Terms of Use

Before commenting, please read carefully the Terms of Use. By accessing this page, you are agreeing to comply with these Terms of Use, which may change from time to time. Should you object to any term or condition of these Terms of Use or become dissatisfied in any way, your sole recourse is to immediately discontinue use.

These Terms of Use, including SBM's enforcement of these Terms of Use, are not intended to confer and do not confer any rights or remedies upon any person.

SBM makes its comment page available to you provided that you agree to and actually abide by the Terms of Use, including that you agree you will not:

  • Violate any federal, state, or local law, code, regulation, or rule or plan, encourage, or help others violate any such law, code, regulation, or rule;
  • Harass, insult, threaten, intimidate, embarrass, distress, or invade the privacy of any individual or entity;
  • Post or transmit false, defamatory, obscene, profane, indecent, or excessive messages or information;
  • Provide false or misleading information about another person, entity, or yourself, including misrepresenting your professional or other affiliation with any person or entity;
  • Post any or provide a link to any material that infringes upon any third party's copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property rights;
  • Post or transmit any content that encourages or provides instructional activities about illegal activities;
  • Post on or transmit through this forum any commercial, advertising, or promotional materials, including "spam" or mass distributions;
  • Post or transmit any information, e-mail, software, or other material which contains a virus, Trojan horse, or other harmful component;
  • Resell, redistribute, broadcast, or transfer the information or use the information in a searchable, machine-readable database;
  • Use this forum to collect personally identifying information about users of the forum.

The above list is not exhaustive. If you violate these terms or engage in other conduct that SBM, in its sole and exclusive discretion, determines is prohibited conduct, SBM may, without prior notice and without liability to you, ban you from use of the this page, delete your messages or postings, and take any other action it deems appropriate.

Content

    All postings ("Content") on or linked from this comment page are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated, and are not made as representatives of SBM. By posting Content to this forum, you warrant and represent that you own or control all of the rights necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input, or submit the Content, or that your use of the Content is a protected fair use. You agree that you will not knowingly and with intent to defraud provide material and misleading false information.

    SBM makes no representation or warranty with respect to any Content. Because SBM does not control and is not responsible for the Content made available through its comment page, you understand that by using the comment page, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, or otherwise objectionable.

    You also know that as with any discussion forum, participants may not actually be who they claim to be, and the information discussed may or may not be true and/or accurate.

    Furthermore, the Content available through the comment page may contain links to other websites, which are completely independent of SBM. SBM makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or authenticity of the information contained in any such site. Your linking to any other websites is at your own risk.

    You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, that you may not rely on said Content, and that under no circumstances will SBM be liable in any way for any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted.

    You agree that SBM does not and/or is not obligated to pre-screen, monitor, or approve Content, although we reserve the right to do so, including the sole discretion to modify or discontinue this forum and to remove the Content you provide, either temporarily or permanently, at any time, without notice and without any liability towards you. SBM is not responsible or liable for timeliness, removal of content, failure to store content, inaccuracy of content, or improper delivery of content. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied, and used for authorized purposes. Use of this comment page constitutes consent to such monitoring

    You may not use the SBM name to endorse or promote any product, opinion, cause, or political candidate. Representation of your personal opinions as institutionally endorsed by SBM or any of its committees or sections is strictly prohibited.

    You acknowledge and agree that SBM may, from time to time, without notice to you and at its sole discretion, establish various practices, limitations, and restrictions for administering this comment page, including without limitation: how often this comment page may be accessed; the size and nature of messages and postings; the maximum storage space available; and all other matters related to administration of this comment page.

    SBM reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request, or to refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in SBM's sole and absolute discretion are objectionable or in violation of the Terms of Use.

No Endorsement or Legal Advice Provided

    SBM does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice, or statement made on or through this comment page. None of the information contained on this comment page is or should be relied upon without independent verification. Nothing contained in, transmitted through, or received from this comment page shall create an attorney-client relationship.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability

    This comment page is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent the law permits, neither SBM nor its officers, boards, committees, sections, employees, and affiliates shall be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages (even if SBM has been advised of the possibility of such damages), resulting from any aspect of your use of this comment page, whether the damages arise from use of this comment page, or the interruption, suspension, modification, alteration, or termination thereto. You expressly agree that you use this comment page forum solely at your own risk.

Indemnification

    You agree to indemnify and hold harmless SBM and it officers, boards, committees, sections, employees, and affiliates from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney fees and court costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post or make available, your violation of the Terms of Use, your breach of any of the representations and warranties herein, or your violation of any rights of another.

Proprietary Rights

    Although SBM does not claim ownership of content that its users post, by posting Content to this comment page, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to SBM an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute said Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, said Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses (through multiple tiers) of the foregoing.

Entire Agreement, Forum, Non-Waiver, One-Year Statute of Limitations

    These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and SBM. These Terms of Use and the relationship between you and SBM shall be governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. The failure of SBM to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms of Use remain in full force and effect.

    You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of this comment page or to these Terms of Use must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Modification of These Terms of Use

    SBM reserves the right to change, at any time and at our sole discretion, the Terms of Use under which this comment page is provided. You are responsible for regularly reviewing these Terms of Use. Your continued use constitutes your agreement to all such Terms of Use.

Copyright Infringement

    If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on this site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact the site administrator, Peter Cunningham, at 306 Townsend St., Lansing, MI 48933, (517) 346-6325, pcunningham@mail.michbar.org. The SBM may, in its discretion, terminate access of any member who is accused of infringing the rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide the site administrator the following information:

  • A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or the person authorized to act on its behalf:
  • A description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
  • A description of the infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit the State Bar of Michigan to locate the material;
  • Your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and e-mail;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.