DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT - Please read carefully
Except as expressly provided below, I agree that by clicking the “I Agree” box on Social Finance, Inc.'s or any of its affiliates (together, “SoFi”) website, any claim, dispute or controversy arising out of or related to (i) my registration on SoFi's website, (ii) my submission of information to SoFi in connection with any non-mortgage loan offered by SoFi, (iii) my application for any non-mortgage loan offered by SoFi, (iv) my participation in SoFi's career services or entrepreneur program, or (v) the disclosures provided to me by SoFi in connection with any non-mortgage loan that SoFi offers (collectively, “Claim”) shall be, at my or your election, submitted to and resolved on an individual basis by binding arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§1 et seq. (the “FAA”) before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (“AAA Rules”) in effect at the time the arbitration is brought, or before any other party that you and I agree to in writing, provided that such party must not have in place a formal or informal policy that is inconsistent with or purports to override the terms of this Dispute Resolution Agreement. The AAA Rules are available online at www.adr.org. If the AAA cannot serve as administrator and we cannot agree on a replacement, a court with jurisdiction will select the administrator or arbitrator. For purposes of this Agreement, the terms “you,” “your,” and “yours” mean SoFi, any other subsequent holder of the unsecured loan I obtained from SoFi, and all of SoFi's and their officers, directors, employees, affiliates, subsidiaries, and parents. These terms also include any party named as a co-defendant with you in a Claim asserted by me, such as loan servicers or debt collectors. “Claim” has the broadest possible meaning, and includes initial claims, counterclaims, cross-claims and third-party claims. It includes disputes based upon contract, tort, consumer rights, fraud and other intentional torts, constitution, statute, regulation, ordinance, common law and equity (including claims for injunctive or declaratory relief). However, “Claim” does not include (A) any individual action brought by me in small claims court or my state's equivalent court, unless such action is transferred, removed or appealed to a different court. In addition, any dispute concerning the validity or enforceability of this Dispute Resolution Agreement must be decided by a court, or (B) disputes about the validity, enforceability, coverage or scope of this Arbitration Agreement or any part thereof, which are for a court to decide, provided that disputes about the validity or enforceability of the Loan Agreement as a whole are for the arbitrator to decide. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER FEDERAL LAW, YOU AND I AGREE THAT EITHER PARTY MAY ELECT TO ARBITRATE AND REQUIRE THE OTHER PARTY TO ARBITRATE ANY CLAIM UNDER THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS, WHICH ARE PART OF THIS AGREEMENT. EFFECTIVE AS OF OCTOBER 3, 2016, THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT DOES NOT APPLY IF, YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES OR A DEPENDENT OF SUCH MEMBER COVERED BY THE FEDERAL MILITARY LENDING ACT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE COVERED BY THE MILITARY LENDING ACT, IN WHICH CASE THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU, YOU MAY CONTACT SOFI AT (855) 456-7634. The Arbitration Agreement does not apply to any disputes relating to a mortgage loan or application for a mortgage loan.
RIGHT TO REJECT
I may reject this Dispute Resolution Agreement by mailing a signed rejection notice to SOFI LENDING CORP. P.O. Box 29372, San Francisco, CA 94129-0372 within sixty (60) days after registering on SoFi's website. Any rejection notice must include my name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and account number (if applicable).
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER
IF EITHER YOU OR I CHOOSE ARBITRATION, NEITHER PARTY WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN THE APPLICABLE ARBITRATION RULES, OR OTHERWISE TO LITIGATE THE DISPUTE OR CLAIM IN ANY COURT (OTHER THAN IN AN ACTION TO ENFORCE THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT OR THE ARBITRATOR'S AWARD). FURTHER, I WILL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER OF ANY CLASS OF CLAIMANTS PERTAINING TO ANY CLAIM SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION. THE ARBITRATOR'S DECISION WILL BE FINAL AND BINDING EXCEPT FOR ANY APPEAL RIGHT UNDER THE FAA. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU OR I WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.
CLASS ACTION WAIVER: IF EITHER YOU OR I ELECT TO ARBITRATE A CLAIM, NEITHER YOU NOR I WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE ACTION IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION, EITHER AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS MEMBER. Further, unless both you and I agree otherwise in writing, the arbitrator may not join or consolidate Claims with claims of any other persons. No arbitrator shall have authority to conduct any arbitration in violation of this provision or to issue any relief that applies to any person or entity except you and me individually.
PROCEDURES
If I reside in the U.S., any arbitration hearing shall take place within the federal judicial district in which I reside. If I reside outside the United States, I agree that any arbitration hearing shall take place in San Francisco, California. Each party will bear the expense of its own attorneys, experts and witnesses, regardless of which party prevails, unless applicable law or this Agreement gives a right to recover any of those fees from the other party. If my Claim is for $10,000 or less, you agree that I may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator, through a telephonic hearing or by an in-person hearing as established by the AAA Rules. If my Claim exceeds $10,000, the right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. All fees and expenses of the arbitrator and administrative fees and expenses of the arbitration shall be paid by the parties as provided by the AAA Rules, governing the proceeding, or by specific ruling by the arbitrator or agreement of the parties. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award in favor of the individual party seeking relief all remedies permitted by applicable substantive law, including, without limitation, compensatory, statutory and punitive damages (subject to constitutional limits that would apply in court), and attorneys' fees and costs. In addition, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief but only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted in that party's individual Claim. Upon the timely request of either party, the arbitrator shall write a brief explanation of the basis of his or her award. Any court with jurisdiction may enter judgment upon the arbitrator's award. If the arbitrator determines that any claim or defense is frivolous or wrongfully intended to oppress the other party, the arbitrator may award sanctions in the form of fees and expenses reasonably incurred by the other party (including arbitration administration fees, arbitrator's fees, and attorney, expert and witness fees), to the extent such fees and expenses could be imposed under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
NON-WAIVER
Even if all parties have opted to litigate a Claim in court, you or I may elect arbitration with respect to any Claim made by a new party or any Claim later asserted by a party in that or any related or unrelated lawsuit (including a Claim initially asserted on an individual basis but modified to be asserted on a class, representative or multi-party basis). Nothing in that litigation shall constitute a waiver of any rights under this Arbitration Agreement. For example, if you file a lawsuit against me in court to recover amounts due under the Loan Agreement, I have the right to request arbitration, but if I do not elect to request arbitration, you reserve and do not waive the right to request arbitration of any Claim (including any counterclaim) I later assert against you in that or any related or unrelated lawsuit. This Arbitration Agreement will apply to all Claims, even if the facts and circumstances giving rise to the Claims existed before the effective date of this Arbitration Agreement.
GOVERNING LAW
This Dispute Resolution Agreement is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce and shall be governed by the FAA, and not by any state law concerning arbitration. If I have a question about the AAA, I can contact them as follows: American Arbitration Association, 120 Broadway, Floor 21, New York, N.Y. 10271, 212-716-5800, www.adr.org.
SURVIVAL, SEVERABILITY
This Dispute Resolution Agreement shall survive the conclusion of any SoFi consumer product or service, full payment of any loan, your sale or transfer of any loan, any bankruptcy or insolvency, any forbearance or modification granted pursuant to this Agreement, any cancellation or request for cancellation of the Agreement or any disbursements under the Agreement. If any part or parts of this Dispute Resolution Agreement are found to be invalid or unenforceable by a decision of a tribunal of competent jurisdiction, then such specific part or parts shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed, but the remainder of this Dispute Resolution Agreement shall continue in full force and effect, except that: (A) If a determination is made in a proceeding involving you and me that the Class Action Waiver is invalid or unenforceable, only this sentence of this Arbitration Agreement will remain in force and the remainder of this Arbitration Agreement shall be null and void, provided that the determination concerning the Class Action Waiver shall be subject to appeal, and (B) If a Claim is brought seeking public injunctive relief and a court determines that the restrictions in this Arbitration Agreement prohibiting the arbitrator from awarding relief on behalf of third parties are unenforceable with respect to such Claim (and that determination becomes final after all appeals have been exhausted), the Claim for public injunctive relief will be determined in court and any individual Claims seeking monetary relief will be arbitrated. In such a case, the parties will request that the court stay the Claim for public injunctive relief until the arbitration award pertaining to individual relief has been entered in court. In no event will a Claim for public injunctive relief be arbitrated. I acknowledge that if I subsequently obtain a non-mortgage loan from SoFi, the arbitration agreement in the loan documentation will supersede this Dispute Resolution Agreement.