PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY AS THE TERMS MAY HAVE CHANGED. BY CLICKING
THE "ACCEPT" BUTTON, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT (1) YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD
THIS AGREEMENT; (2) YOU ARE AUTHORIZED TO ACCEPT IT; AND (3) YOU AGREE TO ITS TERMS.
IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS CONTAINED HEREIN, CLICK THE "DECLINE" BUTTON.
Terms & Conditions
GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR USE OF THE ONLINE SERVICES
JULY 1, 2010
NOTE: The information and services
provided at eLaw.com, and linked or affiliated Web sites is not intended to and
does not constitute legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed.
The accuracy, completeness, adequacy or currency of the Online Services and Materials
(as hereafter defined) is not warranted or guaranteed. Your use of this Web Site,
the Online Services and Materials and affiliated or linked sites is ENTIRELY AT
your own risk.
The terms and conditions listed below govern use of the online services (the "Online
Services") distributed by means of an internet URL address ("Web Site") and
materials available therein ("Materials") provided by eLaw, LLC and its
affiliated companies (collectively "eLaw"). The terms "you"
and "your" in upper or lowercase shall mean the entity (e.g., company,
corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, etc.) or government agency entering into
a Subscription Agreement with eLaw. The "Subscription Agreement" shall
consist of these General Terms and Conditions, and the standard, transactional rates
applicable to your account (the "Price Schedule").
1. GRANT OF RIGHTS; RESTRICTIONS ON USE
1.1 You and the Authorized Users (defined below in Section 2.1) are granted a nonexclusive,
nontransferable, limited right to access and use for research, information, and
communication purposes the Online Services and Materials made available to you.
The rights granted to each Authorized User are as follows:
(a) The right to electronically display Materials retrieved from the Online Services
for the Authorized User's individual use (e.g., no Authorized User may network others
via LANs, WANs, intranets or the internet), subject to the
Supplemental Terms for Specific Materials and Services
("Supplemental Terms"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Authorized
User may display a de minimis amount of the Materials on an incidental, infrequent
basis for non-commercial purposes to other Authorized Users so long as the Authorized
Users are in the same physical location and the means of display is not through
the internet, an intranet or other types of networking communication like LANs,
WANs;
(b) The right to email, fax, download or make printouts using the commands of the
Online Services and the right to create a single printout of Materials accessed
or downloaded by any other means (collectively, "Authorized Printouts");
(c) With respect to Materials that are court dockets, court cases, court rules,
court briefs, agency issued documents, agency regulations or executive branch materials
from the United States, its states, local governments, or territories (collectively,
"Authorized Legal Materials"), the right to download using the commands
of the Online Services and store in machine-readable form, primarily for that Authorized
User's exclusive use, a single copy of insubstantial portions of those Authorized
Legal Materials included in any individually searchable file or content source in
the Online Services to the extent the storage of those Authorized Legal Materials
is not further limited or prohibited by the Supplemental Terms. The storage may
continue so long as the Authorized Legal Materials are needed for purposes contemplated
under the Subscription Agreement or until the Subscription Agreement is terminated,
whichever occurs first;
(d) With respect to all Materials other than Authorized Legal Materials, the right
to download using the commands of the Online Services and store in machine readable
form for no more than 90 days, primarily for that Authorized User's exclusive use,
a single copy of insubstantial portions of those Materials included in any individually
searchable file or content source in the Online Services, to the extent the storage
of those Materials is not further limited or prohibited by the Supplemental Terms;
(e) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the right to (1) excerpt or
quote insubstantial portions of Materials in documents prepared in the ordinary
course of your business to the extent permitted by applicable copyright law; and
(2) store Materials for periods in excess of the periods set forth above to the
extent required for legal or regulatory compliance.
For the avoidance of doubt, downloading and storing Materials in an archival database
is prohibited. The Online Services and the Materials are protected by copyright,
intellectual property laws, and other laws that prevent unauthorized access and
use. If you are not an Authorized User, you are not permitted to access or use the
Online Services for any purpose whatsoever. If you nevertheless access and use the
Online Services without authorization, your access and use will be governed by these
General Terms and Conditions and you will be liable to eLaw for any breach of the
General Terms and Conditions as well as for unauthorized access and payment for
use at the rates in the applicable Price Schedule.
1.2 To the extent permitted by applicable copyright law and not further limited
or prohibited by the Supplemental Terms, you and the Authorized Users may make copies
of Authorized Printouts and distribute Authorized Printouts and copies.
1.3 Except as specifically provided in Sections 1.1 and 1.2, you and the Authorized
Users are prohibited from downloading, emailing, faxing, storing, reproducing, transmitting,
displaying, copying, distributing, or using Materials retrieved from the Online
Services. You may not exploit the goodwill of eLaw, including its trademarks, service
marks, or logos without the express written consent of eLaw. Additionally, under
no circumstances may you or any Authorized User offer any part of the Online Services
or Materials for commercial resale or commercial redistribution in any medium or
use the Online Services or the Materials to compete with the business of eLaw.
1.4 All right, title, and interest (including all copyrights, trademarks and other
intellectual property rights) in the Online Services and Materials in any medium
belongs to eLaw or its third party suppliers of Materials. Neither you nor the Authorized
Users acquire any proprietary interest in the Online Services, Materials, or copies
thereof except the limited license set forth herein.
1.5 You and the Authorized Users may not use the Online Services or Materials in
any fashion that infringes the intellectual property rights or proprietary interests
of eLaw or any third party.
1.6 You and the Authorized Users may not remove or obscure the copyright notice
or other notices contained in Materials.
1.7 You and the Authorized Users may not use information included in the Online
Services or Materials to determine an individual consumer's eligibility for (a)
credit or insurance for personal, family, or household purposes; (b) employment;
or (c) a government license or benefit. The term "consumer" is defined
in the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act at 15 USC §1681.
You may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, rent, lease, loan,
sell, sublicense, or create derivative works from the online Services and Materials.
Nor may you use any network monitoring or discovery software to determine the Web
site architecture, or extract information about usage, individual identities or
users. You may not use any robot, spider, other automatic software or device, or
manual process to monitor or copy the Web Site or the Online Services and Materials
with eLaw's express written permission. You may not use the Web Site to transmit
any false, misleading, fraudulent or illegal communications. You may not copy, modify,
reproduce, republish, distribute, display, or transmit for commercial, non-profit
or public purposes all or any portion of the Web Site, except to the extent permitted
above. You may not use or otherwise export or re-export the Web Site or any portion
thereof, or the Materials in violation of the export control laws and regulations
of the
United States of America
. Any unauthorized use of this Web Site or its Online Services and Materials is
expressly prohibited.
1.8 Other provisions that govern use of the Materials are set forth in the applicable
Price Schedule, the Supplemental Terms, online descriptions of files, online notices
following service selection, and individual documents retrieved from the Online
Services (collectively, the "Additional Terms"), all of which are incorporated
by reference into the Subscription Agreement.
2. ACCESS TO SERVICES
2.1 Only your employees, temporary employees, student interns, partners/members,
and contractors dedicated to performing work exclusively for you (to the extent
those categories of persons are appropriate to your situation) are eligible to access
and use the Online Services and Materials ("Eligible Persons"). Without
limitation, external professional service providers such as attorneys, accountants,
outsourcers and public relations firms are specifically excluded from being Eligible
Persons. The term "Authorized User" means an Eligible Person whom you
have identified to eLaw for purposes of issuing an eLaw User ID (hereafter "eLaw
ID"). Each Eligible Person who wishes to access the Online Services and Materials
must have their own unique eLaw ID and thus become an Authorized User.
You agree that each eLaw ID may only be used by the Authorized User to whom
eLaw assigns it and that the eLaw ID may not be shared with or used by any other
person, including other Authorized Users. You will manage your roster of Authorized
Users and will promptly notify eLaw, either through the online account management
utilities created for that purpose or by direct customer service communication,
to deactivate an Authorized User's eLaw ID
if the Authorized User is no longer an Eligible Person or you otherwise wish to
terminate the Authorized User's access to the Online Services and Materials. You
are responsible for all use of the Online Services accessed with eLaw IDs issued
to your Authorized Users, including associated charges, whether by Authorized Users
or others. You will use reasonable commercial efforts to prevent unauthorized use
of eLaw IDs assigned to your Authorized Users and will promptly notify eLaw, in
writing, if you suspect that such an eLaw ID is lost, stolen, compromised, or misused.
2.2 Use of the Online Services via mechanical, programmatic, robotic, scripted or
any other automated means is strictly prohibited. Unless otherwise agreed to by
eLaw in writing, use of the Online Services is permitted only via manually conducted,
discrete, individual search and retrieval activities.
2.3 The Online Services, Materials, and feature functionality within the Online
Services may be enhanced, added to, withdrawn, or otherwise changed by eLaw without
notice.
3. LIMITED WARRANTY
3.1 eLaw represents and warrants that it has the right and authority to make the
Online Service and Materials available to you and the Authorized Users as authorized
expressly by the Subscription Agreement.
3.2 EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN SECTION 3.1, THE ONLINE SERVICES AND MATERIALS
ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS", "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND ELAW AND
EACH THIRD PARTY SUPPLIER OF MATERIALS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
4.1 A Covered Party (as defined below) shall not be liable for any loss, injury,
claim, liability, or damage of any kind resulting in any way from (a) any errors
in or omissions from the Online Services or any Materials available or not included
therein, (b) the unavailability or interruption of the Online Service or any features
thereof or any Materials, (c) your or an Authorized User's use of the Online Services
or Materials, (d) the loss or corruption of any data or equipment in connection
with the Online Services, (e) the content, accuracy, or completeness of Materials,
all regardless of whether you received assistance in the use of the Online Service
from a Covered Party, or (f) any delay or failure in performance beyond the reasonable
control of a Covered Party.
4.2 "Covered Party" means (a) eLaw and any officer, director, employee,
subcontractor, agent, successor, or assign of eLaw; and (b) each third party supplier
of Materials, their affiliates, and any officer, director, employee, subcontractor,
agent, successor, or assign of any third party supplier of Materials or any of their
affiliates.
4.3 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE COVERED PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CLAIM
ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE ONLINE SERVICES OR MATERIALS OR THE SUBSCRIPTION
AGREEMENT EXCEED THE LESSER OF YOUR ACTUAL DIRECT DAMAGES OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID
FOR THE ONLINE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE MONTH PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE
THE CLAIM AROSE. YOUR RIGHT TO MONETARY DAMAGES IN THAT AMOUNT SHALL BE IN LIEU
OF ALL OTHER REMEDIES WHICH YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST ANY COVERED PARTY.
4.4 TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, NEITHER YOU NOR THE COVERED
PARTIES WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ATTORNEYS' FEES) IN ANY WAY
DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE ONLINE SERVICES, MATERIALS,
OR THE FAILURE OF ANY COVERED PARTY TO PERFORM ITS OBLIGATIONS. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION
OF LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO YOUR (AND YOUR AUTHORIZED USERS) INFRINGEMENT OF
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR MISAPPROPRIATION OF PROPRIETARY DATA BELONGING TO ELAW
OR ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS.
4.5 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 4: (a) If there is
a breach of the warranty in Section 3.1 above, then eLaw at its option and expense,
shall either defend or settle any action and hold you harmless against proceedings
or damages of any kind or description based on a third party's claim of patent,
trademark, service mark, copyright or trade secret infringement related to use of
the Online Services or Materials, asserted against you by such third party provided:
(i) all use of the Online Services and Materials was in accordance with the Subscription
Agreement; (ii) the claim, cause of action or infringement was not caused by you
modifying or combining the Online Services or Materials with or into other products
or applications not approved by eLaw; (iii) you give eLaw prompt notice of any such
claim; and (iv) you give eLaw the right to control and direct the investigation,
defense and settlement of each such claim. You, at eLaw's expense, shall reasonably
cooperate with eLaw in connection with the foregoing.
(b) In addition to Section 4.5(a), if the Online Services or the operation thereof
become, or in the opinion of eLaw are likely to become, the subject of a claim of
infringement, eLaw may, at its option and expense, either: (i) procure for you the
right to continue using the Online Services, (ii) replace or modify the Online Services
so that they become non-infringing; or (iii) terminate the Subscription Agreement
on notice to you and grant you a pro-rata refund or credit (whichever is applicable)
for any pre-paid fees or fixed charges.
(c) The provisions of Sections 4.5(a) and (b) shall constitute your sole and exclusive
remedy for the respective matters specified therein.
5. PURCHASES, INVOICES AND PAYMENTS
5.1 Payment for use of Online Services may be made by immediate, monthly or annual
debit against the valid credit card provided by Authorized at the time of registration
or thereafter (in which event the extension of credit and payment shall be as defined
between Authorized User and the credit card issuing bank or finance institution);
or by invoice pursuant eLaw's credit policies and conditions as contained in this
Section 5.
5.2 Payment for use of Online Services by credit card for monthly and annual service
subscriptions will automatically renew and debit the Authorized User's credit card
at the beginning of the next monthly or annual period (typically, the 1st
day of the month, or the 1st day of the Thirteenth month) following the
initial purchase date, and will continue thereafter at the beginning of each new
month or annual anniversary of the initial purchase date until the service is terminated
by the Authorized User, or eLaw, pursuant to the Subscription Agreement.
Similarly, the accounts of Authorized Users who are billed monthly pursuant
to eLaw's credit policies will continue to accrue charges monthly and/or annually
for subscription services purchased until the service is terminated pursuant to
the Subscription Agreement.
5.3 Failure to provide required Registration
and credit information will result in eLaw rejecting an Authorized User's Application for Credit or other billing consideration
or arrangement. All credit requests are subject
to review, and acceptance or rejection by eLaw, which decision is final in its sole
discretion.
5.4 By purchasing any of the Online Services whether by use of an accepted credit
card or pursuant to the issuance of credit by eLaw, you and any Authorized User
agree, warrant and represent the following: (i) any credit information you supply
is true and complete; (ii) you are authorized to use the credit card offered for
payment; (iii) to pay all amounts accrued to your account, as invoiced, at the rates
and prices in effect at the time of the accrual of said charges, together with applicable
sales tax or other required fees or surcharges, including but not limited to finance
charges unpaid invoices.
5.5 Invoices are considered unpaid and balances
past due upon issuance of the next monthly invoice, typically thirty (30) days. The applicable finance charge shall be the
greater of: (i) 1.5 % per month; or (ii) the maximum amount permitted by applicable
law, and shall continue to apply and accrue until payment in full is received by
eLaw.
5.6 In the event eLaw is required to bring legal action against you or any Authorized
User for the collection of unpaid past due balances and accrued finance charges,
you agree to be responsible for eLaw's costs and fees necessary and incident to
such legal action, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys fees.
6. MISCELLANEOUS
6.1 These General Terms and Conditions may be changed from time to time as described
below or by written agreement. Charges and payment terms may be changed in accordance
with the terms of your Price Schedule; all other provisions of these General Terms
and Conditions may be changed by eLaw immediately upon notice to you. If any changes
are made to these General Terms and Conditions, such changes will: (a) only be applied
prospectively; and (b) not be specifically directed against you or the Authorized
Users but will apply to all similarly situated eLaw customers using the Online Services.
You may terminate the Subscription Agreement upon written notice to eLaw if any
change to these General Terms and Conditions is unacceptable to you. For termination
to be effective under this Section 6.1, written notice of termination must be provided
to eLaw within 45 days of the effective date of the change. Continued use of the
Online Services following the effective date of any change to these General Terms
and Conditions constitutes acceptance of the change but does not affect the foregoing
termination right. Except as provided above, the Subscription Agreement may not
be supplemented, modified or otherwise revised unless signed by duly authorized
representatives of both parties. Furthermore, the Subscription Agreement may not
be supplemented, modified or otherwise revised by email exchange even if the email
contains a printed name or signature line bearing signature-like font. The foregoing
does not prohibit the execution of electronic contracts bearing electronic signatures
of authorized representatives of both parties, provided such signatures include
digital certifications or are otherwise authenticated.
6.2 You or eLaw may terminate the Subscription Agreement at any time in accordance
with this Section 6.2. The effective date of termination shall be 10 days after
the receipt of written notice of termination, unless a later date is specified in
the notice. eLaw may temporarily suspend or discontinue providing the Online Services
to any Authorized User without affecting other Authorized Users without notice and
pursue any other legal remedies if you or any Authorized User fails to comply with
any obligations under the Subscription Agreement.
By way of example only, and not by way of limitation, an Authorized User's
failure to pay invoices on a timely basis or the sharing of an eLaw ID in violation
of Section 2.1, shall be grounds for eLaw to suspend or discontinue providing the
Online Services to the offending Authorized User.
6.3 All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing or displayed
electronically in the Online Services by eLaw. Notices shall be deemed to have been
properly given on the date deposited in the mail, if mailed; on the date first made
available, if displayed in the Online Services; or on the date received, if delivered
in any other manner. Legal notices to eLaw should be sent to eLaw,
240
Mulberry Street, PO Box 50, Newark,
NJ 07101
.
6.4 The failure of you, eLaw, or any third party supplier of Materials to enforce
any provision hereof shall not constitute or be construed as a waiver of such provision
or of the right to enforce it at a later time.
6.5 Neither you nor any Authorized User may assign your rights or delegate your
duties under the Subscription Agreement to access and use the Online Services and
Materials without the prior written consent of eLaw, which consent shall not be
unreasonably withheld. The Subscription Agreement and any amendment thereto and
shall be binding on, and will inure to the benefit of the parties and their respective
successors and permitted assigns.
6.6 eLaw's ability to provide information to its customers is regulated by a variety
of privacy, data protection, and other laws in a variety of jurisdictions. You acknowledge
and agree that eLaw will perform a due diligence review of you and that the due
diligence review will be heightened if you desire access to sensitive information.
You agree to reasonably cooperate with eLaw to provide all information reasonably
necessary for eLaw to comply with applicable laws. You further acknowledge and agree
that if you fail to cooperate with eLaw's due diligence review, eLaw may decline
to provide you with access to the Online Services or to certain types of information.
If you have entered into a fixed price amendment with eLaw but eLaw is unable to
provide you with some of the Materials in your subscription due to your non-cooperation,
eLaw may restrict your access in order to comply with applicable law but will be
under no obligation to reduce your monthly commitment. In the rare case that eLaw
is unable to provide you with access to any of the Materials available in the Online
Services, eLaw will terminate the Subscription Agreement and any applicable fixed
price amendment without fine or penalty to you. Finally, you also agree that during
the term of the Subscription Agreement eLaw may perform periodic reviews of your
use of regulated data in order to comply with regulatory, data security, privacy
and license restrictions, and that the reviews may include, but are not necessarily
limited to, asking you to verify your permissible purpose for accessing such data.
You agree to cooperate with eLaw in any such review and to promptly produce all
records and documentation reasonably requested by eLaw for this purpose.
6.7 If you, any of your Authorized Users, or any person you or your Authorized Users
permits to use the eLaw Online Services or who gains access through an Authorized
User's failure to properly secure his or her eLaw ID (a "User") should
access or use regulated data in an unauthorized manner (a "Security Event"),
then the following provisions will apply: (a) if required by applicable law, you
will notify the individuals whose information has potentially been accessed or used
that a Security Event has occurred; (b) you will notify any other parties (including
but not limited to regulatory entities and credit reporting agencies) as may be
required by law; (c) the notification will not reference eLaw or the product through
which the regulated data was provided, nor will eLaw be otherwise identified or
referenced in connection with the Security Event, without the express written consent
of eLaw; (d) you will be solely liable for all claims that may arise from a Security
Event caused by you, your Authorized Users or a User and you will indemnify eLaw
for any third party claims directed against eLaw that arise from such Security
Event; and (e) all such notifications and indemnity claims related to your Security
Event will be solely at your expense.
6.8 The Subscription Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of
New
York
, including but not limited to CPLR Section 901, regardless of the law that might
otherwise apply under applicable principles of conflicts of law.
6.9 The Subscription Agreement will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted
by applicable law. If any provision of the Subscription Agreement is held to be
invalid or unenforceable to any extent, then (a) such provision will be interpreted,
construed and reformed to the extent reasonably required to render it valid, enforceable
and consistent with its original intent and (b) such invalidity or unenforceability
will not affect any other provision of the Subscription Agreement.
6.10 Where applicable, each affiliated company of eLaw and each third party supplier
of Materials has the right to assert and enforce the provisions of the Subscription
Agreement directly on its own behalf as a third party beneficiary.
6.11 The Web Site may contain advertising and sponsorship. Advertisers and sponsors
are responsible for ensuring that material submitted for inclusion on this Web Site
is accurate and complies with applicable laws. eLaw cannot and will not be responsible
to you or any Authorized User for the illegality of or any error or inaccuracy in
advertisers' or sponsors' materials or for the acts or omissions of advertisers
and sponsors.
6.12 Acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in the Subscription Agreement
also constitute acknowledgment and acceptance of the eLaw
Privacy Policy in effect at the time
of acceptance and as thereafter modified.
6.13 The Subscription Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties
with respect to its subject matter and replaces and supersedes any prior written
or verbal communications, representations, proposals or quotations on that subject
matter.
Supplemental Terms & Conditions
for use of the eLaw Services
Bench & Bar
Dates & Dockets
eServe/eFile Online Service
eJams (File/Serve)
as of
July 1, 2010
SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS FOR SPECIFIC MATERIALS AND SERVICES
These Supplemental Terms for Specific Materials and Services contain terms applicable
to certain Materials or Services. You may not have access to all of the Materials
or Services referenced herein:
I.
Bench & BarTM (powered by Lawyers Diary and Manual
®)
User Generated Content
The eLaw Bench & BarTM
Online Service (the "Service") allows you or an Authorized User to add content to
various directory listings by means of annotations, notes and comments for your
personal use.
1.
User Content.
Any content, information, graphics, audio, images, and links you submit as part
of an annotation is referred to as "User Content" in this Agreement and is subject
to various terms and conditions as set forth below.
2.
Cautions Regarding
Other Users and User Content. You understand and agree that User Content
may include your information, views, opinions, and recommendations regarding many
individuals and organizations and is designed to help you access information you
need in your business. Importantly, you are responsible for your own User Content
and for properly analyzing and verifying any information you intend to rely upon.
We do not routinely screen, edit, or review User Content. However, we reserve the
right to monitor or remove any User Content from the Service at any time without
notice.
3.
Grant of Rights and
Representations by You. If you upload, post or submit any User Content
on a Service, you represent to us that you have all the necessary legal rights to
upload, post or submit such User Content and it will not violate any law of the
rights of any person. You agree that upon uploading, posting or submitting information
on the Service, you grant eLaw and our respective affiliates and successors a non-exclusive,
transferable, worldwide, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right
and license to use, distribute, publicly perform, display, reproduce, and create
derivative works from your User Content in any and all media, in any manner, in
whole or part, without any duty to compensate you.
4.
Removal of Content. We may also remove any User Content for any
reason and without notice to you. This includes all materials related to your use
of the Service or subscription thereto, including email accounts, postings, profiles
or other personalized information you have created while on the Service.
5.
Copyright/IP Policy.
It is out policy to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. eLaw has registered with the United States
Copyright Office in accordance with the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act (the "Act") and avails itself of the protections under the Act. eLaw
reserves the right to remove any Content that allegedly infringes another person's
copyright. eLaw will terminate, in appropriate circumstances, subscribers and account
holders who are repeat infringers of another person's copyright. Notices to eLaw
regarding any alleged copyright infringement should be directed to eLaw, LLC, attn:
Copyright Infringement Officer via mail or
courier at 240 Mulberry Street, PO Box 50, Newark, NJ
07101; or via email at
copyrights@elaw.com.
II.
Dates & Dockets
New York State Unified Court
System Docket information
Most of the Date and Docket information for
New York
state cases and county clerks is provided by agreement with the The New York State
Unified Court System ("UCS"). The
UCS does not warrant the comprehensiveness, completeness, accuracy or adequacy for
any particular use or purpose of the information contained in its databases and
expressly disclaims all other warranties, express or implied, as to any matter whatsoever.
Neither the UCS, its courts, court related agencies or its officers or employees
shall be responsible for any loss or damage caused by the use of the information
contained in any of its databases.
III.
eServe/eFile Online
Service
Master Service Agreement
IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. THIS IS AN AGREEMENTBETWEEN YOU, "USER,"
AND ELAW. THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS PROVISION REGARDING THE ELECTRONIC FILING AND
SERVICE OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS VIA ELAW EFILE/ESERVE.
1. Additional Defined
Terms
1.1.
"Acceptance Period" means two (2) full non-legal holiday court business
days.
1.2.
"Agreement" means this eLaw Master Service Agreement for eServe/eFile.
1.3.
"Certificate of Service" means an email confirmation sent by eLaw to User
indicating the date and time that Recipient received the Deliverables electronically
or otherwise.
1.4.
"Confirmatory Email" means the email notification sent to Recipient confirming
that Recipient has successfully downloaded the Deliverables and allows Recipient
to report an error in such downloading to eLaw.
1.5.
"Court" or "Courts" means the relevant local, state or federal
court, or Private Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum, in which the User represents
a client or has otherwise entered an appearance and in the court in which the action
is pending.
1.6.
"Court Rules" means the statutes, laws, decisions and rules governing
the service of legal documents with regard to matters or actions initiated or pending
in the relevant Court.
1.7.
"Court Business Day" means a non-emergent closed, non-holiday weekday
during the which the Courts are open for the regular transaction of business.
1.8.
"Deliverables" means all pleadings, court documents or other submissions
between the User and other parties to a law suit and/or the Court, if made possible
by the Court's applicable service and filing rules that User has emailed or uploaded
to eLaw.
1.9.
"Deliverables Notice" means the email notification sent to Recipient indicating
that Deliverables are available to be downloaded by Recipient.
1.10.
"eLaw.com" or "the Web site" means the Internet
URL address of www.eLaw.com.
1.11.
"elawdoc.com" is a direct link to the eServe/eFile
Online Service.
1.12.
"Electronic Transmission" means the electronic
delivery of Deliverables to a Recipient by eLaw through the eServe/eFile Online
Service, including email and fax.
1.13.
"Email Inbox" means the Email Inbox of User
at which the User receives email addressed to the email address set forth on the
User's eLaw registration page and associated with the eLaw ID.
1.14.
"Recipient" means any of the following:
a party, attorney or adversary in a case in which User represents a client that
User has indicated requires delivery of certain Deliverables uploaded or emailed
by User to eLaw. For the purposes of this Agreement,
all Recipients are also Users who have accepted this Agreement. Any
e-mail recipient who has not accepted this Agreement, shall be referred to herein
as a "non-subscribing recipient".
1.15.
"Service Fees" means the cost to User to
use the Service and any additional fees imposed by the Courts or private Alternative
Dispute Resolution providers for the use of electronic services pursuant to this
Agreement.
2. Service and Limitations
of Service
2.1.
User acknowledges, by accepting the terms of this Agreement, that any and all Deliverables
served upon User, as a Recipient, by Electronic Transmission shall be deemed served
as of the date(s) set forth in Section 3 and in compliance with all applicable Court
rules for the service of such Deliverables as if same were reduced to paper and
served by those means specifically permitted by such Court rules, provided:(a) the
email address to which the Electronic Transmission is sent, as set forth on the
User's eLaw registration page and associated with the User ID, is a valid, existing
and operable destination from which such Electronic Transmission is neither rejected
nor returned; and (b) User, as recipient, does not report an error in viewing or
downloading Deliverables to eLaw either by email, Confirmatory email, telephone
or any other method of communication reasonably likely to notify eLaw of a transmission
error in a timely fashion.
2.2.
User acknowledges that the eServe/eFile Online Service is a convenience service,
and that User can make alternative arrangements to deliver any necessary documents
in the event that the eServe/eFile Online Service is unavailable or malfunctioning.
User acknowledges that the timely filing and delivery of motions, briefs and other
documents in compliance with statutes, regulations, court rules and orders requires
the professional judgment of an attorney, and that attorneys appearing in a case
are ultimately responsible for the timely filing and delivery of any such documents.
While eLaw will use reasonable efforts to electronically transmit any Deliverables
for which Service Fees have been paid, User agrees that neither eLaw, nor any of
its licensors, suppliers or contractors, shall have any liability whatsoever associated
with the delivery or failure to deliver any Deliverables submitted via the eServe/eFile
Online Service.
2.3.
Service shall include, but not be limited to the following:
23.1.
"Electronic Delivery" which is the Electronic
Transmission of Deliverables to Recipients who subscribe to this Service.
2.3.2.
"Courier Delivery" which is the delivery
of User's Deliverables via hand delivery, or overnight courier to a Recipient
non-subscribing recipient or a Recipient that had
technical difficulties accessing the Deliverables electronically. Where such Courier
Delivery includes a Summons, complaint or other document, the service of which is
pursuant to the commencement of an action or proceeding and intended to exercise
personal jurisdiction over the person or entity so served, eLaw, through its affiliates
and partners, shall serve and deliver User's Deliverables in a manner appropriate
to effectuate such personal service and in accordance with all applicable laws,
rules, practices and customs regarding the service of legal process in the applicable
jurisdiction. Anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, nothing
in this paragraph shall be deemed or construed to diminish, limit, or otherwise
modify eLaw's limitation of liability or exclusion of consequential damages for
a failure to timely or properly serve legal process.
2.3.3.
The Service also includes eLaw's delivery of a Certificate
of Service, Affidavit of Service (Courier Delivery), Confirmatory Email, and/or
a Deliverables Notice.
3. Acceptance of Deliverables
3.1. User,
when a Recipient, shall be deemed to acknowledge service of an Electronic Transmission
sent by email when User, as a Recipient, clicks on the link in a message in their
Email Inbox or otherwise engages the Deliverables to be viewed, so long as a subsequent
error report is not made by User, as Recipient. The date and time of service shall
relate back to the time User, as Sender, engaged the eServe/eFile Service to serve
User, as Recipient, as reflected in the date and time logs of the eLaw system servers.
3.2. If
Recipient has technical difficulty opening the electronic message within the Acceptance
Period, Recipient shall notify eLaw immediately via email and orally to the designated
eLaw representative as to the method of delivery eLaw shall deliver the Deliverables.
Such reporting of difficulty shall nullify any attempted service prior to such report
for that particular Deliverable for which service is attempted.
3.3 If Recipient neither
accepts the email link, by clicking on it to view the Deliverables, nor reports
an error viewing the Deliverables or other trouble with the transmission, within
the Acceptance Period as measured from the date and time the sending User clicked
on the Send/Submit action, then User, as Recipient, shall be deemed to acknowledge
service as though User, as Recipient, had clicked on the link or otherwise engaged
the Deliverables to be viewed. The date and time of service shall relate back to
the time User, as Sender, engaged the eServe/eFile Service to serve User, as Recipient,
as reflected in the date and time logs of the eLaw system servers.
3.4 If a non-subscribing recipient neither
accepts the email link, by clicking on it to view the Deliverables, nor reports
an error viewing the Deliverables or other trouble with the transmission,
within the Acceptance Period as measured from the date and time the sending User
clicked on the Send/Submit action, then the User, as Sender, hereby authorizes
eLaw to serve said non-subscribing recipient by any other permitted means, including
Courier Delivery, as referenced, hereinabove, and User, as Sender consents to the
imposition of eLaw's regular charges to User's account for the performance and completion
of such service.
4. Miscellaneous provisions
4.1.
In many instances, the form, format and content of
Deliverables uploaded on eLaw is governed by various Court Rules. User is responsible
for complying with all applicable Court Rules affecting any Deliverable, particularly
those related to electronic filing and signature issues. ELAW WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY
OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COURT'S REJECTION OF AN ELECTRONIC FILING BASED UPON A
USER'S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE COURT RULES. The uploading of Deliverables
shall be conclusively presumed to originate from, and bear the identity of, the
User whose eLaw registration is associated the eLaw ID for the uploading account.
Where permitted, whenever Court Rules relating to electronic filing substitute a
User ID/Password login combination for a handwritten signature (or facsimile thereof)
or otherwise, a User's eLaw ID shall also serve this same User identity verification
purpose.
4.2. User
is solely responsible for the accuracy of information emailed and uploaded to eLaw.
4.3. User
is solely responsible for notifying eLaw of any changes in User's contact information
including, but not limited to, changes in mailing address, facsimile number or email
address.
4.4. User
is solely responsible to check User's Email Inbox to see if Recipient(s) received
User's Deliverables. User will receive a Certificate of Service via email from eLaw
indicating receipt of the Deliverables.
4.5. User
is responsible for uploading or emailing Deliverables to eLaw for Electronic Transmission
to the Recipient.
4.6. User
is responsible for insuring that uploaded Deliverables are free of viruses. If User
has emailed or uploaded a Deliverable with a virus, eLaw has no responsibility for
electronic transmission problems caused by the virus. At a minimum, User shall install
a commercial virus detection program to scan files and Deliverables submitted to
eLaw electronically. The Parties agree, however, that no virus detection software
is one-hundred percent effective against all viruses, and eLaw shall have no liability
regarding the contamination of files or Deliverables.
4.7.
Once Deliverables are emailed or uploaded to eLaw by the User, eLaw will send an
email to the Recipient (the Deliverables Notice) indicating a link and password
to a web site where the Deliverables can be downloaded. By clicking on the link,
eLaw will enable the Recipient of the e-mail to download the Deliverables. If the
Recipient is a Court, Deliverables shall be transmitted to said Court in accordance
with the procedure and protocol developed between eLaw and the Court and subject
to the limitations incident thereto over which eLaw has no control, including but
not limited to: (1) the Court's systems availability and accessibility; (2) the
Court's date and time stamp; and (3) Court personnel required or designated to receive,
intake or process said Deliverables.
4.8. Upon
Recipient's downloading of the Deliverables, eLaw will send a Confirmatory Email
to the Recipient indicating that the Deliverables were successfully downloaded by
the Recipient.
4.9.
A Certificate of Service will be sent to User via email providing User with a date
and time record confirming the time the email was opened and the time and date the
Deliverables were accessed and downloaded by Recipient. eLaw will also provide a
Certificate of Service (or Affidavit of Service) to User with a date and
time record that the Deliverables were received via the mails (or by Courier Delivery)
if Recipient is not a subscriber to the Service or, in the alternative, if Recipient
is a subscriber to the Service but had technical difficulty downloading Deliverables
and informed eLaw of such difficulty.
IV.
eJAMS (File &
Serve)
[reserved for future use]
Privacy Policy
eLaw.com has adopted a set of information management guidelines, which serve as
the basis for our customer and advertiser relationships. These guidelines disclose
the privacy policies for the entire eLaw.com group of Web sites. These guidelines
are subject to change. Any such changes will be posted on this page.
NOTE: eLaw is not responsible for the content
or the privacy policies of Web sites to which it may link.
What information does eLaw gather?
Registration: When you register, eLaw
requires that you supply your full name, e-mail address, and other identifying information. If the email address provided is not valid,
or becomes invalid during the term of any use or subscription, the eLaw ID associated
with that e-mail address will be deactivated.
Credit Cards: Use of
many of the Online Services requires either a valid authorized credit card,
or prior credit billing arrangement and requires additional information to be collected
. eLaw uses recognized third party online credit card transaction processors to
facilitate online financial transactions and all relevant servers use Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) protocol, or equivalently secured and recognized protocols, to safeguard
your information during the online transaction process. SSL encryption technology,
and its recognized equivalents, are the generally-accepted methods for transaction
security in online ordering and encrypts your personal information, such as credit
card number, name, and address, as it is transmitted over the Internet.
Further, the use of a credit card for payment purposes is subject to the
protection of the Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 U.S.C. s1666.
Cookies: eLaw employs cookies to recognize you and your access privileges
to the various Online Services. Subscribers who do not accept cookies may not be
able to access all of the Online Services to which they have subscribed.
For detailed information about our use of cookies, please contact us at mail@elaw.com .
IP Addresses: eLaw also logs IP addresses for traffic management, systems
administration and security, and troubleshooting purposes.
How do we Use Information we collect?
eLaw only uses your personal information for specific purposes
The personal information you provide to us when using our Web site -- such as your
name, postal or e-mail address or telephone number -- will be kept confidential
and used to support your customer relationship with eLaw. It also may be used to
notify you of special offers, updated information and new products and services
from eLaw, or offers from third parties that we think may be of interest to you.
We may also use information collected from you as may be necessary for offering
such feedback and evaluation services at this Web site. Agents or contractors of
eLaw who are given access to your personal information will be required to keep
the information confidential and not use it for any other purpose than to carry
out the services they are performing for eLaw.
eLaw may enhance or merge your information collected at its site with data from
third parties for purposes of marketing products or services to you.
Circumstances may arise where we are required to disclose your personal information
to third parties for purposes other than to support your customer relationship with
eLaw, such as in connection with a corporate divestiture or dissolution where we
sell all or a portion of our business or assets (including our associated customer
lists containing your personal information), or if disclosure is required by law
or is pertinent to judicial or governmental investigations or proceedings.
You can opt-out of receiving further marketing from eLaw at any time
We will send you information about our various products and services, or other products
and services we feel may be of interest to you. Only eLaw (or agents or contractors
working on behalf of eLaw and under confidentiality agreements) will send you these
direct mailings. If you do not want to receive such mailings, you can easily opt-out
of receiving further marketing from eLaw by emailing us at
optout@elaw.com. Remember
that many of the Online Services require a valid email address to receive important
notifications regarding active court cases and associated appearances. Unless you
tell us otherwise, we will presume your opt-out intention is limited only to marketing
materials and not intended to disrupt emails communication associated with your
use of the Online Services, or any important changes thereto.
Our Commitment To Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use
of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial
procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information
You can request a copy of the personally-identifiable information that eLaw has
collected about you via the Internet by contacting our Information Privacy Manager
at the address below. You can also have factual inaccuracies in this information
corrected by contacting this same person.
How To Contact Us
If you would like to contact us for any reason regarding our privacy practices,
please write or e-mail us at either of the following addresses:
eLaw
Information Privacy Manager
240 Mulberry Street
PO Box 50
Newark, NJ 07101
mail@elaw.com