Text Terms

Limitation of Liability

1. For purposes of this limitation of liability provision, "HCo" includes HCo, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessors, successors and assigns, and each of its and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents.

2. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: in no event will HCo be liable to you for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages of any kind (including, but not limited to, loss of revenue, income or profits, loss of use or data, or damages for business interruption) (collectively, "damages"), arising from or in any way related to Hollister House Rewards, the use of any reward by someone other than the Hollister House Rewards member to whom the reward was sent, or to this agreement, regardless of the form of action, whether based in contract, tort (including, but not limited to, simple negligence, whether active, passive or imputed), or any other legal or equitable theory (even if HCo has been advised of the possibility of such damages and regardless of whether such damages were foreseeable).

3. These limitations of liability shall survive the termination or expiration of this agreement. Certain jurisdictions do not allow these limitations on liability for certain types of damages; as a result, the limitations of liability contained herein may not apply to you in whole or in part. The foregoing paragraph may not apply to a resident of New Jersey.

Dispute Resolution (including informal dispute resolution process; arbitration provision; class action waiver; jury trial waiver; governing law and forum)

Please read this section carefully - it may significantly affect your legal rights. It contains procedures for mandatory pre-dispute resolution, binding arbitration, a class action waiver, a jury trial waiver, and a provision on governing law and forum.

1. Definitions.

   • "Dispute" will be given the broadest possible meaning permitted by law. "Dispute" means any claim or controversy between you and HCo, including but not limited to: (1) any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of this or any prior Agreement (including, but not limited to, claims relating to advertising); (2) any dispute or claim that is currently the subject of purported class action litigation in which you are not a member of a certified class; and (3) any dispute or claim that may arise after the cancelation or expiration of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall decide all issues except the following (which are for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide): (1) issues that are reserved for a court in this Agreement; (2) issues that relate to the scope, validity, and enforceability of the arbitration provision, class action waiver, or any of the provisions of this Dispute Resolution section; and (3) issues that relate to the arbitrability of any Dispute. This Agreement and this arbitration provision do not prevent you from bringing a Dispute to the attention of any government agency. Notwithstanding anything in this arbitration provision to the contrary, either you or HCo may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or otherwise enforce intellectual property rights. You and HCo agree that this Agreement evidences a transaction in interstate commerce and that this arbitration provision will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law.
   • For purposes of this Dispute Resolution section, "HCo" means Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., and any of its past, present, or future subsidiaries, parents, affiliates, assigns, or vendors and independent contractors, and each of their officers, directors, employees and agents.

2. Mandatory Informal Dispute Resolution Process.

   • Should you and HCo (each a "party," and collectively, the "parties") have a Dispute, the parties agree that they will make a good faith effort to resolve it informally. Compliance with this informal dispute resolution process ("Process") is a condition precedent to commencing any formal Dispute resolution proceeding in arbitration, small claims court, or otherwise.
   • The parties agree that any relevant limitations period (including any statute of limitations) and filing fee or other deadlines will be tolled from the date of receipt of a completed notice through the conclusion of this Process.
   • The party initiating any Dispute must send the other a written notice of the Dispute that includes all of this information: (1) information sufficient to identify any transaction and account at issue; (2) contact information (including name, address, telephone number, and email address); and (3) a detailed description of the nature and basis of the Dispute and the relief sought, including a calculation for it. The notice must be personally signed by the party initiating the Dispute (and their counsel, if represented). If you have the Dispute with us, you must send this notice by email to disputeresolution@anfcorp.com or by mail to Abercrombie & Fitch, 6301 Fitch Path, New Albany, OH 43054, Attention: Legal Department. If we have a Dispute with you, we will send this notice to the most recent contact information we have for you.
   • For a period of 60 days from receipt of a completed notice, you and HCo agree to negotiate in good faith in an effort to informally resolve the Dispute. The party receiving the notice may request a telephone settlement conference to aid in the resolution of the Dispute. If such a conference is requested, you and an HCo representative will personally attend (with counsel, if represented). The parties agree to participate in good faith in this conference, which will be held at a time convenient for both parties, and throughout this Process. If for some reason the Dispute is not resolved within 60 days after receipt of a completed notice, which can be extended by agreement of the parties, you and HCo agree to the further Dispute resolution provisions set forth below.
   • If the sufficiency of a notice or compliance with this Process is at issue, such issue may be raised with and decided by a court of competent jurisdiction at either party's election, and any arbitration shall be stayed. The court shall have the authority to enforce this condition precedent to arbitration, which includes the power to enjoin the filing or prosecution of arbitrations and the assessment or collection of arbitration fees. Nothing in this paragraph limits the right of a party to seek damages for non-compliance with this Process in arbitration.

3. Mutual Arbitration Provision.

   • Any Dispute between you and HCo that is not resolved as set forth above will be resolved through binding individual arbitration, except that either of us may take a Dispute to small claims court so long as it isn't removed or appealed to a court of general jurisdiction. In arbitration, there is no judge or jury and there is less discovery and appellate review than in court.

   • Procedures for Arbitration.

     • Arbitrations shall be heard and determined by a single arbitrator and be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") pursuant to its Consumer Arbitration Rules (collectively the "AAA Rules") as modified by the version of this arbitration provision that is in effect when notice of a Dispute is given. The AAA Rules can be obtained from the AAA by visiting its website (www.adr.org) You and we understand and agree that the AAA's administrative determination that this arbitration provision comports with the Consumer Due Process Protocols is final and that neither a court nor an arbitrator has the authority to revisit it. If the AAA is unavailable or unwilling to administer an arbitration in accordance with this arbitration provision, the parties will work together in good faith to agree on an arbitration organization that will do so. If the parties cannot agree, they shall petition a court of competent jurisdiction to appoint an administrator that will do so.
     • To begin an arbitration proceeding, after satisfying the condition precedent identified above, you or HCo must (1) send a verified and personally signed demand for arbitration that describes (a) the nature and basis of the claims, and (b) the nature and basis of the relief sought, including a detailed calculation for it; (2) send the signed certification of completion of the process set forth in the Informal Dispute Resolution Process section; and (3) contact the AAA or the applicable arbitration administrator and follow the appropriate procedures to commence the arbitration. If the party initiating the arbitration is represented by an attorney, the arbitration demand must also be signed by the attorney. By signing the arbitration demand, the attorney certifies to the best of their information, knowledge, and belief, formed after a reasonable inquiry that: (1) the arbitration demand is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (2) the claims or other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery. The arbitrator shall be authorized to impose any sanctions available under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 against any represented party and their counsel. Your demand for arbitration must be sent to: Abercrombie & Fitch, 6301 Fitch Path, New Albany, OH 43054, Attention: Legal Department. HCo's demand for arbitration to you will be sent to you based on the most recent contact information that you have provided to HCo.
     • Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the applicable AAA rules. In addition, the provisions of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 (cost-shifting) shall apply and be enforced by the arbitrator after entry of an award. You and HCo agree that the parties have a shared interest in reducing the costs and increasing the efficiencies associated with arbitration. Therefore, you or HCo may elect to engage with the AAA regarding arbitration fees, and you and HCo agree that the parties (and counsel, if represented) will work together in good faith to ensure that arbitration remains cost-effective for all parties.
     • The arbitration may be conducted by telephone, video, based on written submissions, or in-person, except any Dispute seeking $25,000 or more or injunctive relief shall have an in-person or video hearing unless the parties agree otherwise. You and HCo reserve the right to request a hearing in any matter from the arbitrator. Any in-person hearing will be held in the county or parish where you live or at another mutually agreed location. You and an HCo representative will personally appear at any hearing (with counsel, if represented).
     • The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator who will apply and be bound by this Agreement as a court would, and will make determinations regarding any Dispute according to applicable law and facts based upon the record and no other basis. An arbitrator may award any relief that would be available in a court, including injunctive or declaratory relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual claim. To the fullest extent allowable by applicable law, you and we agree that each may bring claims against the other only in your or our individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and we agree otherwise, an arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of class, collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative proceeding. An arbitrator must follow and enforce this Agreement as a court would. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, any of these prohibitions on non-individualized injunctive or declaratory relief and class, collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative proceedings are found to be unenforceable with respect to a particular claim or request for relief (such as a request for public injunctive relief), then such a claim or request for relief will be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction, after all other claims and requests for relief are arbitrated.

   • Additional Procedures for Multiple Case Filings.

     • You and HCo agree that these Additional Procedures for Multiple Case Filings (in addition to the other sections of this arbitration provision) shall apply if you choose to participate in a Multiple Case Filing. If 25 or more similar claims are asserted against HCo by the same or coordinated counsel or are otherwise coordinated, the resolution of your Dispute might be delayed and ultimately proceed in court. The parties agree that as part of these procedures, their counsel shall meet and confer in good faith in an effort to resolve the Disputes, streamline procedures, address the exchange of information, modify the number of disputes to be adjudicated, and conserve the parties' and the AAA's resources. If your claim is part of a Multiple Case Filing, any applicable limitations periods (including statutes of limitations) shall be tolled for your Dispute from the time that your Dispute is first submitted to the AAA until your Dispute is selected to proceed as part of a staged process or is settled, withdrawn, otherwise resolved, or opted out of arbitration pursuant to this provision.
     • Stage One: If at least 100 Disputes are submitted as part of the Multiple Case Filing, counsel for the claimants and counsel for HCo shall each select 50 Disputes to be filed and to proceed as cases in individual arbitrations as part of this initial staged process. The number of Disputes to be selected to proceed in Stage One can be increased by agreement of counsel for the parties (and if there are fewer than 100 Disputes, all shall proceed individually in Stage One). Each of the 100 (or fewer) cases shall be assigned to a different arbitrator and proceed individually. If a case is withdrawn before the issuance of an arbitration award, another claim shall be selected to proceed as part of Stage One. The remaining Disputes shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration or shall any arbitration fees be assessed or collected in connection with those claims. After this initial set of proceedings, the parties agree that they shall participate in a mediation session with a former state or federal court judge in an effort to resolve the remaining claims or to discuss potential ways to streamline the procedures for adjudicating the remaining claims, and HCo shall pay the mediator's fee.
     • Stage Two: If the remaining Disputes have not been resolved at the conclusion of Stage One, counsel for the claimants and counsel for HCo shall each select 100 Disputes per side to be filed and to proceed as cases in individual arbitrations as part of a second staged process. The number of Disputes to be selected to proceed as part of this second staged process can be increased by agreement of counsel for the parties (and if there are fewer than 200 Disputes, all shall proceed individually in Stage Two). No more than 5 cases may be assigned to a single arbitrator to proceed individually. If a case is withdrawn before the issuance of an arbitration award, another claim shall be selected to proceed as part of Stage Two. The remaining Disputes shall not be filed or deemed filed in arbitration nor shall any arbitration fees be assessed or collected in connection with those claims. After this second set of staged proceedings, the parties shall engage in a global mediation session of all remaining Disputes with a retired federal or state court judge jointly selected by counsel in an effort to resolve the remaining Disputes (as informed by the adjudications of cases in Stages One and Two), and HCo shall pay the mediator's fee.
     • Upon completion of the mediation set forth in Stage Two, each remaining Dispute (if any) that is not settled or not withdrawn shall be opted out of arbitration and may proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the remainder of the Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for the parties may mutually agree in writing to proceed with the adjudication of some or all of the remaining Disputes in individual arbitrations consistent with the process set forth in Stage Two (except Disputes shall be randomly selected and mediation shall be elective by agreement of counsel) or through another mutually-agreeable process. A court of competent jurisdiction shall have the authority to enforce the Additional Procedures for Multiple Case Filings, including the power to enjoin the mass filing or prosecution of arbitrations and the assessment or collection of arbitration fees.
     • The Additional Procedures for Multiple Case Filings provision and each of its requirements are essential parts of this arbitration provision. If, after exhaustion of all appeals, a court of competent jurisdiction decides that the Additional Procedures for Multiple Case Filings apply to your Dispute and are not enforceable, then your Dispute shall not proceed in arbitration and shall only proceed in a court of competent jurisdiction consistent with the remainder of the Agreement.

   • Future Changes to Arbitration Provision.

     • If we make any future changes to this arbitration provision (other than a change to our contact information), you may reject any such change by sending your personally signed, written notice to the address provided above within 30 days of the change. Such written notice does not constitute an opt out of arbitration altogether. By rejecting any future change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and HCo in accordance with this version of the arbitration provision.

4. Waiver of Jury Trials.

   • You and HCo waive the right to a jury trial to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

5. Waiver of Class Actions.

   • You and HCo agree that any proceeding, whether in arbitration or litigation, will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, collective, consolidated, private attorney general, or representative action. You and we agree to waive any right to bring or participate in such an action in arbitration or in court to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties retain the right to participate in a class-wide settlement.

6. Governing Law and Forum; Survival.

   • This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of Ohio, United States of America, without regard to Ohio's conflict of laws rules. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall have no applicability. If the arbitration provision is ever deemed unenforceable or void, or a dispute between the parties is not subject to arbitration, you irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in Ohio, United States of America, for purposes of any legal action arising out of or related to this Agreement, and waive any objections as to personal jurisdiction as to the laying of venue in such courts due to: (1) inconvenient forum or (2) any other basis or any right to seek to transfer or change venue of any such action to another court.
   • This Dispute Resolution section shall survive the cancellation or expiration of the Agreement.

Severability and Survival

Except as otherwise provided herein, if any provision of these Terms of Use shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

In addition to such other provisions hereof which, by their terms, survive any termination or expiration of these Terms of Use, the following sections shall survive termination of these Terms of Use: Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution.