9. Entrant Representations, Warranties, Indemnification and Release: By entering, each Entrant represents and warrants to Sponsor that: (i) the Essay (and Sponsor’s and its designees’ use thereof) does not and will not defame or otherwise violate the rights of any third party, and does not and will not violate any federal, state, or local laws or ordinances; (ii) the Essay is an original work and is not copied in whole or in part from any other source or previously distributed or disseminated in any media or format, with no elements generated by artificial intelligence; and (iii) the Essay is not in violation of or conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity. Any individual who attempts to enter, or in the sole discretion of Sponsor is suspected of entering more than once, by any means, including but not limited to submitting multiple Essays, will be disqualified from the Contest. In addition, Sponsor reserves the right to reject any submission without explanation. Each Entrant agrees to defend and indemnify Sponsor for any breach of the above representations. By submitting an entry, each Entrant agrees to indemnify, defend, release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor and its affiliates, subsidiaries, promotional partners and agents, and all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest, and the officers, directors and employees of each of the foregoing, from any and all claims and liabilities arising from or in connection with participation in this Contest, including, without limitation: (i) claims for injury, loss or damage of any kind resulting from participation in this Contest or acceptance or use of any prize; and (ii) claims based on rights of privacy, rights of publicity, false light, defamation, copyright and/or trademark infringement relating to the submission or exploitation of the Entrant’s Essay. If an Entrant is a California resident, such Entrant hereby waives California Civil Code Section 1542, which states: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.”
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING REGARDING THIS CONTEST IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY. CHECK LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.
10. General Terms and Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion, without prior notice, to (i) cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, including if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor; (ii) disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner; and (iii) cancel or reschedule the trip, in whole or in part, as well as the right to dismiss the Winner from further participation in the trip as a result of conduct that is considered improper or offensive to the local community, is likely to be detrimental to the health or safety of the Winner or other individuals, or demonstrates that the individual is not capable or unwilling to participate fully in the trip experience. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. All decisions by Sponsor are final and binding.
11. Limitation of Liability: Sponsor is not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Contest; (4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize. Sponsor is not responsible for typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of this contest, including but not limited to errors in advertising, the Official Rules, the selection and announcement of Winners or the distribution of any prize.
12. Governing Law; Disputes: This Contest is governed by the internal laws of the State of New York without regard to principles of conflict of laws. Except where prohibited, Entrant agrees that: (i) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or the appropriate New York State Court located in New York County, New York; and (ii) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event attorneys’ fees.