Last Updated: July 1, 2020

Terms and conditions

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the website and applications (collectively referred to as “Sites”) made available to you by Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (“our,” “us,” or “we” or “BAL”). BAL is a U.S. law firm, operating as a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of California, and has offices in Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Houston, Texas; McLean, Virginia; New York, New York; Richardson, Texas; San Francisco, California; Walnut Creek, California; and Washington, D.C. These Terms apply to Sites operating under the BAL name and other brands that we own as well as those of our websites, applications, emails and other communications that link to or reference these Terms.

By using our sites, you agree that you have read and understood these Terms. If you do not agree with these Terms, do not access or use our Sites. From time to time, we may revise these Terms. You can determine when these Terms were last revised by referring to the top of this page. All changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of updated terms on the Sites. By using the Sites after changes are posted, you agree to those changes.

ARBITRATION NOTICE; CLASS WAIVER; WAIVER OF TRIAL BY JURY

These Terms contain a binding arbitration provision. You agree that all disputes between you and BAL will be resolved by mandatory binding arbitration and you waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

Disclaimer – Attorney advertising

The information contained on these sites is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Transmission to and/or receipt of information from these Sites does not constitute an attorney-client relationship between the sender and receiver. Users of these Sites should not act upon any information contained on the Sites without seeking professional counsel. These sites may be considered attorney advertising under the rules of some states.

Intellectual property rights

The Sites include their text, audio, video, graphics, charts, photographs, interfaces, icons, software, computer code, databases, trademarks, logos, slogans, names of products and services, documentation, other components and content, and the design, selection, and arrangement of content. The Sites are exclusively the property of BAL or its licensors. The Sites are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. Any unauthorized use of the Sites or related intellectual property belonging to BAL or any third party is strictly prohibited. The Sites may contain references to third-party marks and copies of third-party copyrighted materials, which are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright ©2023 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved.

Compliance with laws

When you use the Sites, you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies of all relevant jurisdictions, including all applicable rules regarding online conduct.

Restrictions on your use of the sites

  • You may download and print one copy of the Sites’ visible content for your own personal noncommercial use as long as you do not modify or delete any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.
  • You will not otherwise copy, reproduce, display, duplicate, sell, publish, post, license, rent, distribute, modify, translate, adapt, reverse-engineer, or create derivative works of the Sites or any part of the Sites without BAL’s prior written consent.
  • You will not use the Sites for unlawful purposes.
  • You warrant that all data you provide to us in connection with your access to and use of the Site is true, accurate and complete.
  • You will not submit inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date data via the Sites, commit fraud or falsify data in connection with your use of the Sites, or act maliciously against the business interests or reputation of BAL.
  • You will not engage in data mining or similar data gathering or extraction activities or retrieve data or other content from the Sites for purposes of creating or compiling that content for any purpose.
  • You will not access, use, or copy any portion of the Sites, including any of its content, through the use of indexing agents, spiders, scrapers, bots, web crawlers, or other automated devices or mechanisms.
  • You will not use the Sites to post, transmit, input, upload, or otherwise provide any data or material that contains any viruses, worms, Trojan horses, logic bombs, time bombs, cancelbots, malware, ransomware, adware, or other harmful computer code or programming routines, including those designed to or that reasonably may disable, damage, impair, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept, or expropriate the Site or any computers, hardware, software, system, data, or networks.
  • You will not engage in activities designed to render the Sites or associated services inoperable or to make their use more difficult.

No warranty

The Sites are provided “as is,” “as available,” and without any warranty of any kind. Neither BAL nor its affiliates, suppliers, or licensors are responsible for providing maintenance or support services for the Sites. BAL makes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that all material, data, and other information on the Site is accurate and reliable, but neither accuracy nor reliability can be guaranteed. BAL does not warrant or guarantee the quality, completeness, timeliness, or availability of the Sites. BAL does not warrant or guarantee that the Sites will be uninterrupted or error-free, that any defects in the Sites will be corrected, or that the Sites or the servers that make the Sites available are free of viruses or other harmful conditions or components. BAL is not responsible for any typographical errors on the Sites.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, BAL expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind with respect to the Sites and all products and services, including without limitation those regarding availability, quality, accuracy, merchantability, fitness for any use or purpose, compatibility with any standards or user requirements, title, non-infringement, and any arising from a course of dealing or usage in trade. BAL has no responsibility for the timeliness, deletion, misdelivery, or failure to store any user communication. No advice or information, oral or written, obtained by you from BAL or in any manner from the Site creates any warranty.

We make no representation that the Site is appropriate or available for use in locations other than the United States. If you choose to access or use the Site from locations other than the United States, you do so at your own risk and you are responsible for complying with applicable laws and regulations.

Your use of the Site is at your own risk and you, alone, are responsible for any damage to your computer hardware, software, systems, and networks, any loss of data that results from the download of any data from the Site, and any other damage that may be incurred.

Certain jurisdictions prohibit the disclaimer of certain warranties, so some of the above may not apply to you.

Limitation on liability

BAL reserves the right to withdraw or amend the Sites, in its sole discretion without notice. BAL will not be held liable if for any reason all or any part of the Sites are unavailable at any time or for any period. BAL’s entire liability and your exclusive remedy with respect to any dispute with BAL is to discontinue your use of the Sites. BAL and its affiliates, licensors and its vendors shall not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential or exemplary damage arising from your use of the Sites or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the Sites.

Arbitration Agreement; Class Waiver; Waiver of Trial by Jury. Please read the following paragraphs carefully because they require you to arbitrate disputes with BAL and limit the manner in which you can seek relief from us.

Applicability of Arbitration Agreement

  • Any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity hereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of these Terms to arbitrate (hereinafter, collectively, the “Dispute”), which cannot be resolved informally, shall be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis under the terms set forth below (the “Arbitration Agreement”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of any actual, alleged or threatened violation of confidentiality or violation of the BAL’s intellectual property or other proprietary rights, BAL may immediately resort to court proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction as set forth above in order to seek immediate injunctive relief without posting of a bond, proof of damages or other similar requirement. The institution of any action for injunctive relief shall not constitute a waiver of the right or obligation of any party to submit any claim seeking relief other than injunctive relief to arbitration.
  • This Arbitration Agreement applies to you and BAL, and to any of our subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, employees, predecessors in interest, successors in interest, and assigns, as well as all authorized or unauthorized users or beneficiaries of the Sites provided under the Terms.

Arbitrator

  • The arbitration proceeding will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) before an arbitrator selected pursuant to the AAA rules. The decision of the arbitrator will be final and binding. Any final award or judgment may be filed and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The parties shall share equally in the costs assessed for the arbitration, and each party shall bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs. Any arbitration proceeding may not be consolidated or joined with any other proceeding and will not proceed as a class action. The parties understand that they would have had a right or opportunity to litigate disputes through a court, to have a judge or jury decide their case, and to participate in a class action or other proceeding involving multiple claimants, but they instead choose and agree to have all disputes as set forth herein decided through individual arbitration.

Place

  • The place of arbitration shall be in Dallas County, Texas, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by all parties to the arbitration. The parties acknowledge that this Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce, and the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. Sections 1–16, shall govern the interpretation, enforcement and proceedings pursuant to this Arbitration Agreement. The parties expressly agree that any and all actions taken under the Arbitration Agreement and related provisions, including but not limited to all filings, orders, judgments, and awards made in any arbitration proceeding, are confidential and may not be disclosed to any third party,

Survival

  • This Arbitration Agreement provision will survive the termination of these Terms.

Time limitation on claims

  • The parties agree that they must initiate arbitration within one (1) year after any Dispute arose; otherwise, the Dispute is permanently barred.

Miscellaneous

We may assign our rights and delegate our duties under these Terms at any time to any party without notice to you. You may not assign your rights or delegate your duties under these Terms without our prior written consent. These Terms do not confer any rights, remedies, or benefits upon any person other than you and BAL, except that our affiliates are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms. These Terms, including our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and BAL with respect to your access to and use of the Sites. BAL’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision. Any waiver of any provision of these Terms will be effective only if in writing and signed by BAL. If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, void, or unenforceable, that provision will be severed from the remaining provisions and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. The headings in these Terms are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms. These Terms inure to the benefit of BAL’s successors and assigns. Any provisions of these Terms that are intended to survive termination (including any provisions regarding indemnification, limitation of our liability, or dispute resolution) will continue in effect beyond any termination of these Terms or of your access to or use of the Sites. These Terms and any other documentation, agreements, notices, or communications between you and BAL may be provided to you electronically to the extent permissible by law. Please print or otherwise save a copy of all documentation, agreements, notices, and other communications for your reference.

Contact us

Please direct any questions and concerns regarding these Terms to us by email, by telephone at +1-628-215-2800, or by mail at BAL, Office of General Counsel, 2400 N. Glenville Drive, Richardson, TX 75082.

Transparency in coverage

Aetna creates and publishes the machine-readable files on behalf of BAL through this link.