Terms of Use

Effective as of January 5, 2021

Welcome to the California Residential Mitigation Program Website (“Website”)

Thank you for visiting the official Website for the California Residential Mitigation Program (“CRMP”),  a California joint powers authority, and its programs, including the Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program (collectively “we’, “us”, “our”). We urge you to carefully review these Terms of Use (“Terms”) as they, together with our Privacy Policy which is incorporated into these Terms, are the legal terms and conditions that govern your use of and access to our Services, excluding any Third-Party Materials.

By visiting and using this Website or using any of our content or Services, you agree to these Terms.

Homeowner CRMP and EBB Disclaimer

1. An earthquake or other natural disaster can occur at any time. If you are able to complete a code compliant retrofit of your house without the assistance of the EBB program, you should. However, should you seek to obtain an EBB grant you acknowledge you are assuming that risk and will abide by EBB’s Program Rules.
2. EBB and CRMP provide monetary grants to assist a qualified homeowner  in securing structural home improvements in an effort to reduce (but not eliminate) damage or collapse in the event of an earthquake.
3. Anyone who accesses the information on this website acknowledges and accepts that neither CRMP nor either of its members – Cal OES and CEA – are offering technical earthquake or seismic engineering advice with regard to any specific home; that the information on the website is intended solely as general educational information regarding the potential benefits of homeowners interested in earthquake safety, and that none of the information may or should be construed as a guarantee of the efficacy of any particular seismic retrofit or service provider.
4. Neither EBB nor CRMP are liable or in any way responsible for, nor do they endorse, warrant, guarantee, attest to or insure, any of the following:
   • acts, errors or omissions of homeowners, public officials, contractors or design professionals;
   • the content of any communications between homeowners, public officials, contractors and design professionals;
   • the ability or experience of contractors or design professionals to provide services;
   • the results of work performed, or not performed, by homeowners, public officials, contractors or design professionals;
   • that a homeowner, public official, contractor or design professional will complete services, conduct any transaction, or perform with any specific standard of care; and
   • any public official's involvement approving plans, close out of permits, completing inspections or other actions. 
5. Homeowner is advised to educate oneself on the background, experience and reputation of contractors or design professionals.

Definitions

Words used in these Terms of Use (“Terms”) that are defined in the Rules for Participation in the EBB have those same meanings in these Terms. 

Terms of Use

As a condition of your use of our services, including this website or others we maintain, or to participate in any way in EBB or other programs we provide (our “Services”), you agree without limitation or qualification to these Terms.

The Terms also include our Privacy Policy. Please take a moment to carefully review our Terms and Privacy Policy now.

The Terms may be revised in the future and posted on this website or otherwise provided to you and require no further notice or action to be effective. By continuing to use our Services, you acknowledge and agree to our current and any future Terms. We encourage you to regularly review our Terms.

If you fail to comply with our Terms, or other reasonable requests that may be made to you by us, we may restrict, suspend or stop your use of our Services. Your only recourse if you do not agree with our Terms is to cease your use of our Services, including immediately discontinuing use of this Website. If you do not comply with these Terms, and we don’t take action right away, this does not mean that we are giving up any rights we may have (such as taking action in the future).

Registering with EBB

In order to take advantage of our Services, we require that you register on our EBB website and open an online account for communicating with us. There are no charges for registering with us and opening an online account.

In order to become a Participating Homeowner, you must register with us and submit an application. If you are a contractor, you must register with us to be able to access the training materials for contractors on this website and to become a Participating Contractor. If you are not a contractor, you must register with us to access the training materials for contractors on this website.

All information that you share with us, or that is automatically shared, or that we share with you, to register or to create, manage, or use your account or this Website, is governed by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

By providing us with your contact information, you give us permission to send you information, messages, or otherwise contact you using any of the contact methods you provide (including email and text messages). We may provide you with options on designating your preferred methods of communication and you may always contact us to modify your contact information.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your registration and account information, including your username and password. We encourage you to safeguard this information and not share it with anyone. You must promptly notify EBB of any unauthorized use of your registration and account. Such unauthorized use may result in us shutting down your EBB account or registration material.

If your EBB registration or account has been restricted, suspended, or terminated, neither you nor anyone acting on your behalf may register again or open another account with us.

If you have any questions about registering or opening an account with us, please contact us at info@earthquakebracebolt.com.

Relationship with Homeowners, Contractors, and Design Professionals

We are not involved in communications between homeowners and contractors or design professionals, such as architects and engineers, that a homeowner may hire. We do not advise, negotiate, or interpret contracts between homeowners and contractors or design professionals. We do not endorse or recommend any contractor or design professional.

We are never liable for any acts or omissions of homeowners or contractors or design professionals, the content of any communications between homeowners and contractors and design professionals, the ability of contractors and design professionals to provide services, the ability of homeowners to pay for those services, and the results of work performed, or not performed, by homeowners and contractors and design professionals. We cannot and do not ensure that a homeowner or contractor or design professional will complete services, conduct any transaction, or perform with any specific standard of care.

California Transparency Laws

By use of our Services, you understand and acknowledge that we are a California joint powers authority entity subject to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.) and other state open government and transparency laws, and that our content and certain Information you provide in connection with the Services might be subject to public disclosure and production pursuant to those laws. We endeavor to follow all applicable, pertinent state and federal laws, including with respect to protected, privileged material, within the statutory framework and limitations on our duties under the applicable law(s).

Emergency and Safety Issues

Any questions or concerns relating to emergency or safety issues should be directed to appropriate authorities and qualified professionals (such as by calling 911 for emergencies or your local building inspection offices for building safety issues). We have no responsibility to deal with such emergency or safety issues.

Content and Third Party Information on this Website

We provide information from a variety of sources, including third parties, through our Services, on this website or through links on this website (collectively, “content”). Content is provided by us for use by the general public for individual, non-commercial, informational purposes. This Website and the content may only be used as intended and as permitted by law and by us. No other uses are permitted without our prior written consent.

By accessing this Website or the content you may directly or indirectly, such as through links, encounter websites, content, data, information, applications, or materials from third parties (“Third-Party Materials”). Third-Party Materials are provided solely as a convenience to users of this Website and content. We do not warrant or endorse any Third-Party Materials and are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, completeness, or any other aspect of any Third-Party Materials. We do not assume or have any liability or responsibility to you for any Third-Party Materials. Your use of any Third-Party Materials is governed by the Third Party’s terms and conditions of use and privacy policies. We encourage you to review those terms and policies and to otherwise carefully research any Third-Party Materials with which you interact.

We may change content at any time without notice and expressly disclaim any assurance or guarantee that content will be up-to-date, accurate or free of viruses. While we strive to provide reliable content, because much of the content is provided by third parties, all content is provided “AS IS” and we make no warranty as to whether it is accurate or complete.

Ownership of Intellectual Property

Using our Services does not give you ownership of any intellectual property rights or other rights in the content you access. The availability of any content on our Website is not a waiver of any proprietary rights, such as patent, license, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights, we may have in said content.

These Terms do not grant you the right to use any branding, logos or other proprietary materials that belong to EBB or CRMP or any third party. References by third parties to any specific service mark or trademark, or the use of proprietary images, are not controlled by us. We make no claim regarding the service marks, trademarks or proprietary images of third parties and do not constitute or imply association, endorsement or recommendation of the owners or users of such marks. To the greatest extent possible, we rely on the principles of fair use in the inclusion of proprietary materials in our website and our Programs, including EBB.

We are concerned about the use of intellectual property and we have adopted procedures in accordance with the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. We will consider any alleged copyright violation submitted to us at info@earthquakebracebolt.com. Please submit evidence of the copyright infringement and any accompanying written materials for our consideration.

Prohibited and Restricted Activities

You agree that your use of our Services, will not:

1. be fraudulent, inaccurate or misleading;
2. infringe any third party's proprietary intellectual property rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
3. be illegal or violate any federal, state or local law, statute, ordinance, regulation or ethical code;
4. be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing;
5. contain sexual or ethnic slurs or any representation of obscenities;
6. be used to solicit users of our Services for any purpose except those we have specifically permitted in these Terms or otherwise in writing;
7. contain any viruses, Trojan horses, or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information;
8. create liability under any theory for us, or causes us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) or other suppliers of data and equipment; or
9. link directly or indirectly to or include descriptions of goods or services that are prohibited under these Terms or to which you do not have a right to link to or include.

Engaging in any of the aforementioned activities may prevent your participation in our Services as either a registrant or contractor.

No Warranties or Liabilities

CRMP and EBB provide content and Third-Party Materials through our Services, including this website and our programs. We provide this content and Third-Party Materials using a commercially reasonable level of skill and care and we hope you find our content and Third-Party Materials helpful. However, please note that all content and Third-Party Materials on our website are provided “AS IS” and for your information only.

OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THESE TERMS, WE DO NOT MAKE ANY SPECIFIC PROMISES ABOUT THE CONTENT, THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES WE PROVIDE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE CONTENT, THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES WILL BE RELIABLE, CONTINUOUSLY AVAILABLE OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO MEET YOUR NEEDS. ALL SUCH CONTENT, THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.”

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY YOUR RELIANCE ON INFORMATION IN OUR CONTENT, THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES, WHETHER SUCH ARE FROM EBB, CRMP OR FROM THIRD PARTIES (SUCH AS CONTRACTORS, DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, HOMEOWNERS, GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES) OR A LINKED SITE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY YOUR RELIANCE ON ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OBTAINED FROM A THIRD PARTY OR A LINKED SITE OR ANY THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS. USE OF THE CONTENT, THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES WE PROVIDE IS AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION AND FULL ASSUMPTION OF RISK.

AS A CONDITION OF YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES, WEBSITES, AND ANY CONTENT, YOU AGREE TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD THE CRMP AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, STAFF, AND AGENTS HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIMS, LIABILITIES, COSTS, DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND EXPENSES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION REASONABLE LEGAL AND ACCOUNTING FEES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR WEBSITES, SERVICES, CONTENT, PRODUCTS, ANY THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, OR YOUR VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS.

CRMP and EBB Not Responsible for Inspectors and Inspections

Participation in EBB will require local building permit-related inspections and sometimes require additional inspections by third party contractors. CRMP and EBB do not participate in or control any such inspections, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall not be responsible for the acts, errors or omissions of any third-party contractors, including any inspectors, employees, consultants or agents.

Further Information About these Terms

These Terms control the relationship between you and CRMP and EBB. They do not create any rights for anyone else.

If it turns out that a particular Term is not enforceable, no other Term will be affected.

The laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions, shall govern any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms and our Services, and these Terms shall be construed in accordance with those laws.

If you have any questions or comments about these Terms, please contact us at info@earthquakebracebolt.com.

Dispute Resolution

Informal Procedure. In the event a controversy or claim arises out of your use of our Services, you may contact us to discuss the matter informally with the managing director or their designee. If the controversy or claim is not resolved through that discussion, you may send a letter to the managing director.

The managing director or their designee will meet in person or by telephone or both within 10 business days of receipt of the letter or such longer period as may be mutually acceptable.

The managing director will provide you with a written decision within 20 days of the conclusion of the meeting.

You are required to follow this informal dispute resolution procedure prior to initiating the arbitration procedure described below if the parties cannot resolve the dispute informally.

Mandatory Arbitration

You acknowledge that (1) you are giving up the right to sue in court, including the right to trial by jury, except as provided by the rules of the American Arbitration Association; (2) arbitration awards are generally final and binding and the ability to have a court reverse or modify an arbitration award is limited; (3) the ability to obtain documents, witness statements and other discovery is generally more limited in arbitration than in court proceedings; (4) the arbitrators do not have to explain the reasons for their award; and (5) the rules of the American Arbitration Association may impose time limits for bringing a claim in arbitration.

By participating in any way in EBB or any other program that we provide or otherwise using our Services, you agree that any claim or controversy arising out of your participation in EBB or any other program that we provide or the use of our Services must be settled solely by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Home Construction Arbitration Rules, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction in Sacramento County, California.

The place of arbitration shall be Sacramento County, California.

Contact Us

Please contact us at info@earthquakebracebolt.com with any questions or comments regarding the Terms.