Sample Arbitration Clause Language A: Fill & Download for Free

Well, here’s a sample arbitration clause:Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, relating to or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, shall be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the ACICA Arbitration Rules. The seat of arbitration shall be Sydney, Australia [or choose another city]. The language of the arbitration shall be English [or choose another language]. The number of arbitrators shall be one [or three, or delete this sentence and rely on Article 10 of the ACICA Arbitration Rules]. (ACICA Model Arbitration Clause)The full subject of the first sentence is “Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, relating to or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination”. That’s 25 words.The core of the subject of the first sentences is “dispute, controversy or claim”. That’s three similar words with (presumably) very precise and subtly different legal meanings.That’s dense text.

Complaints About Banks and LendersLearn how to complain about a problem with a bank or a lending company, such as a mortgage provider.Bank and Credit Product ComplaintsReport problems with your bank, financial institution, lender, or broker. To guide you through the process of filing these types of complaints, the Federal Reserve offers consumer help and the following tips:Contact the branch manager, the customer service hotline, or the institution's website.Explain your problem and how you would like the bank to resolve it. Use this sample complaint letter for tips on what to include in your complaint.Provide copies of receipts, checks, or other proof of the transaction.If the bank doesn't help, get help from the correct regulatory agency.Complaints About Deposit AccountsSeveral government agencies regulate financial institutions. Find out which agency accepts complaints about the type of financial institution you need to file a complaint against.Contact the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for complaints about; a national bank (has National in its name, or N.A at the end)federal savings and loans federal savings banks.For a problem with a state-chartered bank and trust company, contact either the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or state banking authority.To file a complaint about a federally chartered credit union, contact the National Credit Union Administration.For a problem with a state-chartered bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, contact the Federal Reserve System.Complaints About Other Financial ServicesThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) accepts complaints about most loan products. The CFPB also accepts complaints about other financial services, like credit cards and debt collection. File a complaint about investments with:the Securities and Exchange Commission oryour state's securities regulator.These agencies accept complaints about investment fraud and violations of securities laws.Complaints About Mortgage CompaniesIf you have a complaint against a mortgage company, try to resolve it with the company first. Several government agencies accept complaints about mortgage lenders. In some cases, you should file your complaint with more than one agency, especially at the federal and state level.DiscriminationThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforces the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. This law prohibits lenders from denying credit because of certain characteristics. File a complaint with the CFPB if a lender has denied a mortgage application because of your:AgeSex (including gender)Marital statusChildrenRaceNationality or ethnicityReligionIncome from public assistance programsThe Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces the Fair Housing Act. This law prohibits discrimination when you rent, buy, or secure financing for a home. Your state may also have a similar law. File a complaint with HUD and the fair housing office in your state if a mortgage company discriminated against you because of your:RaceColorNational originReligionSexDisabilityPresence of childrenMortgage Origination and ServicingThe CFPB enforces several laws, such as the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. These laws require lenders to disclose information to homebuyers before buying and over the life of the mortgage. File a complaint with the CFPB if you have a problem with a new or existing mortgage. Examples of common mortgage complaints include:Applying for a mortgageReceiving loan estimates and closing documentsTransferring a mortgage to another servicerApplying for your payments correctlyRefinancing or modifying a mortgage loanMisreporting mortgage account status to you or to credit reporting agenciesRequiring private mortgage insurancePaying additional feesDeception and ScamsThe Federal Trade Commission Act states that unfair and deceptive practices affecting commerce are unlawful. Report a mortgage company to the Federal Trade Commission if it makes deceptive statements, omits important facts, or takes misleading actions. Examples include:False statements about their ability to offer a loanFees for mortgage services that aren’t providedIllegal tactics to collect on mortgage balancesAlso, file a complaint with your state consumer protection office about a mortgage fraud or scam. Submit a complaint about a foreclosure scam with the HOPE NOW Alliance. Call 1-888-995-HOPE(1-888-995-4673) or (TTY 1-877-304-9709).Mandatory Arbitration ClausesMandatory arbitration clauses are phrases written into contracts that state that if you have a dispute with a company, you must resolve it through arbitration. These clauses can prevent you from filing a lawsuit against a company. Arbitration clauses are fairly common in automotive, credit card, and cell phone contracts. But now, they are appearing in website terms and conditions statements, coupons, or corporate social media profiles. While arbitration can be less expensive, it is sometimes seen as unfair to make arbitration a requirement before a negative incident has happened or knowing how serious the problem is. Also, the decisions are binding, so you can’t appeal the decision, even if the company was severely negligent.Before you sign a contract or even use a website, read the contract or terms of service for mentions of “arbitration”, “binding arbitration” or “resolution programs”; this language is often in the fine print of the contract and can be easily missed. Also, note that some companies may let you opt-out of these clauses if you do so within 30 days.Filing a Consumer ComplaintFind out what steps to take and who you should contact if you need to file a complaint against a company about a purchase.Infographic: How to File a Consumer ComplaintFiling a consumer complaint may seem complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Use this graphic to learn the steps to take.Steps to File a Complaint Against a CompanyIf you have problems with an item or service you purchased, you have the right to complain. If working with the company doesn’t get results, you can contact a government or nonprofit consumer organization to look into your case. Use these steps to get started.1. Collect Supporting DocumentsTo file a complaint against a company, first gather your records: sales receipts, warranties, contracts, or work orders from the purchase.Then, print out email messages or logs of any contact you've had with the seller about the purchase.2. Contact the Seller, Preferably in WritingThere are several things you can do to try to resolve an issue before seeking legal help:Contact a salesperson or customer service representative. You can find a company’s customer service contact information on their website. Look for "contact us," "customer service," "about us," "terms and conditions," or "privacy statement."If you can’t solve your issue through them, you can go higher up to a supervisor, manager, or the company’s corporate headquarters.Use this sample complaint letter as an example. You can also use USA.gov's complaint letter wizard to write and download a complaint letter.3. Contact Third Parties If the Seller Doesn't Fix Your ProblemIf you still can’t solve your issue by contacting the seller, government and nonprofit consumer organizations may be able to help you:File a complaint with your local consumer protection office or the state regulatory agency or licensing board that has jurisdiction over the seller.Notify the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in your area about your problem. The BBB tries to resolve your complaints against companies.Some federal agencies accept complaints about companies. While these agencies may not resolve your problem, your complaint helps them investigate fraud.If the purchase was made online across international borders, you may also file a complaint with econsumer.gov.4. Seek Legal HelpIf no other options work, you may be able to resolve your problem through the legal system or through an alternative dispute program, such as arbitration, conciliation, or mediation.Some problems with sellers are the result of frauds and scams. If you believe that you have been the victim of fraud, file a complaint with the correct government agency. You can file telemarketing complaints with the Do Not Call Registry.File a Complaint About Online PurchasesIf you have a problem during an online transaction, try to solve it with the seller or website. If that does not work, file a complaint with:Your consumer protection agency.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC).Your state attorney general.Econsumer.gov, if your purchase was with a foreign retailer.If you made the purchase using your credit card, dispute the charge with your credit card company.Dispute Resolution ProgramsDispute resolution programs are ways to solve disagreements between buyers and sellers, without going to court. Some companies and industries offer programs to solve disputes. You can also contact your state's attorney general or consumer protection office, law school clinics, or the Better Business Bureau to find a dispute resolution program.Mediation, arbitration, and conciliation are the three common types of dispute resolution. During mediation, both sides involved in the dispute meet with a neutral third party, a mediator, to create their own agreement jointly. In arbitration, the third party, an arbitrator, decides how to settle the problem. Conciliation is similar to arbitration; however, you and the other party meet with the conciliator separately (not a group meeting). Request a copy of the rules of any program before deciding to participate. You should ask questions like:How much does the dispute resolution program cost you?Are the decisions binding?Are you still able to take legal action if you are not satisfied with the decision?How is the mediator, arbitrator, conciliator, chosen for your case?Mandatory Arbitration ClausesMandatory arbitration clauses are phrases written into contracts that state that if you have a dispute with a company, you must resolve it through arbitration. These clauses can prevent you from filing a lawsuit against a company. Arbitration clauses are fairly common in automotive, credit card, and cell phone contracts. But now, they are appearing in website terms and conditions statements, coupons, or corporate social media profiles. While arbitration can be less expensive, it is sometimes seen as unfair to make arbitration a requirement before a negative incident has happened or knowing how serious the problem is. Also, the decisions are binding, so you can’t appeal the decision, even if the company was severely negligent.Before you sign a contract or even use a website, read the contract or terms of service for mentions of “arbitration”, “binding arbitration” or “resolution programs”; this language is often in the fine print of the contract and can be easily missed. Also, note that some companies may let you opt-out of these clauses if you do so within 30 days.

If I were representing, as I do in other contexts, a software developer or firm that was taking on an engagement through Gigster, I would have a few significant comments.In general, the Gigster agreement is typical in form, meaning that it has unclear language, defined terms that aren't defined, and some clunky spots. Keep in mind that Gigster may or may not be interested in updating the base agreement or creating a side letter amendment for a specific project.Here are some specific comments and observations I would raise with a client:Section 2.1 - the assignment of deliverables is fine, but the assignment of all other inventions that "arise in connection with the Contractorervices ... including ... source code developed or created by Contractor that is not specific to Customer and is generally applicable to other Customer projects and deliverables ...." seems overbroad. As I read this, if DHH were working on a webapp for Gigster, they would claim ownership over Rails. That seems aggressive.Section 2.2 exempts pre-existing IP of the contractor from the assignment, but the language in this section purports to limit it to pre-existing IP that is disclosed in writing to Gigster before the delivery of the Deliverable. It might contemplate that before such items are included or as they arise, they are disclosed to Gigster on a rolling basis. In any case, this requirement would require some integration into a developer's workflow.Section 2.2 also grants a license to use any Contractor Technology in or needed to the deliverables or other inventions, meaning that a developer would not want to use any "real IP" in the course of this agreement; in many cases, a developer would want to prepare a standalone license agreement to monetize that IP or more strictly limit its automatic licensing.Section 2.3 has a lot of duplicative language about assignment that doesn't seem to apply to a waiver of moral rights.Section 2.4 requests written permission but doesn't clarify from whom. It's probably meant to be the third-party licensor because Gigster is mentioned in the first sentence, but it's not clear. Is it the customer? Maybe it is Gigster.Section 3.1 says the developer (unless it's milestone-driven) gets paid after "acceptance of the Deliverable by Gigster." But Section 3.2 sets up a clawback if the Customer rejects the deliverable. In any case, there's no description of any acceptance process. This is non-standard and a common source of problems for developers and clients alike. Maybe it's on the project page, but that's not mentioned here. There should be a formal acceptance procedure and timeline after which objections are waived and a deliverable is deemed accepted.Section 4.1 is silent on whether Gigster has any payment obligations if it terminates the contract without cause. Typically, some percentage of completion measure is used. This term would cause many developers to either only use this for small projects or to elect milestone payments to reduce their risk. There's no mention of upfront payments or deposits, so those common methods of reducing risk seem to be unavailable.Section 7.2 uses the term "Statement(s) of Work," but it's not defined and does not appear in the terms of service. Maybe it appears on the Project Page.Section 7.2 requires that no open-source code be used. It's broadly defined, and so even sample code found on stack overflow might be implicated. (An argument that many would make is that there are no damages from a breach of that provision if the code in question is unremarkable and perhaps indistinguishable from independently written code. But who wants to fight over this?) The same is true for any code with a GPL-like license that requires licensing of certain derivative works. On its face, this provision would seem to rule out a rails project, and the no third-party code would seem to rule out apps incorporating SDK code without specific permission from Gigster. Hopefully they incorporate those permissions in the project page and specifications.Section 8 requires indemnification of Gigster by the developer for infringement. However, it extends to all "Inventions," which includes things not included in the Deliverables (for which indemnification is typical). If a developer invents something, that Gigster takes, that turns out to have been patented by someone else the day before, the developer is now on the hook even though the developer didn't get paid for that invention or make any intentional distribution of it to the customer or Gigster. I think it's overly broad and outside the typical scope of an agreement like this.Section 10 - the non-solicitation is overly broad because it includes contractors and there's almost no way to find out whether someone falls into that category. It doesn't include a common safety valve for general, non-directed advertising. Also, the developer can't work for any Customer without Gigster's consent. This section uses "Company" as a defined term that is not defined. It's almost certainly meant to be Gigster but still....Section 10 also says that a contractor can perform other work unless there's a "conflict of interest." That's not defined and overly vague. Presumably every freelance developer has an inherent conflict of interest with Gigster because they compete with each other.Section 11 contains a typical arbitration and no-class-action clause. It's worth noticing but not unusual.Of course, each of my clients has particular concerns that are unique to them, so this list alone wouldn't be sufficient to give them advice about any particular engagement. If you're reading this, these questions may or may not be significant for you, and they almost certainly don't capture all your issues. Real legal advice deals with your specific facts. Don't get caught by not getting the real answer.