in search engine results (e.g., if someone does a search on google.com or another search engine, questions, answers, and other Posts on ACF.com that relate to the search may appear in the search results list).

As between you and ACF, you will maintain whatever ownership interest you have in and to the Posts you provide on the Site. ACF reserves the right to remove any or all of your Posts, in whole or in part, at any time with or without notice. You are responsible for all Posts you contribute, in any manner, to the Platform, and you represent and warrant you have all rights necessary to do so, in the manner in which you contribute it.

You grant to ACF a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database rights, including the right to use, reproduce, display, edit, copy, modify, transmit, publicly perform, or create derivative works thereof, that you have in your Posts, in any media now known or not currently known, with respect to any such Posts. This license shall survive termination of the Platform, these Terms, or your Account. ACF does not claim ownership rights in your Posts and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict rights that you may have to use and exploit your Posts.

Any information or content posted through the Platform, including Posts, is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated, and you access all such information and content at your own risk, and we aren’t liable for any errors or omissions in that information or content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with it. You acknowledge and agree that ACF may or may not, in its sole discretion, pre-screen Posts before posted on the Platform, but has no obligation to do so. ACF reserves the right (but does not assume the obligation) in its sole discretion to reject, move, edit, or remove any Posts, including but not limited to any Post that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Posts that you may consider offensive or objectionable. We cannot control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use Posts or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to Posts, and you hereby release us from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Posts through the Platform. While we may try to do so, we can’t guarantee the identity of any Users with whom you interact in using the Platform and are not responsible for which Users gain access to the Platform.

7. Prohibitions

As a User of the Platform, agree you will not use the Platform for purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by ACF. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree not to:

Directly or indirectly manipulate, undermine, or disrupt the integrity of any User or other feedback ratings, reports, or systems on the Platform, including, but not limited to, by ﬁling false reports about other Users;

Establish a professional-client relationship on the Platform;

Use the Platform for purposes of plagiarism in any context or in cheating in the academic setting;

Use any automated programs to automatically lock questions that are posted on the Platform;

Create multiple Accounts on the Platform;

Use another User’s account to access the Platform;

Use methods to disguise your location or otherwise circumvent ACF’s tools to secure the Platform;

Directly or indirectly submit any Posts or otherwise engage in conduct that is fraudulent, inaccurate, infringing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, offensive, obscene, pornographic or otherwise violates any law or right of ACF or Users or any other third party, including privacy rights, copyrights, or other intellectual property right;

Directly or indirectly submit any Posts linking to afﬁliate programs, multi-level marketing schemes, or off-topic content;

Violate any federal, state, or local law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or ethical code;

Engage in any behavior that is defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing;

Submit any content containing any viruses, Trojan horses, or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information;

Except as expressly authorized by ACF, solicit or otherwise request personal information from Users other than information strictly necessary to use the Platform for purposes of the Platform;

Scrape, access, monitor, index, frame, link, or copy any content on the Platform by accessing the Platform in an automated way, using any robot, spider, scraper, web crawler, or using any method of access other than manually accessing the publicly- available portions of the Platform through a browser or accessing the Platform through any approved mobile application, application programming interface, or client application;

Decompile, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to obtain the source code or underlying ideas or information of or relating to the Platform;

Violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers of the Platform, if any, or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to the Platform;

Submit any Posts that advocate illegal activity or discuss illegal activities with the intent to commit them;

Engage in any activity that could cause us to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance, or regulation;

Resell or make any commercial use of our system or the content on the Platform, including personal information, without our prior written consent;

Provide information on any other websites about ACF, unless you expressly state that your statements are not made on behalf of and have not been approved by ACF;

Falsely imply ACF’s endorsement, partnership, or otherwise mislead others as to your afﬁliation with ACF;

Use the Platform in a way that violates or facilitates violations of these Terms, any other agreement or guidelines that govern use of the Platform or attempt to do any of the foregoing directly or indirectly.

Recruit, solicit, or contact in any form Experts or Customers for employment or any other use not speciﬁcally intended by the Platform;

Advertise or solicit an expertise not related to or appropriate for the Platform including, but not limited to promotes or offers Ponzi schemes, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, afﬁliate marketing or unsolicited commercial content, discount

cards, credit counseling, online surveys or contests, rafﬂes, prizes, bonuses, games of chance or giveaways; and

Access the Platform or content in order to build a similar or competitive website, product, or service.

If you post material that is adult in nature, such material shall be posted with “Mature Audiences Only” in the listing title and appropriate notices to prevent unauthorized underage viewing and shall be distributed only to people legally permitted to receive such content (Information on Parental Control Protections).

You understand that violation of these rules or Terms more generally may result in the termination of your Account. You acknowledge and agree that ACF may remove any Posts and terminate any Account at any time for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to Posts). ACF further reserves the right to report unlawful activity to law enforcement or other regulatory authorities.

You further understand that ACF has the right, but does not have any obligation, to monitor the use of the Platform and verify information provided by our Users.

8. Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement

ACF may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, disable and/or terminate the Accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your copyright or the copyright of a person on whose behalf you are authorized to act has been infringed, please follow the steps in ACF’s Copyright Policy.

9. Fees, Refund and Cancellation Policy

ACF’s platform allows Customers to post questions to Experts in subject-matter categories, facilitates communication with Experts on the Platform via chat, emails, and online message boards, and enables delivery of and access to answers to your questions (“Site Access Beneﬁts”). Site Access Beneﬁts may have additional terms such as limits on the number and/or subject matter of questions provided at the time of sign up. Customers on the Platform may be presented with a flat fee payment model for asking a question. In order to submit a question for an Expert’s consideration, the Customer will be charged to the payment source provided on the Platform. If Customer requests additional services as part of their question, such as document review or document drafting or an urgent request, then additional fees will apply, and Customer agrees to be charged the additional fee if an Expert provides those services. If an intelligible question is articulated and it is not answered within 48 hours of submission (or sooner, if the Customer pays for urgent requests), then the Customer will receive a full refund. If the Customer has not articulated any apparent question, then they will not be refunded but they are free to follow-up with a question free of charge.

If a Customer does not wish to be charged, they must not submit a question. If a Customer submits a question and no longer wishes to have it answered, at this moment in time that is not eligible for a refund. As the Platform develops, we will create an avenue for Customers to cancel their questions. Customers are strongly encouraged to only submit questions that they need an answer for.

Trials & Promotions. We may offer promotional trial subscriptions to obtain a Membership on a trial basis or access Platform for free or at promotional rate, as well as referral discounts or similar free access to beneﬁts when you refer a new user(s).

Charges are not refundable except as expressly permitted in these Terms.

Payment Information. When you provide payment information, you represent and warrant that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to use the payment method provided for any payments due, including Membership fees, pay per question fees, service fees, taxes, and tips or bonuses you elect to provide. You acknowledge that we may process an authorization hold using your payment information in order to verify the information provided. You are responsible for keeping your payment details up to date by changing the details in your account setting. If your payment card details change or are due to expire, we may obtain or receive from your payment provider updated payment details including your card number, expiration date, and CVV (or equivalent). You authorize us to continue to charge your card using the updated information so that you can continue to receive your Membership.

If you do not pay any fees when due (for example, due to credit card expiration or insufﬁcient funds), we may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform. We also reserve the right to pursue any amounts you fail to pay in connection with your use of the Platform. Customers intentionally providing inaccurate information or accounts with insufficient funds are forewarned that ACF may, in its sole discretion, charge their credit card prior to answering their question in order to verify payment, then notify the Expert so that the Expert can provide their answer. Payment failure will result in no question being answered. Customer will be notified of the payment failure. Additional fees for payment failures may apply from time to time.

Taxes. Experts are responsible for any and all applicable federal, state, and local taxes, duties, tariffs, levies, withholdings, and similar assessments (including without limitation, sales, use, and value added taxes) relating to the subject matter hereunder, excluding taxes based on ACF’s income.

10. Proprietary Rights and Limited License

All right, title, and interest in and to the Platform are and will remain the exclusive property of ACF and its licensors. All materials therein, including, without limitation, software, images, text, graphics, illustrations, logos, patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, photographs, audio, videos, music, and all intellectual property rights related thereto, are the exclusive property of ACF and its licensors. The Platform is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. You acknowledge that the Platform has been developed, compiled, prepared, revised, selected, and arranged by ACF and others through the application of methods and standards of judgment developed and applied through the expenditure of substantial time, effort, and money and constitute valuable intellectual property of ACF and such others. Except as explicitly provided herein, nothing in this Expert Agreement gives you a right to use the ACF name or any of the ACF trademarks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features. Any other trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, and any other proprietary designations are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Subject to your complete and ongoing compliance with these Terms, ACF grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, limited license to access and use the Platform. We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you by these Terms.

11. Feedback

By sending us any feedback, comments, questions, or suggestions concerning ACF, the Platform, or us (collectively, “Feedback”) you represent and warrant (a) that you have the right to disclose the Feedback, (b) that the Feedback does not violate the rights of any other person or entity, and (c) that your Feedback does not contain the conﬁdential or proprietary information of any third party or parties. By sending us any Feedback, you further (i) agree that we are under no obligation of conﬁdentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Feedback, (ii) acknowledge that we may have something similar to the Feedback already under consideration or in development, (iii) grant us an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, prepare derivative works, publish, distribute, and sublicense the Feedback, and (iv) irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against ACF and its users any claims and assertions of any moral rights contained in such Feedback. This Feedback section shall survive any termination of your Membership, these Terms, or your participation in the Platform.

12. Third Party Links & Services

The Platform may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other sites, applications, or resources. This may include, without limitation, Tools powered by parties other than ACF. Because ACF has no control over such sites, applications, and resources, you acknowledge and agree that ACF is not responsible for the availability of such external sites, applications, or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that ACF shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods, or services available on or through any such site or resource.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE USER TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS. AND USEFULNESS OF ANY OPINION, ANSWER, OR OTHER CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PLATFORM, FROM THIRD PARTIES OR OBTAINED FROM A LINKED PLATFORM. PLEASE SEEK THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS, AS APPROPRIATE, REGARDING THE EVALUATION OF ANY SPECIFIC OPINION, ANSWER, PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR OTHER CONTENT.

13. Duration and Termination of Agreement

Duration. The agreement between you and ACF reﬂected by these Terms is effective when you access the Platform (for example to create an Account) and remains in effect until either you or we terminate the agreement in accordance with these Terms.

Termination by Customers. Customers may terminate your service and account at your sole discretion and at any time by written notice via e-mail to help@amicuscf.org. Terminations typically will be effective within seven (7) business days after our receipt of your termination notice, at which time your account will be closed and you will no longer enjoy access to your former account. Any fees accrued as of the effective date of termination will be payable according to the Terms. The procedure for Experts to terminate their accounts is set forth in the Expert Agreement.

Termination by ACF. At any time, with or without notice, for any or no reason, ACF reserves the right to modify or discontinue any portion or all of the Platform, and to restrict, suspend, and terminate Customers’ accounts. The procedure for termination by ACF of Experts’ accounts is set forth in the Expert Agreement.

Survival. The above section shall survive termination of any other sections.

14. Indemnity and Release

You agree to release and to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ACF and its parents, subsidiaries, afﬁliates, and agents, as well as the ofﬁcers, directors, employees, shareholders, and representatives of any of the foregoing entities, from and against any and all losses, liabilities, expenses, damages, costs (including attorneys’ fees and court costs), claims, actions, inquiries, or investigations of any kind whatsoever arising out of or resulting from your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms, and any of your acts or omissions that implicate publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy. ACF reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemniﬁcation by you and, in such case, you agree to cooperate with ACF in the defense of such matter.

In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release ACF, its ofﬁcers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our Platform. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which provides:

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.

If you are not a California resident, you waive your rights under any statute or common law principle similar to Section 1542 that governs your rights in the jurisdiction of your residence.

15. SMS Terms

By registering for the Platform, you consent to receive communications from us, which may include calls and text messages to the cellular telephone number you provide to us. For example, we may text you with transactional alerts about your account. You may also sign up to receive marketing or promotional calls and text messages. Any text messages we send to you are subject to our SMS Terms & Conditions. You may opt-out of receiving certain communications by following the unsubscribe options we provide to you. You acknowledge that opting out of receiving communications may impact your use of the Platform.

16. Disclaimers

Neither ACF nor its licensors or suppliers make any representations or warranties concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Platform, and we will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Platform. We (and our licensors and suppliers) make no representations or warranties regarding suggestions or recommendations of Platform or products offered or purchased through the Platform.

Products and Platform purchased or offered (whether or not following such recommendations and suggestions) through the Platform are provided “AS IS” and without any warranty of any kind from ACF or others.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ACF DOES NOT HAVE AN OBLIGATION, BUT RESERVES THE RIGHT FOR ANY REASON, TO (A) MONITOR, REVIEW, AND/OR REMOVE USER CONTENT; OR (B) FOR ANY PERMISSIBLE PURPOSE, CONDUCT IDENTITY VERIFICATION, BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ANY USER. THE PLATFORM AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED BY ACF (AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS) ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT USE OF THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE RESULTS OR CONTENT THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE PLATFORM WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE OR THAT THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, PLATFORM, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED FROM ACF OR THROUGH THE PLATFORM, WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN.

YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OR MEMBERS OF THE PLATFORM AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY USER. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT ACF DOES NOT MAKE ANY ATTEMPT TO VERIFY THE STATEMENTS OF EXPERTS OR CUSTOMERS. ACF MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE CONDUCT OF USERS OF THE PLATFORM OR THEIR COMPATIBILITY WITH ANY CURRENT OR FUTURE USERS OF THE PLATFORM. YOU AGREE TO TAKE REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE PLATFORM AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, PARTICULARLY IF YOU DECIDE TO MEET OFFLINE OR IN PERSON. ACF EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF ANY USERS OR THIRD PARTIES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ACF BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A USER’S RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE PLATFORM, FROM THIRD PARTIES (SUCH AS EXPERTS OR OTHERS) OR A LINKED PLATFORM, OR USER’S RELIANCE ON ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OBTAINED FROM A THIRD PARTY OR A LINKED SITE. USE OF THIS PLATFORM IS AT USER’S SOLE RISK.

NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM ACF OR THROUGH OR FROM THE PLATFORM SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

17. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL ACF, ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, JOINT VENTURERS, CONSULTANTS, SUCCESSORS, OR ASSIGNS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE LIMITATION OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN US AND YOU. THIS PLATFORM AND THE INFORMATION WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS. IN NO EVENT WILL OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, EXCEED ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, HIGHER THAN THE GREATER OF (I) $100 OR (II) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO ACF IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLATFORM IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE APPLICABLE CLAIM. THE LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN AND ARE MATERIAL TO ACF’S DECISION TO ENTER INTO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN ACF AND YOU. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY DESCRIBED ABOVE SHALL APPLY FULLY TO RESIDENTS OF NEW JERSEY.

18. Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY – IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.

If you are using the Platform as an Expert (as deﬁned in the Expert Agreement) with a dispute, claim, or controversy of any sort and of any nature (collectively, “dispute”) against ACF in your capacity as an Expert, then the arbitration agreement in the Expert Agreement applies instead of this one. If your dispute with ACF is made in your capacity as User who is not using the Platform in your capacity as an Expert, then the following dispute resolution provisions apply.

If you have a dispute with ACF or if ACF has a dispute with you and such dispute cannot be resolved informally, such dispute will be resolved on an individual basis in accordance with the provisions set forth below:

a. Initial Dispute Resolution

Our Support Department is available to address any concerns you may have regarding the Platform. Our Support Department can resolve most concerns quickly to our Users’ satisfaction. The parties shall use their best efforts through this Support process to settle any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement and engage in good faith negotiations which

shall be a condition to either party initiating a lawsuit or arbitration. Failure to engage in this process could result in the award of fees against you in arbitration. To adequately engage in initial dispute resolution, each party must notify the other party, in writing, of the facts of the dispute and all damages claimed. Such a writing must be sent to (a) the User’s email address on ﬁle with ACF, or (b) ACF LLC, 440 N. Barranca Ave #7508, Covina, CA 9172, or (c) help@amicuscf.org, whichever is applicable (“Dispute Notiﬁcation”). The party receiving the Dispute Notiﬁcation has thirty (30) days from receipt of the Dispute Notiﬁcation to respond. The other party then has 15 days to reply to the response.

b. Binding Arbitration

If the parties do not reach an agreed upon solution within a period of 30 days from the time informal dispute resolution begins under the Initial Dispute Resolution provision, then either party may initiate binding arbitration as the sole means to resolve claims, subject to the terms set forth below. This agreement to arbitrate is a contract governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. section 1, et seq., and evidences a transaction involving commerce. Speciﬁcally, all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms (including their formation, performance, and breach), the parties’ relationship with each other, and/or your use of the Platform and any Platform made available through the Platform shall be ﬁnally settled by binding arbitration administered by JAMS in accordance with the provisions of its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, excluding any rules or procedures governing or permitting class or representative actions and except that each party will be permitted at least one deposition unless forbidden by JAMS. If for any reason JAMS is unable to administer arbitration, either party may apply to a court to appoint an arbitrator pursuant to 9 U.S.C. section 5.

Except as explicitly set forth in this Section 18, 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 are void or voidable, whether a claim is subject to arbitration, and any dispute regarding the payment of JAMS administrative or arbitrator fees (including the timing of such payments and remedies for nonpayment). The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity. The arbitrator shall also be empowered to consolidate claims raised between the same parties to a single arbitration proceeding. The parties agree that the arbitrator may allow the ﬁling of dispositive motions if they are likely to efﬁciently resolve or narrow issues in dispute. The arbitrator’s award shall be written and binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. No arbitration award or decision will have any preclusive effect as to issues or claims in any dispute with anyone who is not a named party to the arbitration.

The Streamlined Arbitration Rules governing the arbitration may be accessed at www.jamsadr.com or by calling JAMS at (800) 352-5267. If you commence arbitration in accordance with these Terms, you will be required to pay $250 to initiate the arbitration. To the extent the ﬁling fee for the arbitration exceeds the cost of ﬁling a lawsuit, the arbitrator may require ACF to pay the additional cost. You are responsible for your own attorneys’ fees unless the arbitration rules and/or applicable law provide otherwise. If the arbitrator ﬁnds the arbitration to be non-frivolous, ACF will pay the remaining ﬁling and arbitrator fees for the arbitration, provided your claim does not exceed $75,000. For claims above $75,000, fees and costs will be determined in accordance with applicable JAMS rules. The arbitration rules permit you to recover attorney’s fees in certain cases.

Any arbitration demand or counterclaim asserted by either party must contain sufﬁcient information to provide fair notice to the other party of the asserting party’s identity, the claims being asserted, and the factual allegations on which they are based. The arbitrator and/or JAMS may require amendment of any demand or counterclaim that does not satisfy these requirements. The arbitrator has the right to impose sanctions in accordance with JAMS Rule 24 for any claims the arbitrator determines to be frivolous or improper (under the standard set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11).

The parties agree that JAMS has discretion to modify the amount or timing of any administrative or arbitration fees due under JAMS’s Rules where it deems appropriate, provided that such modiﬁcation does not increase the costs to you, and you waive any objection to such fee modiﬁcation. The parties also agree that a good-faith challenge by either party to the fees imposed by JAMS does not constitute a default, waiver, or breach of this Section 18 while such challenge remains pending before JAMS, the arbitrator, and/or a court of competent jurisdiction.

The parties understand that, absent this mandatory 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.

c. Location

If you are a resident of the United States, arbitration will take place at any reasonable location within Washington D.C. You and ACF agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of any federal or state court in Washington D.C. in order to compel arbitration, to stay proceedings pending arbitration, or to conﬁrm, modify, vacate, or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator.

d. Class Action Waiver

The parties further agree that any arbitration shall be conducted in their 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 ACF 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.

Notwithstanding any other provision of these terms, disputes regarding the interpretation, applicability, or enforceability of the Class Action Waiver may be resolved only by a court and not by an arbitrator. If there is a ﬁnal judicial determination that applicable law precludes enforcement of this paragraph’s limitations as to a particular remedy, then that remedy (and only that remedy) must be severed from the arbitration and may be sought in court. The parties agree, however, that any adjudication of remedies not subject to arbitration shall be stayed pending the outcome of any arbitrable claims and remedies.

e. Exception - Litigation of Intellectual Property and Small Claims Court Claims

Notwithstanding the parties’ decision to resolve all disputes through arbitration, either party may bring an action in state or federal court 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 elect to have disputes or claims resolved in a small claims court that are within the scope of that court’s jurisdiction. Either party may also seek a declaratory judgment or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction regarding whether a party’s claims are time-barred or may be brought in small claims court in your state and county of residence. Seeking such relief shall not waive a party’s right to arbitration under this agreement.

f. 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 the following email address: opt- help@amicuscf.org. The notice must be sent within 30 days of the Effective Date of these Terms of Service or your ﬁrst use of the Platform, whichever is later, otherwise you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of those paragraphs. If you opt-out of these arbitration provisions, ACF also will not be bound by them.

g. Changes to this Section.

ACF will provide 30 days’ notice of any changes affecting the substance of this Section 18. Changes will become effective on the 30th day. If you continue to use the Platform after the 30th day, you agree that any unﬁled claims of which ACF does not have actual notice are subject to the revised clause.

19. Venue and Governing Law

For any dispute not subject to arbitration or under the jurisdiction of a small claims court, you and ACF agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of any venue in the federal and state courts located in Washington D.C. You further agree to accept service of process by mail, and hereby waive any and all jurisdictional and venue defenses otherwise available.

The Terms and the relationship between you and ACF shall be governed by the laws of Washington D.C. without regard to conﬂict of law provisions.

20. Application License

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, ACF grants you a limited non- exclusive, non-transferable license to download and install a copy of ACF mobile app on a device that you exclusively control and to run such copy of the app solely for your own personal use. ACF reserves all rights in and to the app not expressly granted to you under these Terms. You will not run any version of the app on a jailbroken device.

If you have downloaded our app, you agree to promptly download and install any new version that we make available through the iTunes App Store or Google Play store, as applicable. Some new versions may contain updated Terms. Some new versions may contain security ﬁxes and service improvements, whether or not we disclose that they do; accordingly, failure to promptly update your version of the App may in some cases expose you to increased security risks or Platform malfunctions.

21. General

Entire Agreement. These Terms (and any additional terms, contracts, rules, and conditions that ACF may post on the Platform), the Privacy Policy, and, if applicable, the Expert Agreement constitute the entire agreement between you and ACF with respect to the Platform and supersede any prior agreements, oral or written, between you and ACF. For those Users who have become Experts, nothing in this Agreement supersedes the terms of the Expert Agreement, and in the event of a conﬂict between this Agreement (or later versions of this Agreement) and the Expert Agreement, the terms of the Expert Agreement shall prevail. This Agreement, the Privacy Policy, and disclaimers will prevail over FAQs, and other rules and policies on the Platform.

Waiver and Severability. If any provision(s) of the Terms is held by an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to law, then such provision(s) shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reﬂect the intentions of the parties and the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect. ACF’s failure to exercise or enforce any of the Terms shall not constitute a waiver of ACF’s right to exercise or enforce the Terms as to the same or another instance.

Assignment. You agree that ACF may assign the Terms to any other entity of its choosing, with or without notice to you. You may not assign the Terms to any other party for any reason, including, but not limited to, because your interaction with other users of the Platform, the pricing offered, and fraud mechanisms in place are based upon individual usage.

Section Titles. The section titles in the Terms are solely used for the convenience of the parties and have no legal or contractual signiﬁcance.

Statute of Limitations. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of the Platform or the Terms must be ﬁled within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. This statute of limitations provision does not apply to residents of New Jersey.

Notice. ACF may give notice by any means of communication reasonably anticipated to notify you of the information provided. You agree that all notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing or be delivered in a particular manner. You agree that you have the ability to store such electronic communications such that they remain accessible to you in an unchanged form. By way of example only, such communication may be a general notice on the Platform or via email to the email address listed on your Account. It is your obligation to update your Account information so that we may contact you as may be necessary. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given 48 hours after dispatch. If physical notice (e.g., US Mail) is used, then such notice shall be deemed to have been given 7 days after dispatch. Except as explicitly described in the “Arbitration and Class Action Waiver” section, you may give notice to ACF (such notice shall be deemed given when received by ACF) at any time by contacting us in writing through ACF’s Help Center.

No Third-Party Beneﬁciaries. You agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms, there shall be no third-party beneﬁciaries to these Terms,

22. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us in writing through help@amicuscf.org.

Terms of Service

Contact Us Anytime

help@amicuscf.org

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