WEBSITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE
1. About the Website
(a) Welcome to www.cruzlawyers.com.au (the 'Website'). The Website Legal
Services (the 'Services ').
(b) The Website is operated by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd (ABN 15 663 828 966).
Access to and use of the Website, or any of its associated Products or Services,
is provided by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd. Please read these terms and conditions
(the 'Terms ') carefully. By using, browsing and/or reading the Website, this
signifies that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the Terms. If
you do not agree with the Terms, you must cease usage of the Website, or any
of Services, immediately.
(c) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd reserves the right to review and change any of the
Terms by updating this page at its sole discretion. When Cruz Lawyers Pty
Ltd updates the Terms, it will use reasonable endeavours to provide you with
notice of updates to the Terms. Any changes to the Terms take immediate effect
from the date of their publication. Before you continue, we recommend you keep
a copy of the Terms for your records.
2. Acceptance of the Terms
(a) You accept the Terms by remaining on the Website. You may also accept
the Terms by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms where this option is
made available to you by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd in the user interface.
3. Use of our Services
(a) In order for us to provide you with our services, you may be required to provide
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd with your personal information.
(b) As part of this process, or as part of your continued use of the Services, you
may be required to provide personal information about yourself (such as
identification or contact details), including:
(i) Your name and date of birth;
(ii) Your residential address for correspondence and mailing address;
(iii) Your email address and telephone number;
(iv) Other Confidential details about your legal matter including the
circumstances and facts surrounding your legal matter.
(c) You warrant that any information you give to Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd in the
course of completing the registration process will always be accurate, correct and
up to date.
(d) By accessing our services through our website (and through other mediums
including contacting us via the phone, email, or through social media such as
Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn), and providing us with your personal
information you agree to be bound by the Terms.
(e) You may not use the Services and may not accept the Terms if:
(i) you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with Cruz Lawyers
Pty Ltd; or
(ii) you are a person barred from receiving the Services under the laws of
Australia or other countries including the country in which you are
resident or from which you use the Services.
4. Your obligations as a Member
(a) As a Member, you agree to comply with the following:
(i) you will use the Services only for purposes that are permitted by:
(A) the Terms; and
(B) any applicable law, regulation or generally accepted practices
or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions;
(ii) you have the sole responsibility for protecting the confidentiality of
your password if required and/or email address. Use of your password
by any other person may result in the immediate cancellation of the
Services;
(iii) any use of your registration information by any other person, or third
parties, is strictly prohibited. You agree to immediately notify Cruz
Lawyers Pty Ltd of any unauthorised use of your password or email
address or any breach of security of which you have become aware;
(iv) access and use of the Website is limited, non-transferable and allows for
the sole use of the Website by you for the purposes of Cruz Lawyers
Pty Ltd providing the Services;
(v) you will not use the Services or the Website in connection with any
commercial endeavours except those that are specifically endorsed or
approved by the management of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd;
(vi) you will not use the Services or Website for any illegal and/or
unauthorised use which includes collecting email addresses of Members
by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email
or unauthorised framing of or linking to the Website;
(vii) you agree that commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of
solicitation may be removed from the Website without notice and may result
in termination of the Services. Appropriate legal action will be taken by
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd for any illegal or unauthorised use of the
Website; and
(viii) you acknowledge and agree that any automated use of the Website or
its Services is prohibited.
5. Payment
(a) Where the option is given to you, and in accordance with our costs disclosure
and agreement, you may make payment for the Services (the ' Services Fee')
by way of:
(i) Electronic funds transfer ('EFT ') into our nominated bank account
(ii) Cash ('Cash')
(b) All payments made in the course of your use of the Services are made in
accordance with our ‘costs disclosure and agreement’ provided to you upon your
request for our services. In using the Website, the Services or when making any
payment in relation to your use of the Services, you warrant that you have read,
understood and agree to be bound by our costs disclosure and agreement
provided to you upon your request for our services.
(c) You acknowledge and agree that where a request for the payment of the
Services Fee is returned or denied, for whatever reason, by your financial
institution or is unpaid by you for any other reason, then you are liable for any
costs, including banking fees and charges, associated with the Services Fee.
(d) You agree and acknowledge that Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd can vary the
Services Fee at any time, and we will issue you with an updated costs
disclosure agreement at the earliest opportunity.
6. Refund Policy
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd will only provide you with a refund of the Services Fee in the
event they are unable to continue to provide the Services or if the Principal Lawyer of
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd makes a decision, at its absolute discretion, that it is
reasonable to do so under the circumstances (the 'Refund').
7. Copyright and Intellectual Property
(a) The Website, the Services and all of the related products of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd
are subject to copyright. The material on the Website is protected by copyright under
the laws of Australia and through international treaties. Unless otherwise indicated,
all rights (including copyright) in the Services and compilation of the Website
(including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, button icons, video images, audio
clips, Website, code, scripts, design elements and interactive
features) or the Services are owned or controlled for these purposes, and are
reserved by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd or its contributors.
(b) All trademarks, service marks and trade names are owned, registered and/or
licensed by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd, who grants to you a worldwide, nonexclusive, royalty-free, revocable license whilst you are a Member to:
(i) use the Website pursuant to the Terms;
(ii) copy and store the Website and the material contained in the Website
in your device's cache memory; and
(iii) print pages from the Website for your own personal and non-commercial use.
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd does not grant you any other rights whatsoever in
relation to the Website or the Services. All other rights are expressly reserved
by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd.
(c) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd retains all rights, title and interest in and to the Website
and all related Services. Nothing you do on or in relation to the Website will
transfer any:
(i) business name, trading name, domain name, trade mark, industrial
design, patent, registered design or copyright, or
(ii) a right to use or exploit a business name, trading name, domain name,
trade mark or industrial design, or
(iii) a thing, system or process that is the subject of a patent, registered
design or copyright (or an adaptation or modification of such a thing,
system or process),
to you.
(d) You may not, without the prior written permission of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd and
the permission of any other relevant rights owners: broadcast, republish, up-load
to a third party, transmit, post, distribute, show or play in public, adapt or change
in any way the Services or third party Services for any purpose, unless otherwise
provided by these Terms. This prohibition does not extend to materials on the
Website, which are freely available for re-use or are in the public domain.
8. Privacy
(a) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd takes your privacy seriously and any information
provided through your use of the Website and/or Services are subject to
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd's Privacy Policy, which is available on the Website.
9. General Disclaimer
(a) Nothing in the Terms limits or excludes any guarantees, warranties,
representations or conditions implied or imposed by law, including the
Australian Consumer Law (or any liability under them) which by law may not
be limited or excluded.
(b) Subject to this clause, and to the extent permitted by law:
(i) all terms, guarantees, warranties, representations or conditions which
are not expressly stated in the Terms are excluded; and
(ii) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd will not be liable for any special, indirect or
consequential loss or damage (unless such loss or damage is reasonably
foreseeable resulting from our failure to meet an applicable Consumer
Guarantee), loss of profit or opportunity, or damage to goodwill arising out
of or in connection with the Services or these Terms (including as a result
of not being able to use the Services or the late supply of the Services),
whether at common law, under contract, tort (including negligence), in
equity, pursuant to statute or otherwise.
(c) Use of the Website and the Services is at your own risk. Everything on the
Website and the Services is provided to you "as is" and "as available" without
warranty or condition of any kind. None of the affiliates, directors, officers,
employees, agents, contributors and licensors of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd make
any express or implied representation or warranty about the Services or any
products or Services (including the products or Services of Buckley Lawyers Pty
Ltd) referred to on the Website, includes (but is not restricted to) loss or damage
you might suffer as a result of any of the following:
(i) failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect,
failure to correct defects, delay in operation or transmission, computer
virus or other harmful component, loss of data, communication line
failure, unlawful third party conduct, or theft, destruction, alteration or
unauthorised access to records;
(ii) the accuracy, suitability or currency of any information on the Website,
the Services, or any of its Services related products (including third party
material and advertisements on the Website);
(iii) costs incurred as a result of you using the Website, the Services or any of
the products of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd; and
(iv) the Services or operation in respect to links which are provided for
your convenience.
10. Limitation of liability
(a) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd's total liability arising out of or in connection with the
Services or these Terms, however arising, including under contract, tort
(including negligence), in equity, under statute or otherwise, will not exceed the
resupply of the Services to you.
(b) You expressly understand and agree that Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd, its affiliates,
employees, agents, contributors and licensors shall not be liable to you for any
direct, indirect, incidental, special consequential or exemplary damages which
may be incurred by you, however caused and under any theory of liability. This
shall include, but is not limited to, any loss of profit (whether incurred directly or
indirectly), any loss of goodwill or business reputation and any other intangible
loss.
11. Termination of Contract
(a) The Terms will continue to apply until terminated by either you or by
Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd as set out below.
(b) If you want to terminate the Terms, you may do so by:
(i) providing Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd with 28 days' notice of your intention
to terminate in writing; and
(ii) complying with our costs disclosure and agreement ‘general terms of
business’.
Your notice should be sent, in writing, to Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd via email to:
info@cruzlawyers.com.au
(c) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd may at any time, terminate the Terms with you if:
(i) you have breached any provision of the Terms or intend to breach
any provision;
(ii) Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd is required to do so by law;
(iii) the provision of the Services to you by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd is, in the
opinion of Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd, no longer commercially viable.
(d) Subject to local applicable laws, Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd reserves the right to
discontinue, cancel, suspend or deny, in its sole discretion, your access to all or
any portion of the Website or the Services without notice if you breach any
provision of the Terms or any applicable law or if your conduct impacts Cruz
Lawyers Pty Ltd's name or reputation or violates the rights of those of another
party.
12. Indemnity
(a) You agree to indemnify Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd, its affiliates, employees, agents,
contributors, third party content providers and licensors from and against:
(i) all actions, suits, claims, demands, liabilities, costs, expenses, loss and
damage (including legal fees on a full indemnity basis) incurred, suffered
or arising out of or in connection with Your Content;
(ii) any direct or indirect consequences of you accessing, using or transacting
on the Website or attempts to do so; and/or
(iii) any breach of the Terms.
13. Dispute Resolution
(a) Compulsory:
If a dispute arises out of or relates to the Terms, either party may not
commence any Tribunal or Court proceedings in relation to the dispute, unless
the following clauses have been complied with (except where urgent
interlocutory relief is sought).
(b) Notice:
A party to the Terms claiming a dispute ('Dispute') has arisen under the Terms,
must give written notice to the other party detailing the nature of the dispute, the
desired outcome and the action required to settle the Dispute.
(c) Resolution:
On receipt of that notice ('Notice') by that other party, the parties to the Terms
('Parties ') must:
(i) Within 28 days of the Notice endeavour in good faith to resolve the
Dispute expeditiously by negotiation or such other means upon which
they may mutually agree;
(ii) If for any reason whatsoever, 28 days after the date of the Notice, the
Dispute has not been resolved, the Parties must either agree upon
selection of a mediator or request that an appropriate mediator be
appointed by the Australian Mediation Association (AMA) or AMA’s
nominee;
(iii) The Parties are equally liable for the fees and reasonable expenses of a
mediator and the cost of the venue of the mediation and without limiting
the foregoing undertake to pay any amounts requested by the mediator
as a pre-condition to the mediation commencing. The Parties must each
pay their own costs associated with the mediation;
(iv) The mediation will be held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
(d) Confidentiality
All communications concerning negotiations made by the Parties arising out of
and in connection with this dispute resolution clause are confidential and to the
extent possible, must be treated as "without prejudice" negotiations for the
purpose of applicable laws of evidence.
(e) Termination of Mediation:
If 2 months has elapsed after the start of a mediation of the Dispute and the
Dispute has not been resolved, either Party may ask the mediator to terminate
the mediation and the mediator must do so.
14. Venue and Jurisdiction
(a) The Services offered by Cruz Lawyers Pty Ltd is intended to be viewed by
residents of Australia. In the event of any dispute arising out of or in relation to
the Website, you agree that the exclusive venue for resolving any dispute shall
be in the courts of New South Wales, Australia.
15. Governing Law
(a) The Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any dispute,
controversy, proceeding or claim of whatever nature arising out of or in any way
relating to the Terms and the rights created hereby shall be governed, interpreted
and construed by, under and pursuant to the laws of New South Wales, Australia,
without reference to conflict of law principles, notwithstanding mandatory rules.
The validity of this governing law clause is not contested. The Terms shall be
binding to the benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns.
16. Independent Legal Advice
(a) Both parties confirm and declare that the provisions of the Terms are fair and
reasonable and both parties having taken the opportunity to obtain independent
legal advice and declare the Terms are not against public policy on the grounds
of inequality or bargaining power or general grounds of restraint of trade.
17. Severance
(a) If any part of these Terms is found to be void or unenforceable by a Court of
competent jurisdiction, that part shall be severed and the rest of the Terms
shall remain in force.
