Terms Of Use

15. DISPUTE RESOLUTION, ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM

1. Informal Dispute Resolution. We try to address any disputes without the need to initiate a formal legal case. You agree that prior to submitting any dispute or claim to arbitration for resolution, you and we agree to make a good faith effort to resolve it informally, including having at least one telephone or videoconference conversation between you, personally, and us. To initiate this good faith effort to informally resolve a dispute, you agree to notify us in writing by email at legal@viki.com (subject line: “Soompi – Notification of Informal Dispute Resolution”) of the nature of the dispute, the basis for your claims and the resolution that you are seeking, including any monetary amount, with as much detail as you can provide so that we can gain a sufficient understanding of the dispute. Within sixty (60) days following our receipt of this notice, you agree to engage in good faith efforts to resolve the dispute, including personally participating in a telephone call or videoconference with us. You may have a lawyer attend the call with you if you wish. If the dispute is not resolved within that sixty (60) days (which period can be extended by agreement of the parties), you or we may commence an arbitration to resolve the dispute consistent with the process set forth below. Compliance with and completing this informal dispute resolution process is a condition precedent to commencing an arbitration. You and we agree to toll any applicable statute of limitations and filing fee deadlines while the parties engage in this informal dispute resolution process from the date we receive your notice to the date an arbitration is commenced or the conclusion of the 60-day period described above, whichever is sooner. A court of competent jurisdiction shall have the authority to enforce this condition precedent to arbitration, which includes the power to enjoin the filing or prosecution of a demand for arbitration.
2. Arbitration Agreement and Waiver of Certain Rights. You and we agree that, except as set forth below, we will resolve any controversies, claims, counterclaims, or other disputes between you and us or you and a third-party agent of us (a “Claim”) through binding and final arbitration instead of through court proceedings, in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA Rules”). This arbitration agreement applies to any existing or future Claims that you have not individually filed in a court of law or in arbitration prior to the date you agreed to these Terms. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. You and we hereby waive any right to a jury trial of any Claim. The arbitration will be heard and determined by a single arbitrator. The arbitrator’s decision in any such arbitration will be final and binding upon the parties and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. You and we agree that the arbitration will be kept confidential and that the existence of the proceeding and any element of it (including, without limitation, any pleadings, briefs or other documents submitted or exchanged and any testimony or other oral submissions and awards) will not be disclosed beyond the arbitration proceedings, except as may lawfully be required in judicial proceedings relating to the arbitration, by applicable disclosure rules and regulations of securities regulatory authorities or other governmental agencies, or as specifically permitted by state law.
3. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to this agreement. A court of competent jurisdiction has exclusive authority to determine the existence, scope, and validity of the arbitration agreement and the arbitrability of any claim or counterclaim, including, without limitation, whether any conditions precedent to the commencement of an arbitration have been completely satisfied and any objections with respect to any of the foregoing.
4. To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send us an individual letter signed by you requesting arbitration and describing your claim to 800 Concar Drive, Suite 175, San Mateo, CA 94402 (Attention to: Legal Department). This letter must be sent at least ten (10) days before you initiate an arbitration proceeding against us.
5. Any party to the arbitration may at any time serve an offer of compromise in writing upon any other party to the action. Offers of compromise pursuant to these Terms will be adjudicated and interpreted in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure section 998.
6. If you demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, we will pay as much of the administrative costs and arbitrator’s fees required for the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of the arbitration from being prohibitive. In the final award, the arbitrator may apportion the costs of arbitration and the compensation of the arbitrator among the parties in such amounts as the arbitrator deems appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if your attorney is paying the administrative costs, filings fees, arbitrator fees, and other associated arbitral costs on your behalf, and your attorney may recover all or a portion of those fees only if you obtain an award in the arbitration, your attorney must evenly split all costs with us initially. In the final award, the arbitrator may apportion the costs of arbitration and the compensation of the arbitrator among the parties in such amounts as the arbitrator deems appropriate.
7. This arbitration agreement does not preclude either party from seeking action by federal, state, or local government agencies. You and we also have the right to bring qualifying claims in small claims court or transfer qualifying claims to small claims court. Either party may elect that a Claim be filed exclusively in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction by providing notice to the other party. In the event a Claim has already been filed in arbitration, the party who has filed that Claim will, within ten (10) days of receiving such a notice, withdraw their Claim from arbitration. The parties will then proceed with the Claim exclusively in small claims court. A party may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this paragraph.
8. In addition, you and we retain the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for provisional relief, including pre-arbitral attachments or preliminary injunctions. Any such request shall not be deemed incompatible with these Terms, nor a waiver of the right to have disputes submitted to arbitration as provided in these Terms.
9. Neither you nor we may act as a class representative or private attorney general, nor participate as a member of a class of claimants, with respect to any Claim. You may not bring Claims in arbitration on a class or representative basis. The arbitrator can decide only your and/or our individual Claims. If for any reason a Claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration you and we each waive any right to a jury trial. The arbitrator may award in the arbitration the same damages or other relief available under applicable law, including injunctive and declaratory relief, as if the action were brought in court on an individual basis. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing or herein, the arbitrator may not issue a “public injunction” and any such “public injunction” may be awarded only by a federal or state court. If either party seeks a “public injunction,” all other claims and prayers for relief must be adjudicated in arbitration first and any prayer or claim for a “public injunction” in federal or state court stayed until the arbitration is completed, after which the federal or state court can adjudicate the party’s claim or prayer for “public injunctive relief.” In doing so, the federal or state court is bound under principles of claim or issue preclusion by the decision of the arbitrator.
10. If any provision of this Section is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then that specific provision shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed, but the remainder of this Section shall continue in full force and effect. No waiver of any provision of this Section of the Terms will be effective or enforceable unless recorded in a writing signed by the party waiving such a right or requirement. Such a waiver shall not waive or affect any other portion of these Terms. This Section of the Terms will survive the termination of your relationship with us.
11. THIS SECTION LIMITS CERTAIN RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN A COURT ACTION, THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIM, THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AAA RULES, AND THE RIGHT TO CERTAIN REMEDIES AND FORMS OF RELIEF. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU OR US WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.
12. Mass Arbitration Process Requirements. If twenty-five (25) or more similar claims are asserted against us at or around the same time by the same or coordinated counsel or are otherwise coordinated (and your Claim is one such claim), you understand and agree that the resolution of your Claim might be delayed. You also agree to the following process and application of the AAA Multiple Consumer Case Filing Fee Schedule and Supplementary Rules. Twenty (20) claims shall be selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of a first batching process, ten (10) of which will be selected by the claimants and ten (10) of which will be selected by us. The remaining claims shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any AAA fees be assessed in connection with those claims until they are selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of the staged process described herein. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining claims after the conclusion of the initial twenty (20) proceedings, the parties shall participate in a global mediation session before a retired state or federal court judge, for which we will pay the mediator’s fee. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining claims through mediation at this time, then forty (40) claims shall be selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of a second batching process, twenty (20) of which will be selected by the claimants and twenty (20) of which will be selected by us. (If there are fewer than forty (40) claims remaining, all shall proceed.) The remaining claims shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any AAA fees be assessed in connection with those claims until they are selected to proceed to individual arbitration proceedings as part of the staged process described herein. In any batching process, a single arbitrator shall preside over each proceeding, and only one proceeding may be assigned to each arbitrator unless the parties agree otherwise. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining claims after the conclusion of the forty (40) proceedings, the parties shall participate in another global mediation session before a retired state or federal court judge, for which we will pay the mediator’s fee. If the parties are unable to resolve the remaining claims in mediation at this time, this staged process shall continue with no more than one hundred (100) claims proceeding at any time in a staged order that is selected randomly or by the AAA, until all the coordinated claims, including your Claim, are adjudicated or otherwise resolved. At any time during these proceedings, we agree to participate in a global mediation session should your counsel request it in an effort to resolve all remaining claims. Any applicable statute of limitations on your Claims and filing fee deadlines shall be tolled for claims subject to this section regarding “Mass Arbitration Process Requirements” from the time claims are selected for the first set of batching proceedings until the time your Claim is selected to proceed in arbitration, withdrawn, or otherwise resolved. A court of competent jurisdiction shall have authority to enforce this section regarding “Mass Arbitration Process Requirements” and, if necessary, to enjoin the filing or prosecution of arbitration demands against us. Should a court of competent jurisdiction decline to enforce these “Mass Arbitration Process Requirements,” you and we agree that your and our counsel shall engage in good faith and with the assistance of a Process Arbitrator to devise and implement procedures that ensure that arbitration remains efficient and cost-effective for all parties. Either party may engage with the AAA to address reductions in arbitration fees.
13. Choice of Law and Forum. These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California in the United States, without regard to its conflicts of laws principles. To the extent any action relating to the use of our Service is not required to be arbitrated or filed in small claims court in accordance with the arbitration agreement, you and us agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in San Mateo County, California.

16. MISCELLANEOUS.