Binding Arbitration & Disputes

Homeward and NeotericX

Homeward is owned and operated by NeotericX Incorporated. This Homeward policy is effective October 30, 2026. Mandatory legal rights and applicable separate agreements take precedence.

Express agreement and scope

WHEN YOU SEPARATELY ACCEPT THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IN THE INQUIRY FORM, YOU AND NEOTERICX INCORPORATED MUTUALLY AGREE TO RESOLVE COVERED DISPUTES BY FINAL, BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF A COURT OR JURY TRIAL, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW.

This website arbitration agreement does not cover employment, employee equity awards, labor organizing, collective bargaining, employment discrimination or accommodation claims, protected reporting, or a separate signed engagement. Covered disputes are claims between you and NeotericX arising from the accepted website Terms of Service, your submitted inquiry, or subsequent communications about that inquiry, whether based on contract, tort, statute, or another legal theory. This agreement does not cover unrelated organizer activity or account registration. This agreement applies prospectively from express acceptance. Mere browsing, sending a privacy request, or viewing this page is not acceptance. It does not retroactively cover a dispute that arose before acceptance or override a separate signed agreement governing an engagement.

Informal resolution

Before filing a covered arbitration, either party should send a written dispute notice describing the issue, relevant facts, requested relief, and reply details. Send notices to info@neotericx.info with “Dispute notice”; NeotericX will use your supplied contact address. The parties will attempt resolution for 30 days after receipt. Applicable filing periods are tolled during this agreed 30-day process to the extent permitted by law.

This process does not prevent timely protective filings, urgent court relief, eligible small-claims proceedings, regulator complaints, or exercise of privacy rights. It imposes no in-person conference or unnecessary verification barrier. Formal arbitration filing and service must follow the administrator’s rules; a company email notice alone is not an arbitration filing.

Administrator and procedure

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) will administer covered arbitration before one neutral arbitrator. Its Consumer Arbitration Rules and applicable consumer due-process requirements govern consumer disputes; its Commercial Arbitration Rules govern other covered disputes, subject to mandatory law. Rules and filing information are available from AAA. This agreement controls only where consistent with mandatory law and applicable consumer protections.

The parties may use a documents-only, telephone, or video process where the rules permit and applicable consent requirements are satisfied. Any required hearing location must be reasonably accessible and comply with the applicable rules and law. The parties have a fair opportunity to present their case and obtain appropriate discovery. The arbitrator may award the individual relief available under applicable law and must provide a reasoned written award. Judgment may be entered by a court with jurisdiction; judicial review is limited as provided by law.

Costs and administration

Consumer fees and any hardship relief follow AAA’s applicable rules and fee schedule. NeotericX will pay fees and arbitrator compensation allocated to the business by those rules or applicable law; this agreement does not shift those costs to a consumer contrary to law or the rules. Statutory rights to attorney fees and remedies remain available.

NeotericX must meet applicable AAA clause-review, registration, payment, and administration requirements before seeking to rely on AAA administration. Listing AAA here is not a claim that this clause is registered or approved. If AAA declines or cannot administer and the parties cannot agree on an eligible neutral alternative, either party may bring the dispute in a competent court, subject to mandatory law.

Individual proceedings and class-action waiver

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH PARTY AGREES TO BRING COVERED CLAIMS ONLY IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, NOT AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER, AND WAIVES CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, AND REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDINGS FOR THOSE CLAIMS. An arbitrator may not conduct class arbitration without the express written agreement of all affected parties.

This provision does not prevent individuals from filing their own claims, using common counsel, or using applicable administrator procedures for coordinated or mass individual filings. It does not waive non-waivable public injunctive relief, statutory representative rights, or remedies that must remain available under applicable law. If this waiver is unenforceable for a particular claim or remedy, that claim or remedy proceeds in a competent court to the extent required; the clause does not authorize compulsory class arbitration.

Jury-trial waiver

TO THE EXTENT ENFORCEABLE, BOTH PARTIES KNOWINGLY WAIVE TRIAL BY JURY FOR COVERED DISPUTES. Arbitration is decided by an arbitrator, not a jury. If a covered dispute must proceed in court, this separate mutual jury waiver applies only where the law permits it and the court finds it enforceable. No waiver removes a jury right that cannot lawfully be waived in this manner.

Exceptions and protected rights

Either party may bring an eligible individual claim in small-claims court. Either may seek temporary or preliminary court relief needed to preserve rights pending arbitration without waiving arbitration of the merits. Neither party is barred from contacting or cooperating with a regulator, law enforcement, or a public authority.

Claims or remedies that applicable law makes non-arbitrable remain in the appropriate forum. This includes a claimant’s election where federal law invalidates predispute arbitration or joint-action waivers for cases relating to sexual assault or sexual harassment. Non-waivable privacy, consumer, employment, whistleblower, and public-injunction protections remain intact. This website agreement is not an employment arbitration agreement.

For consumers in jurisdictions that prohibit or restrict predispute consumer arbitration, class waivers, jury waivers, or foreign forum clauses, those restrictions control. This agreement does not deprive you of mandatory protections or a protected right to use your local courts. There is no blanket contractual opt-out from otherwise enforceable covered arbitration, but every legally required exception remains available.

Governing law, courts, and interpretation

The U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs this arbitration agreement where applicable. Delaware substantive law governs the website terms subject to mandatory applicable protections. A court with jurisdiction decides questions of contract formation and enforceability of this arbitration agreement and its waivers, including mandatory statutory exceptions. The arbitrator decides the merits of claims validly submitted to arbitration.

For court proceedings that may lawfully be assigned a forum by contract, the parties consent to competent state or federal courts in Delaware, except eligible small-claims proceedings and mandatory local forum rights. If a provision is invalid, sever it only to the extent lawful, preserving the exceptions and court routes above. Nothing permits unilateral selection of a biased substitute arbitrator.

Changes, records, and communication

The version expressly accepted when you submit an inquiry governs that acceptance. Material amendments require renewed express acceptance for newly covered interactions; posting new terms does not retroactively rewrite an agreement or existing dispute. The website records the accepted terms, privacy-notice, and arbitration versions with the submission timestamp. You may print or save these pages and request the version recorded for your inquiry.

These provisions do not impose blanket confidentiality that prevents protected disclosures, legal advice, statutory reporting, or enforcement of an award. A lawful case-specific protective order may still apply. Contact info@neotericx.info about this agreement.