22.1 This Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement shall apply if you (i) are contracting with NoAnkorPayments US; or (ii) bring any claim against any NoAnkor Payments entity in the United States (to the extent not in conflict with Section 21).
22.2 Overview of Dispute Resolution Process. NoAnkor Payments is committed to participating in a consumer-friendly dispute resolution process. To that end, these Payments Terms provide for a two-part process for individuals to whom Section 22.1 applies: (1) an informal negotiation directly with NoAnkor’s customer service team, and (2) a binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) using its specially designed Consumer Arbitration Rules (as modified by this Section 22 and except as provided in Section 22.6). Specifically, the Consumer Arbitration Rules provide:
- Claims can be filed with AAA online (www.adr.org);
- Arbitrators must be neutral and no party may unilaterally select an arbitrator;
- Arbitrators must disclose any bias, interest in the result of the arbitration, or relationship with any party;
- Parties retain the right to seek relief in small claims court for certain claims, at their option;
- The initial filing fee for the consumer is capped at $200;
- The consumer gets to elect the hearing location and can elect to participate live, by phone, video conference, or, for claims under $25,000, by the submission of documents; and
- The arbitrator can grant any remedy that the parties could have received in court to resolve the party’s individual claim.
22.3 Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution and Notification. Prior to initiating an arbitration, you and NoAnkor Payments each agree to notify the other party of the dispute and attempt to negotiate an informal resolution to it first. We will contact you at the email address you have provided to us; you can contact NoAnkor’s customer service team by emailing us. If after a good faith effort to negotiate one of us feels the dispute has not and cannot be resolved informally, the party intending to pursue arbitration agrees to notify the other party via email prior to initiating the arbitration. In order to initiate arbitration, a claim must be filed with the AAA and the written Demand for Arbitration (available at www.adr.org) provided to the other party, as specified in the AAA Rules.
22.4 Agreement to Arbitrate. You and NoAnkor Payments mutually agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Payments Terms or the applicability, breach, termination, validity, enforcement or interpretation thereof, or to the use of the Payment Services (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding individual arbitration (the “Arbitration Agreement”). If there is a dispute about whether this Arbitration Agreement can be enforced or applies to our Dispute, you and NoAnkor Payments agree that the arbitrator will decide that issue.
22.5 Exceptions to Arbitration Agreement. You and NoAnkor Payments each agree that the following claims are exceptions to the Arbitration Agreement and will be brought in a judicial proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction: (i) Any claim related to actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights; (ii) Any claim seeking emergency injunctive relief based on exigent circumstances (e.g., imminent danger or commission of a crime, hacking, cyber-attack).
22.6 Arbitration Rules and Governing Law. This Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction in interstate commerce and thus the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. The arbitration will be administered by AAA in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules and/or other AAA arbitration rules determined to be applicable by the AAA (the “AAA Rules“) then in effect, except as modified here. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org.
22.7 Modification to AAA Rules – Arbitration Hearing/Location. In order to make the arbitration most convenient to you, NoAnkor Payments agrees that any required arbitration hearing may be conducted, at your option, (a) in the county where you reside; (b) in San Francisco County; (c) in any other location to which you and NoAnkorPayments both agree; (d) via phone or video conference; or (e) for any claim or counterclaim under $25,000, by solely the submission of documents to the arbitrator.
22.8 Modification of AAA Rules – Attorney’s Fees and Costs. You and NoAnkor Payments agree that NoAnkorPayments will be responsible for payment of the balance of any initial filing fee under the AAA Rules in excess of $200 for claims of $75,000 or less. You may be entitled to seek an award of attorney fees and expenses if you prevail in arbitration, to the extent provided under applicable law and the AAA rules. Unless the arbitrator determines that your claim was frivolous or filed for the purpose of harassment, NoAnkor Payments agrees it will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law or the AAA rules, to recover attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.
22.9 Arbitrator’s Decision. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court with proper jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only on an individual basis and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim.
22.10 Jury Trial Waiver. You and NoAnkor Payments acknowledge and agree that we are each waiving the right to a trial by jury as to all arbitrable Disputes.
22.11 No Class Actions or Representative Proceedings. You and NoAnkor Payments acknowledge and agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we are each waiving the right to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action lawsuit, class-wide arbitration, private attorney general action, or any other representative proceeding as to all Disputes. Further, unless you and NoAnkor Payments both otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If the “class action lawsuit” waiver or the “class-wide arbitration” waiver in this Section 22.11 is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, then the entirety of the Arbitration Agreement will be deemed void with respect to such Dispute and the Dispute must proceed in court. If the “private attorney general action” waiver or the “representative proceeding” waiver in this Section 19.11 is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, those waivers may be severed from this Arbitration Agreement and you and NoAnkor Payments agree that any private attorney general claims and representative claims in the Dispute will be severed and stayed, pending the resolution of any arbitrable claims in the Dispute in individual arbitration.
22.12 Severability. Except as provided in Section 22.11, in the event that any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall be given full force and effect.
22.13 Changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3 (“Modification of these Payments Terms”), if NoAnkor Payments changes this Section 22 (“Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement”) after the date you last accepted these Payments Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Payments Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email) within thirty (30) days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated” date above or in the date of NoAnkor Payments’ email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and NoAnkor Payments in accordance with the provisions of the “Dispute Resolution” section as of the date you last accepted these Payments Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Payments Terms).
22.14 Survival. Except as provided in Section 22.12 and subject to Section 20.8, this Section 22 will survive any termination of these Payments Terms and will continue to apply even if you stop using the Payment Services or terminate your NoAnkor Account.