Effective Date: October 10, 2024
PLEASE NOTE: EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CONTAIN A MANDATORY ARBITRATION CLAUSE (SECTION 10) AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER (SECTION 10). THE CLAUSE AND WAIVER AFFECT HOW DISPUTES WITH THE CHILDREN'S PLACE ARE RESOLVED. YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE PROVISIONS. PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY. IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF CANADA, OR IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OR HAVE PURCHASED A PRODUCT IN ANY STATE, PROVINCE, TERRITORY OR JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH CLAUSES OR WAIVERS ARE PROHIBITED, THEN SECTION 10(b)(i) DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU TO THE EXTENT OF THE PROHIBITION.
This wireless network (“Service”) is provided by The Children’s Place, Inc. (“The Children’s Place”). Your use of
and access to the Service is governed by the Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) below. If you do not agree to these
Terms, do not use or access the Service.
The Children’s Place reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. The Children’s Place will
post any changes here. It is your responsibility to review these Terms each time you use our Service.
Terms & Conditions
a. 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, or to court if you are a resident of Canada, 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 at The Children’s Place, Inc., 500 Plaza Dr, Secaucus, NJ 07094, USA, Attention: Legal Department, 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 the 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 proceedings as set out in these Terms 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 action 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, which includes the power to enjoin the filing or prosecution of a demand for arbitration.
b. Dispute Resolution
(i)Arbitration Agreement and
Waiver of Certain Rights
Unless you are a resident of Canada (in which case Section 10 (b)(ii)
shall apply), you and The Children’s Place agree that, except as set forth below, we will resolve any
controversies, claims, counterclaims, or other disputes between you and The Children’s Place or you and
a
third-party agent of The Children’s Place (a “Claim”) through final and binding 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. The parties agree that the arbitration proceedings 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.
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.
To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send us an individual letter signed by you requesting
arbitration and describing your Claim at The Children’s Place, Inc., 500 Plaza Dr, Secaucus, NJ 07094,
USA,
Attention: Legal Department. This letter must be sent at least ten (10) business days before you
initiate an
arbitration proceeding against us.
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.
If you demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of
litigation,
The Children’s Place 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.
This arbitration agreement does not preclude you or The Children’s Place from seeking action by federal,
state, or local government agencies. You and The Children’s Place 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) business 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. In addition, you and The
Children’s
Place 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.
Neither you nor The Children’s Place 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 The
Children’s
Place’s individual Claims.
If for any reason a Claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, you and The Children’s Place
each
waive any right to a jury trial. 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. 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.
This Arbitration Agreement Section of the Terms will survive the termination of your relationship with The
Children’s Place.
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 THE CHILDREN’S PLACE WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.
Mass Arbitration Process Requirements
If twenty-five (25) or more similar claims are asserted against The Children’s Place at or around the same time by the same or coordinated counsel or are otherwise coordinated (and your Claim is one such claim) (a “Mass Arbitration”), 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. Regardless of the provisions in the arbitration agreement above about the prohibitive costs of individual arbitration for you, if your lawyer or their business partner is directly or indirectly paying or advancing the arbitration fees and costs in a mass arbitration on your behalf, the Process Arbitrator shall have discretion to determine whether the total arbitration fees and costs due to AAA should be split evenly between the claimants, on the one hand, and us, on the other hand. The Process Arbitrator shall make or confirm this discretionary decision before the initiation of each batch, as set out below. In the final decision, the arbitrator can reevaluate and divide the arbitration fees and costs among the parties in amounts they see fit to ensure a fair division among the parties. 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 The Children’s Place. 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 The Children’s Place 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 The Children’s Place. (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 The Children’s Place 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 The Children’s Place 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.
(ii) Governing Law, Choice of Forum and Waiver of Rights for Canadian Residents.
If you are a resident of Canada, you and The Children’s Place agree that any Claim shall be resolved in
accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario without regard to its conflict of law rules. Any disputes,
actions or proceedings relating to these Terms or your access to or use of the Site must be brought before the
courts of the Province of Ontario in the City of Toronto, Ontario and you irrevocably consent to the exclusive
jurisdiction and venue of such courts. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you
by such courts and to the venue of such courts.
No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power, or privilege arising from these Terms
operates, or may be construed, as a waiver thereof; and no single or partial exercise of any right, remedy,
power, or privilege hereunder precludes any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other
right, remedy, power, or privilege.
11. French Language
Applicable only if you reside in the Province of Quebec: You acknowledge having been offered the choice to enter
into these Terms in English and in French and having expressly requested to enter into these terms in English
only, after being provided with the French version. Therefore, the parties hereby consent to these Terms being
drawn up exclusively in English and to have all related documents be drawn up in English only. Vous reconnaissez
vous être fait offrir le choix de conclure ce contrat en anglais et en français et avoir expressément demandé de
le conclure uniquement an anglais, après avoir reçu la version française. Par conséquent, les parties
conviennent que ce contrat soit rédigé exclusivement en anglais et que tous les documents qui s’y rattachent
soient uniquement en anglais.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, OR TO SUBSEQUENT CHANGES, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE
SERVICE.