Terms of Use

Last Updated: June 29, 2020

1. Introduction; Acceptance of Terms of Use

Welcome to the website of A Long Term Companion, LLC (“ALTC”) located at www.alongtermcompanion.com.  The following Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern each Site user’s access and use of the Site.  By accessing or otherwise using the Site (other than to simply read these Terms), you accept and expressly agree to be bound and abide by these Terms, together with any applicable Additional Terms (as defined in Section 2) and our Privacy Policy.  You further represent and warrant that you have the capacity, are duly authorized, and have the power to enter into these Terms and to form a binding agreement under applicable law. Our Privacy Policy and any applicable Additional Terms are incorporated into these Terms by this reference, and any reference to these Terms includes our Privacy Policy and applicable Additional Terms.  

Please read these Terms carefully, as they constitute a legally binding agreement between you and us regarding your access and use of the Site.  If at any time you do not agree to these Terms in their entirety, you are expressly prohibited from accessing or using the Site in any manner and must discontinue use immediately.  Please note that these Terms contain a class action waiver, waiver of right to jury trial, and a mandatory and binding arbitration clause. These affect your rights about how to resolve any dispute with us.

DEFINED TERMS - In these Terms of Use:

  • When we say “ALTC”, “we”, “us” or “our”, we mean A Long Term Companion, LLC and its current and future affiliates. But when we say “ALTC Entities,” we mean ALTC and its affiliates, contractors, partners, advertisers, vendors, and licensors; and our and their directors, officers, employees, agents, members, and representatives.
  • When we say “Site” we all websites (including www.alongtermcompanion.com), social media profiles, blogs, mobile sites and applications offered by or for us where these Terms are linked, displayed or otherwise connected.  The term “Site” also includes all Content (as defined in Section 4), features, functionality, and services made available made available on or through the Site, and the systems, servers, and networks used to make the Site available.
  • When we say “you”, “your”, or “yourself,” we mean you and, if applicable, any person or entity you are acting on behalf of or represent.  When we say “user” we mean you and any other person or entity who accesses or uses the Site.  Any person  or entity who interacts with the Site through the use of crawlers, robots, browsers, data mining or extraction tools, or other functionality, whether such functionality is installed or placed by such person or entity or a third party, is considered to be using the Site.
  • When we say “make available” we mean post, transit, publish, upload, distribute, transmit, display, provide, or otherwise submit or make available (including through any part of the Site administrated by third-party social media platforms (e.g., Facebook) that allow interaction with the Site through the tools offered by such social media platforms).

2. ALTC Policies; Additional Terms.

Your use of the Site is subject to our Privacy Policy, as well as any other applicable policies, legal notices, rules, and terms then posted on the Site or otherwise made available to you by us at the time of use (together with our Privacy Policy, the “Additional Terms”).  Additional Terms posted on www.alongtermcompanion.com (for instance, our Privacy Policy) shall apply generally to the Site in its entirety unless such Additional Terms expressly state otherwise.  In some instances, Additional Terms may apply only with respect to your use of a specific Site or parts of the Site.  If so, we will post such Additional Terms on, or otherwise make them available to you in connection with the applicable Site(s) or parts of the Site(s) to which they apply.  For example, the Terms of Use posted on a Site which allow users to post comments will apply to the users of that Site in addition to these Terms of Use (but only with respect to such users’ use of that Site).  If there is any irreconcilable conflict between any Additional Terms and these Terms, the Additional Terms shall prevail with respect to such conflict and the particular Site(s) to which the Additional Terms apply, unless the Additional Terms expressly state otherwise.  

3. Modification; Termination

ALTC may, at any time, in its sole and absolute discretion and without prior notice: (a) modify, add to, suspend, revoke and/or terminate any or all of these Terms; (b) impose new Terms and/or Additional Terms; (c) charge, waive, reduce and/or otherwise modify any fees required to use the Site; and/or (d) modify, suspend and/or discontinue all or part of the Site without liability to you or any third party.

You agree that we may update these Terms by notifying you of such changes by any reasonable means, including by posting the revised or new Terms on the Site.  Any such changes are effective immediately upon our providing such notice to you unless we specify a later effective date in the notice.  Your use of the Site after that date signifies your acceptance of all the terms and conditions contained within the Terms posted at the time of your use.  It is your responsibility to review the most recent version of these Terms frequently to remain informed of any changes. You can determine when we last changed these by referring to the “Last updated” legend below and in the applicable Additional Terms.

4. Content

The Site includes a variety of content, including without limitation: (i) logos, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, trade dress, trade names and other distinctive identification and forms of intellectual property of various parties, including those of ALTC (“Marks”); (ii) reviews, comments, messages, communications, feedback, submissions, suggestions, product and service-related information and descriptions, and other information, data, content, and written and other materials (including text, page headers, titles, functionality, downloads, typefaces, graphics, images, illustrations, formats, designs, photographs, artwork, button icons, audio, video, interfaces, downloads, computer code, and software (“Materials”); and (iii) the “look and feel” of the Site as well as the design, structure, collection, expression, assembly, and arrangement of the Materials and Marks included in or available through the Site (together with Marks and Materials, collectively, the “Content”).  

5. Access and Use of the Site

Subject to your acceptance of and continued compliance with these Terms, ALTC grants you, solely for so long as you are permitted by ALTC to use the Site, a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicensable, non-transferable privilege to access, view, and use the Site (and any Content generally and purposefully made available by ALTC to users of the Site) solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You may download one copy and/or print one copy of such Content for your personal, non-commercial use only, provided that you: (1) do not modify or alter the Content in any way; (2) retain all copyright, trademark, and other proprietary designations appearing therein; and (3) do not violate these Terms in any way, including, without limitation, anything listed in the “User Obligations; Restrictions” section of these Terms.  If you are under thirteen (13) years of age, then you are not permitted to access or use the Site.  If you are under eighteen (18) years of age, you may only access and use the Site only with involvement of a parent or guardian.

Except as otherwise prohibited by law, ALTC may, at any time without prior notice: (1) change, restrict access to, suspend, or discontinue the Site or any portion of the Site or any Content; (2) bar, restrict or suspend any user's access to the Site for any reason; and (3) charge, modify, or waive any fees required to use the Site or any portion of the Site or any Content (including any services, functionality or other features thereof).  ALTC reserves any rights not explicitly granted in these Terms, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law.

6. User Obligations; Restrictions

The Site may only be used for lawful purposes.  You warrant and agree that you will abide by these Terms and all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to your use of the Site.  You further warrant and agree that you will, at all times, provide only true, accurate, authorized, current and complete information when submitting Content on or through the Site.  

Additionally, in connection with the Site, you warrant agree that you will not, whether on behalf of yourself or on behalf of any third party:

  • Use the Site or any Content for any purpose or activity that is commercial, unlawful, fraudulent or tortious;
  • Use the Site or any Content for any unauthorized purpose or activity including, but not limited to, any obtaining or attempting to obtain unauthorized access to the Site, including the Content;
  • Harm or intimidate another person in any way, including restricting or inhibiting any other user from using the Site (including without limitation by hacking or defacing any portion of the Site);
  • Harvest, collect, store, use or otherwise exploit any information about or related to any other users of the Site or any other clients of ALTC, including but not limited to personally identifiable information;
  • Misrepresent that you are, or misrepresent your affiliation with, any other person or entity (whether actual or fictitious), including but not limited to ALTC, its employees, and agents;
  • Express or imply that any statements you make are endorsed by us, without our prior written consent;
  • Tamper with, use, or attempt to gain access to any non-public areas or parts of the Site, or shared areas of the Site you have not been invited or authorized to use, or to any other systems, servers, or networks connected to the Site;
  • Violate or attempt to violate the security or proper operation and management of the Site or the servers, systems, or networks connected to the Site, including, without limitation: (i) accessing data not intended for you or logging onto a server or an account that you are not authorized to access; (ii) trying to change the behavior of the Site; (iii) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Site or any system or network, or to breach security or authentication measures; (iv) attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of submitting malware to the Site, overloading, "flooding," "spamming," "mailbombing" or "crashing"; (v) forging any header or any part of the header information in any email or posting or forging communications on behalf of the Site (impersonating the Site) or to the Site (impersonating another user); (vi) making available any virus, worm, Trojan horse, Easter egg, time bomb, spyware, or other computer code, instruction, file or program that is or is potentially harmful or invasive or intended to damage or hijack the operation of, or to monitor the use of, the Site or any hardware, software, or equipment; or (vii) violating any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of the servers, systems or networks connected to the Site;
  • Use or attempt to use any engine, software, tool, agent, algorithm or any other manual or automatic process, device, or mechanism (including any deep-links, page-scrapes, spiders, robots, avatars or intelligent agents) in any way to (i) navigate or search the Site other than the search engine and search agents provided by ALTC or generally publicly available browsers; (ii) access, acquire, retrieve, index, copy, monitor or otherwise gather or reproduce any portion of the Site or any Content; (iii) reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Site or any Content; or (iv) obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents or information through any means not purposely made available through the Site;
  • Make available any Materials through or in connection with the Site that (i) you do not have a right to make available due to any law or contractual or fiduciary duty; (ii) infringes on our or any third’s party’s patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights or rights (iii) is unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, invasive of another’s privacy, obscene, hateful or otherwise objectionable; or (iv) include advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, surveys, contests, investment opportunities or other unsolicited commercial communication;
  • Reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works of, sell, rent, lease, loan, timeshare, distribute, clone, transfer, decompile, reverse engineer, incorporate into any information retrieval system (electronic or mechanical), or otherwise exploit any portion of (or any use of) the Site (including the Content) except as expressly authorized in these Terms, without ALTC’s express prior written consent.
  • Use the Site or ALTC’s Marks to (1) send any unsolicited or unauthorized Materials, including advertising, promotional materials, email, junk mail, spam, or other form of solicitation; or (2) use any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing an ALTC Mark, URL, or name without ALTC’s prior written consent;
  • Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary labels or rights notices from the Site, including from any Content or Third Party Resources contained on or available through the Site;
  • Frame or mirror any portion of the Site, or otherwise incorporate any portion of the Site into any product or service, unless you obtain ALTC’s express prior written consent to do so;
  • Attempt to do anything, or permit, encourage, assist, or allow any third party to do anything in connection with the Site or any Content that violates any law, rule, or regulation, or these Terms; or
  • Use the Site or any Content in any manner that causes injury to or infringes on the rights of ALTC or any other person or entity.

7. Proprietary Rights

The Site and the Content is owned or controlled by ALTC, our licensors or other certain third parties.  All right, title, and interest in and to the Site and the Content is the property of ALTC, our licensors or certain other third parties, and is protected by law, including without limitation U.S. and international trademark, trade dress, and copyright laws, and various other unfair competition and intellectual property rights and laws.  The compilation, (meaning the selection, collection, arrangement, assembly, and “look and feel”) of the Site and all Content on the Site is the exclusive property of ALTC and is also protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.  Any trademark, copyright or other notices appearing in the Site or any Content may not be deleted or altered in any way, including any such notices appearing on any Content you are permitted to download, display, or print from the Site.  Any use of the ALTC’s Marks without our express written consent is strictly prohibited. You acknowledge that these rights are valid and protected in all forms, media, and technologies existing now or hereinafter developed.

Except as expressly provided in these Terms of Use, no part of the Site and no Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, augmented, modified, broadcasted, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, publicly performed, used to create derivative works, encoded, transmitted or distributed in any way (including "mirroring") to any other computer, server, website or other medium for publication or distribution or for any unauthorized publication or commercial use, without the express prior written consent from ALTC.  Accessing, downloading, printing, posting, storing or otherwise using the Site or any of the Content for any commercial purpose, whether on behalf of yourself or on behalf of any third party, constitutes a material breach of these Terms.

No license, right, title, or interest in the Site or any Content is transferred to you or any third party by implication, estoppel or otherwise as a result of your use of the Site or your accessing, viewing, downloading, printing or otherwise using the Content.  Nothing on the Site or in these Terms of Use shall be construed to confer any license, right, title or interest, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, under copyright or other intellectual property rights, to you or any third party.  

8. No Medical Advice and Disclaimer as to Accuracy of Information

The Site does not provide medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition.  None of the health or wellness-related information or resources available through the Site or in the Materials distributed by ALTC to you constitutes, or is intended to be a substitute, for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment; it is provided for general informational and educational purposes only.   The Site and such health and wellness-related Materials are not intended to be, and must not be taken as, the rendering of medical, nursing, or professional health care advice or services, or the practice of medicine, nursing, or professional health care in any jurisdiction. You should discuss the information with a qualified and licensed medical professional.  

You should not rely on any information or resources made available by us through the Site or otherwise to make medical decisions, including, but not limited to diagnose or treat a medical or health condition or to determine whether to seek or refrain from seeking any medical advice, services, or treatment.   Proper treatment of health conditions depends upon a number of factors such as your medical history, medication regimen, diet and lifestyle. Your health care provider can best assess and address your health care needs.  If you require medical advice or services, you should consult with your health care provider.  

The Content on our Site is for education and informational purposes only, and errors may appear from time to time.  We reserve the right to revise the Site and Content at any time and in any manner as we may determine, in our discretion, including to correct any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies; however, the ALTC Entities (as defined below) neither accept any responsibility for, nor make any representation or warranty about, the accuracy, reliability, currency, usefulness or completeness of any Content made available on or through the Site (including Third Party Resources, as defined in Section 9).  ALL CONTENT, MATERIALS, INFORMATION AND RESOURCES ARE PROVIDED FOR YOUR REVIEW IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NOTICES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH HEREIN.  YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE ALTC  ENTITIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS, OR DAMAGE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT, MATERIALS,  INFORMATION OR RESOURCES CONTAINED ON OR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE SITE OR OTHERWISE.  

9. Third Party Websites and Resources

The Site may contain links to and interactive functionality with Internet sites that of third parties, and the Site may also include or otherwise make available the names, Marks, Materials, products, services, information, content, functionality and/or other resources of third parties  (collectively, “Third Party Resources”).  Any such Third Party Resources, including but not limited to media excerpts, guidance, statements, opinions, offers or other information provided by third parties such as content providers and other Sites users are those of the respective third party and not of ALTC.  

Our inclusion of Third Party Resources shall not be construed in any way as ALTC’s endorsement, authorization or recommendation of such Third Party Resources, nor shall it be construed as ALTC’s sponsorship, affiliation or association with the organization(s) or individual(s) that own or control such Third Party Resources.  ALTC has no control over, does not endorse, makes no guarantees, and disclaims any express or implied representations or warranties with respect to such Third Party Resources, including without limitation the security, quality, non-infringement, accuracy, relevance, timeliness, completeness, or appropriateness for a particular purpose of such Third Party Resources.  Please note that your use of any Third Party Resources is subject to the third party's terms, conditions and policies (including its privacy policy) applicable to such products, services or materials, and that once you click on a hyperlink that transfers you from our Site to a third party website, these terms will immediately cease to apply to any subsequent activity on the third-party website.  ALTC is not responsible for the privacy and security of any information you share with a third-party, including your credit card or payment information. Other sites may link to the Site with or without our authorization, and we may block any links to or from the Site. YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY RESOURCES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND YOU AGREE TO ASSUME SOLE AND FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THIRD PARTY RESOURCES.

10. Disclaimers

ALTC cannot and does not represent or warrant that the Site or its server or Site Contents (as defined below) will be error-free, uninterrupted, free from unauthorized access (including third-party hackers or denial of service attacks), or otherwise meet your requirements.

The Site, Content, and Third Party Resources included on or otherwise made available to you through the Site (collectively, “Site Contents”) are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis, without representations or warranties of any kind.  The ALTC Entities make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation, that the Site Contents (i) are and will always be complete, accurate, secure, reliable, timely, or error-free, or that any defects will be corrected; (ii) will always be available or will function or operate without disruptions, delays, or imperfections; or (iii) will meet your expectations or provide specific results. To the fullest extent permissible by applicable law, the ALTC Entities disclaim any and all representations and warranties, express or implied, with respect to the Site and Site Contents, express or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties of accuracy, non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or use.  The ALTC Entities disclaim any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the Site and/or any Site Contents. Your access and use of our Site, any Site Contents, and any other Internet site is solely at your own risk, and you assume total responsibility in connection with or related to your access or use. Your sole remedy against the ALTC Entities for dissatisfaction with the Site or any Content is to stop using the Site or any such Content. This limitation of relief is an essential part of the bargain between you and ALTC.

ALTC reserves the right to do any of the following, at any time, without notice: (1) to modify, suspend or terminate operation of or access to the Site, or any portion of the Site, for any reason; (2) to modify or change the Site, or any portion of the Site, and any applicable policies or terms; and (3) to interrupt the operation of the Site, or any portion of the Site, as necessary to perform routine or non-routine maintenance, error correction, or other changes.

11. Limitation of Liability

You acknowledge and agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the ALTC Entities shall not be liable, and disclaim any liability, to you or any other person or entity under any circumstances or under any legal or equitable theory, whether in tort, contract, strict liability, or otherwise, for any claim, loss or damage, direct or indirect, including, without limitation, compensatory, consequential, incidental, indirect, special, exemplary or punitive damages of any kind whatsoever in connection with, as a result of, or arising (i) out of the use of or inability to use the Site and/or any Content; (ii) from any interruption in the availability of the Site and/or Content; (iii) from any loss of data and/or from any equipment failure; (iv) out of the procurement of substitute goods or services resulting from any problems with the goods, content and/or services purchased or obtained from the sites, or transactions entered into, through or from the sites; (v) from unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (vi) from statements or conduct of any third party on the Site; (vii) from any delay or failure of the Site arising out of causes beyond ALTC’s control; (viii) out of the use of, reference to, or reliance on, the Content; (ix) out of any Third Party Resources contained on, or accessed through, the Site (x) out of any content, materials, accuracy of information, and/or quality of the products, services or materials provided by or advertised on third party websites; or (xi) out of any other matter relating to the Site and/or Content; even if an authorized representative of an ALTC Entity has been advised of or should have known of the possibility of such damages. NO ALTC ENTITY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF THE FEES PAID BY YOU IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SITE DURING THE SIX (6) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THE DATE ON WHICH THE CLAIM AROSE.

EACH PROVISION OF THESE TERMS THAT PROVIDES FOR A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES, OR EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES IS TO ALLOCATE THE RISKS UNDER THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND ALTC. THIS ALLOCATION IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND ALTC. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION WILL APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE(S).

In the event you are dissatisfied with, or dispute, these Terms of Use, the Site and/or Content, your sole right and exclusive remedy is to terminate your use of the Site, even if that right or remedy is deemed to fail of its essential purpose. You agree that ALTC has no other obligation, liability or responsibility to you or any other parties.

12. Exclusions and Limitations Permitted by Law

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or conditions or the limitation or exclusion of liability for loss or damage caused by negligence, breach of contract or breach of implied terms, or incidental or consequential damages. Accordingly, only the above limitations in sections 10 and 11 which are lawful in your jurisdiction will apply to you and ALTC's liability will be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

13. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you shall defend, indemnify, and hold the ALTC Entities harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, suits, judgments, proceedings, liabilities, judgments, losses, damages (actual and consequential), expenses, and costs (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or in any way related to (i) your use of the Site and/or Content; (ii) any Materials that you submit, post, or transmit through the Site; (iii) your violation of these Terms; and/or (iv) your violation of any right of a third party, including but not limited to any intellectual property, privacy or publicity right.  ALTC will provide prompt written notice of any such claims, but failure to provide such notice will not release you from any of your obligations pursuant to this Section except to the extent that you are actually prejudiced by such failure, and will not relieve you from any other liability that you may have to the ALTC Entities other than under this Section. The obligations set forth in this paragraph will survive any termination or expiration of these Terms.

14. Jurisdictional Issues

The Site is controlled and operated by ALTC from the United States and is not intended to subject ALTC to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than that of the United States.  ALTC does not represent or warrant that the Site or any part thereof is appropriate or available for use in any particular jurisdiction other than the United States. In choosing to access the Site, you do so on your own initiative and at your own risk, and you are responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations, as well as these Terms. We may limit the Site’s availability, in whole or in part, to any person, geographic area or jurisdiction we choose, at any time and in our sole discretion.

15. Disputes; Mandatory Arbitration; Applicable Law

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION 15 (“DISPUTE RESOLUTION”) CAREFULLY.  IT CONTAINS A MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION PROVISION AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER.  IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT FOR MATTERS WITHIN THE TERMS OF THE ARBITRATION PROVISION AND THE RIGHT TO HAVE A JURY HEAR YOUR CLAIMS.

Certain portions of this Section 15 are deemed to be a “written agreement to arbitrate” pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act. You and ALTC agree that we intend that this Section 15 satisfies the “writing” requirement of the Federal Arbitration Act.

15.1. Mandatory (Individual) Arbitration. You and ALTC (each a “Party”) agree that any claim, controversy,  or dispute arising out of, relating to, or connected in any way with the Site, or the breach, enforcement, interpretation, or validity of these Terms (each, a “Dispute”), whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal theory, will be resolved exclusively by final, binding, and individual (non-class) arbitration before a single, neutral arbitrator, instead of in court by a jury or judge, except as expressly stated otherwise in these Terms. You and we agree that any Dispute shall be brought solely by you or us as an individual and not as part of, or as a representative of, a class.  BY AGREEING TO ARBITRATE, EACH PARTY IS GIVING UP ITS RIGHT TO GO TO COURT AND HAVE ANY DISPUTE HEARD BY A JUDGE OR JURY.  This includes Disputes arising out of or relating to interpretation or application of this “Mandatory (Individual) Arbitration” section, including its enforceability, revocability, or validity. An arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court and must follow this Agreement as a court would. However, there is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.

15.2. Arbitration Procedures. The arbitration will be administered by Judicial Arbitration Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) pursuant to the then current JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures or, if applicable, its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures, and any applicable supplemental rules including its Consumer Arbitration Standards of Minimum Fairness, as amended by these Terms.  The arbitrator shall be selected by mutual agreement of the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, then by striking from a list of arbitrators supplied by JAMS.  If for any reason,  JAMS is unable or unwilling to conduct the arbitration for a Dispute submitted under these Terms, then either Party can elect to have the arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, or you and we will pick another arbitrator pursuant to 9 U.S. Code § 5.  If there is a conflict between these Terms and any applicable arbitration rules, these Terms will govern with respect to such conflict.  The JAMS rules and instructions are available online at http://www.jamsadr.com or by calling 1-800-352-5267.  The AAA rules and instructions are available online at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.

The arbitrator will conduct hearings, if any, by teleconference or videoconference, rather than by personal appearances, unless the arbitrator determines upon request by you or by us that an in-person hearing is appropriate.  Any in-person proceedings will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, unless the arbitrator determines this presents an undue burden to you, in which case arbitration will be conducted at a location which is reasonably convenient to both parties with due consideration of their ability to travel and other pertinent circumstances.  If the Parties are unable to agree on a location, such determination should be made by JAMS or by the arbitrator.  All submissions to the arbitrator, the proceedings and the award shall be confidential. The arbitration shall be conducted on an expedited basis with minimal discovery. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding.

15.3. Scope of Arbitration; Authority of Arbitrator.  Neither Party consents nor agrees to any arbitration on a class or representative basis, and the arbitrator shall have no authority to proceed with an arbitration on a class or representative basis. No arbitration proceeding under this Agreement may be consolidated with any other matters or proceedings or joined with any other cases or parties without the consent of all Parties.  The arbitrator shall not have any power to issue relief to anyone but you or us. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under applicable law, the arbitral forum's rules, and these Terms of Use.  The arbitrator will have authority to award temporary, interim, or permanent injunctive relief or relief providing for specific performance of these Terms of Use, but only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the individual Dispute before the arbitrator.   The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded.  The award rendered by the arbitrator may be confirmed and enforced in any court having jurisdiction thereof.  Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, nothing in these Terms of Use will preclude you from bringing issues to the attention of federal, state, or local agencies and, if the law allows, they can seek relief against us for you.  ALTC reserves all rights and remedies available to it, in law or equity, with respect to any matter relating to these Terms of Use.

This Dispute Resolution, including the arbitration provisions herein, is intended to be broadly interpreted and will survive termination of these Terms. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any Dispute arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Agreement, including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of this Agreement is void or voidable, and any challenges related to the arbitrability of a Dispute.  

15.4. Applicable Law; Venue. The Parties agree that the arbitration provisions in this Agreement are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), including its procedural provisions, and that state arbitration laws do not govern in any respect. This means that the FAA governs, among other things, the interpretation and enforcement of the arbitration provisions, including, without limitation, the class action waiver discussed below and any actions to compel, enforce, vacate, or confirm proceedings, awards or orders issued by the arbitrator.   Except as provided above in this subsection, the Parties agree that all matters relating to your access to or use of the Site and all matters arising out of or related to these Terms, including any Dispute between you and us, shall be subject to, governed by, enforced under, and construed solely in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to and excluding any conflict of law rules or principles that would require the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.  

Unless the Parties agree otherwise, in the event that it is determined or these Terms of Use provide that a Dispute should not proceed through arbitration, you and ALTC agree that any Dispute (with the exception of a Dispute appropriately lodged in any small claims court as described in section 16.9) shall be resolved in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and you and ALTC submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.  If subject matter jurisdiction (including diversity jurisdiction) does not exist in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for any such Dispute, then the exclusive forum and venue for any such action shall be the courts of the State of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia county, and you submit to the personal jurisdiction of that court.  You and ALTC both waive your right to a jury trial, unless such waiver is unenforceable.  The Parties agree to unconditionally and irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of such courts and you will not object to such jurisdiction and venue on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction, inconvenient forum or otherwise.

15.5. Waiver of Jury Trial.  ALTC AND YOU EACH AGREE TO IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OF USE.

15.6. Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief. The Parties agree that, except as otherwise required under applicable law, any Dispute involving you and us, whether in arbitration or otherwise, must be brought in your or our individual capacity and resolved as an individual action; to the fullest extent permitted by law, the Parties each agree to waive the right to file, seek, or participate as a plaintiff, representative or class member in any class, collective or representative proceeding in court or arbitration.

15.7. Severability. With the exception of any of the language above in this Dispute Resolution provision relating to the waiver of class and representative actions, if a court decides that any part of this Dispute Resolution provision is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Dispute Resolution provision shall still apply. If a court decides that any aspect of the language above in this Dispute Resolution provision relating to the waiver of class and representative actions is invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution provision shall be null and void. The remainder of these terms will continue to apply and be unaffected by this severability provision.

15.8. Limited Time to File Disputes.  Each Party agrees that any Dispute against the other Party must be filed within one (1) year after the Dispute arose or the Dispute will be forever barred, regardless of any statute or law the contrary.  

15.9. Exceptions to Mandatory Arbitration. In lieu of Arbitration, either you or ALTC may bring an individual Claim in small claims court in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania or any United States county where you live or work, consistent with any applicable jurisdictional and monetary limits that may apply, provided that any such Claim is brought maintained as an individual Claim.  Either you or ALTC may bring a suit in a federal or state court located within Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, solely for injunctive relief to stop unauthorized use or abuse of the Site, or to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights, and we both consent to the jurisdiction of those courts for such purposes.

16. Electronic Communications

When you send emails or other electronic messages to us or in connection with the Site, you are communicating with us electronically and consent to our review and analysis of such messages and to receive return communications, if any, from us electronically. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. You understand that any message or information you send to the Site may be read or intercepted by others, even if there is a special notice that a particular transmission (for example, credit card information) is encrypted

17. Copyright Infringement Claims: Notice and Take-Down Procedures

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that Content available on the Site infringe your rights under U.S. copyright law, you (or your agent) may send to ALTC a written notice by mail or e-mail requesting that ALTC remove such Content or block access to it.  If you believe in good faith that someone has wrongly filed a notice of copyright infringement against you, the DMCA permits you to send to ALTC a counter-notice. Notices and counter-notices must be sent in writing and meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA (see http://www.copyright.gov/ for details), which, with respect to notices of infringement, currently include, among other requirements, the following:0

  1. Sufficient information identifying the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed.
  2. Sufficient information identifying the allegedly infringing material(s) and the location of such material(s) in order to permit ALTC to locate such material(s).
  3. A statement from the owner (or the owner's authorized representative) of the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed that such owner or authorized representative has a good faith belief that the allegedly infringing materials are used in a manner not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
  4. Contact information for the complaining party, including a mailing address, a telephone number and, if available, an email address.
  5. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
  6. A signature or the electronic equivalent from the owner (or the owner's authorized representative) of the copyrighted work(s) believed to be infringed.

Notices and counter-notices must be sent in writing to ALTC’s DMCA agent as follows:

DMCA Agent, Legal Department

Mail: A Long Term Companion, 445 Cedar Street, Jenkintown, PA 19046

Email: DMCA@alongtermcompanion.com

18. Waiver and Severability

The failure of either Party to exercise or enforce any right or provision in these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent of the law, and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.  If any of the provisions of these Terms of Use are held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, such provisions shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms of Use otherwise remain in full force and effect.

19. Entire Agreement

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and ALTC relating to the Site and its use by you and supersedes any previous written or oral communication regarding use of the Site. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding these Terms or the Site, please visit our Contact Us page to contact us; please provide a detailed description so we may attempt to resolve it.

20. Questions or Concerns

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding these Terms or the Site, please visit send us an email to info@alongtermcompanion.com. You may also contact us by writing to A Long Term Companion, P.O. Box 343, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, or by calling us at +1 (215) 914-1800. Please provide a detailed description so we may attempt to resolve it. Please note that email communications will not necessarily be secure; accordingly, you should not include credit card information or other sensitive information in your e-mail correspondence with us.

21. User Generated Content

21.2. Submitting User Content. We may provide functionality that enables users to make available messages, reviews, communications, feedback, submissions, suggestions, questions, and other information, data, content, and materials on the Site or our social media profiles (“User Content”).  By making User Content available in connection with our Site or social media profiles, you acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for any such User Content and it is available to the public.  You represent and warrant that (1) you have the authority to grant the rights in such User Content as set forth in these Terms, including in Section 22.2 below; and (2) such User Content, and the use of such User Content, will not violate any term of these Terms of Use.  This means you will be responsible for the legality, the accuracy, the appropriateness, the originality, and your rights in any such User Content.   If you believe any User Content on this Site infringes on your proprietary rights, contact the ALTC’s Copyright (DMCA) Agent as identified in these Terms of Use.  ALTC does not approve, endorse, or adopt any User Content, and ALTC assumes no liability for any User Content submitted by you or others. You agree to indemnify ALTC against all claims and liabilities resulting from User Content.   Please note that other users or third parties may use posted information beyond the control of ALTC.  All User Content is read at your own risk, and ALTC recommends that you not rely on the information or advice in any of these postings.

21.2. ALTC’s Right to Use User Content.  By contributing User Content to our Site or social media profiles, you agree to grant to ALTC a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, unlimited, nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, create derivative works from, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform and display (publicly or otherwise) any such User Content in any media or medium, and in any form, format, or forum now known or hereafter developed.  You further agree that ALTC is free to use any User Content for any purpose.  ALTC may sublicense its rights in User Content through multiple tiers of sublicenses.  ALTC is, and will be, under no obligation (1) to maintain any User Content in confidence; (2) to pay any compensation for any User Content; or (3) to respond to any User Content.  You grant to ALTC the right to use any name associated with any User Content that you make available to ALTC, although ALTC has no obligation to exercise such right, or to otherwise provide any attribution for any User Content.  ALTC retains the right to remove any User Content for any reason, including but not limited to, content that it deems threatening, demeaning, profane, obscene, a violation of intellectual property rights or privacy laws, off-topic, commercial or promotion of organizations or programs, or otherwise injurious or illegal. ALTC also retains the right to ban or block a user from posting on our Site or social media profiles without notice for a pattern of inappropriate postings or as it deems necessary.