14. Violations. All assignments referred to Contractor by Company or an Insurer during the term of the Agreement shall be deemed to be Network Program Assignments subject to all Network Program requirements, including, but not limited to, billing requirements, which Company and Insurer expressly reserve the right to change from time to time. Removing Network Program Assignments from the Network Program causes significant harm to the business of Company. Therefore, any solicitation or other attempts to remove Network Program Assignments from the Network Program are expressly prohibited and will result in Contractor owing Company $1,000 in liquidated damages per Network Program Assignment and shall subject Contractor to immediate potential suspension or expulsion from the Network Program at Company’s sole discretion in addition to any legal remedies to which Company may be entitled pursuant to the Agreement or applicable law. Contractor shall be solely responsible and liable for any warranty or escalation issues with respect to any Network Program Assignments taken out of the Network Program. Contractor shall not solicit, discuss or enter into any other agreements, whether written or oral, with any Claimant in connection with a Network Program Assignment for other potential opportunities and services for work not related to the Network Program Assignment without the written consent of Company. Contractor shall not during the term of the Agreement make any referrals of other contractors or tradespeople to any Claimant or to anyone to whom Contractor knows or has reason to believe Contractor or another member of the Network Program will provide, or to anyone to whom Contractor or another member of the Network Program is providing or has provided, Services. Under no circumstances shall Contractor recommend to a Claimant that a public adjuster should be engaged. Contractor acknowledges and agrees that neither Contractor nor its authorized representatives shall act as or hold itself/himself/herself out as public adjusters or represent Claimants or negotiate with any Insurer on behalf of Claimants in connection with any insurance claim. Any violation of this section shall be grounds for immediate termination of the Agreement.
15. Representations and Warranties. Contractor represents and warrants that it is duly organized, validly existing, and in good standing and has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as now conducted in each jurisdiction in which the failure to so qualify would have a material adverse effect on its business. Contractor represents and warrants that all action on the part of Contractor, and its officers, directors, managers, shareholders, or members, necessary for the authorization, execution, and delivery of the Agreement has been taken. The performance of all obligations of Contractor hereunder constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of Contractor, enforceable against Contractor in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof. Contractor represents and warrants that Contractor is currently in compliance with, and at all times during the term of the Agreement shall continue to comply with, all applicable laws, rules, regulations, licensing, and registration requirements necessary to provide the Services hereunder. Contractor represents and warrants that Contractor possesses the technical expertise and other knowledge and abilities required to timely and fully meet Contractor’s obligations under the Agreement, and represents, warrants, and covenants that no claim, litigation, proceeding, arbitration, investigation, or material controversy is pending, has been threatened, or is contemplated that would have a material adverse effect on Contractor’s ability to enter into the Agreement or to provide the Services hereunder.
16. Warranties. Contractor warrants that all Services will be performed and completed in a good, professional and workmanlike manner, in accordance with industry trade standards and applicable laws and will be free from defects in workmanship for five (5) years from completion of the work or as otherwise set forth in any applicable SLA, and that all materials provided in the performance of Services will be free from defects for a period of time equal to the duration of the applicable manufacturer’s warranty. Contractor shall be responsible for the cost and administration of all warranty work arising from Contractor’s Services. If Contractor is unable to satisfactorily remedy any defects, Company has the right to assign a third party to remedy the defects at the expense of Contractor, and Company shall have the right to recover the cost of the warranty work from Contractor. Contractor shall be responsible for all damage caused by it, and its employees, agents, and subcontractors, in the performance of Services. Contractor shall be responsible for any defective or improper work or material caused by its failure to comply with directions given by Company, and the failure of Contractor to comply with any applicable federal, state, or local laws, including, but not limited to, applicable building codes. Notwithstanding any termination of the Agreement, Contractor agrees to perform any warranty work arising from Services performed by Contractor while in the Network Program. The obligations of this section shall survive the expiration or termination of the Agreement.
17. Indemnification. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law Contractor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Insurer, Company, and Claimants, and their affiliated entities and each of their directors, officers, managers, agents, employees, successors, assigns, and representatives (each an “Indemnified Party”), from and against any and all suits, actions, liens, proceedings, liabilities, settlements, claims, damages, losses, and attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses (“Claims”), arising out of, related to or in any way connected with the acts or omissions of Contractor, or anyone employed, hired, contracted, or retained by Contractor or acting on Contractor’s behalf, including subcontractors (collectively, “Contractor’s Representatives”), or which is in any way related to Contractor’s or Contractor’s Representatives’ performance of the Agreement, any Services, or any work of Contractor or Contractor’s Representatives, including, but not limited to, any repair, remediation, restoration, and/or replacement of any Claimant’s property, or any breach of the Agreement or any other agreement. In addition, Contractor shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless each Indemnified Party against any Claims arising out of any violation of law or theft, loss, deterioration, or destruction of any building materials, equipment, supplies, or any other property or construction items at a Work Site or otherwise. Company shall have the right to withhold from any payments due Contractor under the Agreement the amount of any Claims with respect to which Contractor is obligated to indemnify Company or as may be reasonably necessary to protect Company against future Claims.
18. Limitation of Liability. THE PARTIES ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT COMPANY’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE AGREEMENT, AND CONTRACTOR’S SOLE REMEDY THAT MAY BE HAD AGAINST COMPANY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE), WITH RESPECT TO ANY NETWORK PROGRAM ASSIGNMENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT OF PROGRAM FEES PAID TO COMPANY UNDER THE AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THAT NETWORK PROGRAM ASSIGNMENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL COMPANY BE LIABLE FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS OR REVENUE EVEN IF COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
19. Invoicing Matters. In the event Company refers work to Contractor that is not managed by Company, Contractor agrees to pay Company a referral fee of five percent (5%) of the total amount invoiced for work arising from the referral. Any referral fee for work that is managed by Company will be set forth herein. Contractor agrees that all invoices for Services will be submitted directly to Company only. Contractor will not invoice any Insurer, Claimant, or insurance adjuster directly unless otherwise instructed by Company. Any funds received directly from an Insurer to which Company is entitled shall be immediately remitted to Company. Company will pay approved invoices upon receipt of all required documentation (including, but not limited to, the Job Completion and Satisfaction form signed by the Claimant) and funds from the Insurer. Contractor agrees to pay Company $10 per invoice for manual payments. Manual payment is any form of payment not conducted by electronic data interchange (“EDI”). Contractor authorizes Company to deduct the service charge from any payment to be made to Contractor. There is no service charge for EDI or web-based payment. Company reserves the right to assess additional service charges upon fourteen (14) days advance notice to Contractor. Company may arrange for Claimants to receive interest financing for Services not covered by an Insurer. In the event Contractor wishes to participate in such a financing offer, Company and Contractor will enter into an amendment to the Agreement specifying the terms of said arrangement.
20. Confidentiality. Company has developed and is continuing to develop processes, materials, and other information that it considers to be its confidential, proprietary work product and information (“Confidential Information”). This Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to confidential information set forth in Company memos, emails, and other forms of communication, training materials, quality assurance programs, presentation materials, application materials, forms, and software, management forms, processes, and procedures, performance metric evaluations, re-inspection programs, unit pricing, pricing policies, Company developed forms, software in various stages of development, marketing materials, marketing techniques, and any manifestation of Company business ideas or concepts. This Confidential Information may represent trade secrets and may be copyrighted. In the course of its business, Company may divulge to Contractor certain portions of this Confidential Information, and Contractor hereby agrees that Contractor shall: (i) receive the Confidential Information in confidence and refrain from disclosing or discussing any portion of the Confidential Information with any third person or entity; (ii) use the same degree of care in protecting the Confidential Information as Contractor does with Contractor’s own proprietary information, which shall be no less than reasonable measures of protection and safeguards; and (iii) not use or disclose the Confidential Information for any purpose other than in conjunction with performing the Services hereunder. The obligation to retain in confidence the Confidential Information as set forth above shall continue indefinitely until waived by Company in writing. Within seven (7) days after the termination or expiration of the Agreement or after the written request of Company, Contractor shall promptly: (i) return all Confidential Information and copies thereof; (ii) destroy all of its files and memoranda prepared based on Confidential Information; and (iii) provide Company with a written certification that all such information and materials have been returned or destroyed. Contractor acknowledges that Contractor may have access to and become acquainted with various trade secrets, inventions, innovations, processes, information, records, and specifications owned or licensed by Company or used by Company in connection with the operation of Company's business, including, without limitation, Company's business and product processes, methods, customer lists, accounts, and procedures, and information provided by Insurers. Contractor agrees that they will not disclose any of the aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to any party, or use any of them in any manner, either during the term of the Agreement or at any time thereafter, except as required in the course of providing Services hereunder. All files, records, documents, blueprints, specifications, information, letters, notes, media lists, original artwork/creations, notebooks, and similar items relating to the business of Company, whether prepared by Contractor or otherwise coming into Contractor’s possession, shall remain exclusive property of Company. Contractor shall not retain any copies of the foregoing without Company's prior written permission. Upon the expiration of earlier termination of the Agreement, or whenever requested by Company, Contractor shall immediately deliver to Company all such files, records, documents, specifications, information, and other items in Contractor’s possession or under Contractor’s control. Contractor further agrees that Contractor will not disclose Contractor’s retention as an independent contractor or the terms of the Agreement to any person without the prior written consent of Company and shall at all times preserve the confidential nature of the relationship with Company and of the Services provided hereunder. Contractor will, at all times, protect and safeguard any data pertinent to Company, including, but not limited to, data contained or accessed within the Salesforce and Livegenic platforms, to ensure data are not removed from these platforms or used in any way outside the scope of the Agreement.
21. Nonsolicitation. Contractor shall not, during the term of the Agreement and for a period of two years after the termination or expiration of the Agreement, solicit for employment or employ, whether as an independent contractor or otherwise, any person who is employed by Company or any of its affiliates during the term of the Agreement, without the prior written consent of Company.