General Terms
Date of Last Revision: October 4, 2019.
Welcome to our website ("www.MortgageHomeEquity.com").
This General Terms Agreement governs your relationship with MortgageHomeEquity.com LLC (collectively “MortgageHomeEquity” or “us” or “our” or “we”) when you register on our Service as a Lender and establish a Lender account (“Account”). This General Terms Agreement is incorporated by reference our Lender Agreement and forms a part thereof. If this General Terms Agreement, along with its corresponding Lender Agreement, is executed outside of MortgageHomeEquity’s Registration process then it controls the relationship between the parties, notwithstanding any “click agreement” that is presented when Lender registers on the Service in order to obtain an account.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, covenants and conditions set forth herein and in the Lender Agreement if applicable, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Introduction.
1.1 MortgageHomeEquity.com LLC (“MortgageHomeEquity” or “we” or “our” or “us”) is a FloridaLimited Liability Company. MortgageHomeEquity is the owner and operator of this Website. MortgageHomeEquity, via our Website, provides a lead generation service that matches the needs of the consuming public searching for competitive mortgage rates with the rates available from our participating lenders (“Lenders”).
1.2 Your use of MortgageHomeEquity’s products, software, services, servers and Website (referred to collectively as our “Service” in this document) is subject to the terms and conditions of a binding and enforceable agreement (“Agreement”) between you and MortgageHomeEquity, as defined herein. By using our Service you acknowledge and agree that you have fully read and agree to be bound by the provisions of this Agreement. If you do not agree to be bound by this Agreement in its entirety, then you must immediately stop using our Service.
1.3 PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING A USER'S LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES AND OBLIGATIONS. THESE INCLUDE VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, AND A DISPUTE RESOLUTION CLAUSE THAT GOVERNS HOW DISPUTES WILL BE RESOLVED. IT ALSO CLEARLY SPECIFIES THE MANNER BY WHICH ACCEPTANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT OCCURS. THE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN FORM AN ESSENTIAL BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN YOU AND MortgageHomeEquity.
2. General Terms.
2.1 The terms and conditions provided herein (the “General Terms”) apply to all users of our Service, including Lenders and the public at large (“Users”). If you register on our Service as a Lender then additional terms and conditions will apply (“Registered User”).
2.2 For the purposes of the General Terms “you” means an individual member of the consuming public that is using our Service to search for competitive mortgage rates on the Internet, or the business entity whose authorized agent is registering as a qualified Lender on our Service, depending on the context.
2.3 The General Terms contained herein are included by reference in the subsequent agreements entered into between MortgageHomeEquity and a Registered User and constitute the minimum terms and conditions controlling use of our Service. The term Agreement, as used herein, refers to the General Terms and to any agreement entered into between a Registered User and MortgageHomeEquity that includes the General Terms by reference.
2.4 Our Service includes all pages on our Website's domain (www.MortgageHomeEquity.com) and all pages on any related sub-domains, all of which are controlled by this Agreement.
3. Acceptance and Modifications.
3.1 MortgageHomeEquity reserves the right to change or revise this Agreement at any time. MortgageHomeEquity must provide a Registered User notification of any changes or revisions in writing at least ten (10) business days prior to the effective date of such changes or revisions.
3.2 You are required to affirmatively accept this Agreement when becoming a Registered User by reading this Agreement and clicking “I Agree.”
3.3 MortgageHomeEquity will notify you of revision dates to this Agreement by posting the “last revised date” preceding the first paragraph of this document.
3.4 All Lenders are required to become Registered Users on our Service in order to participate in MortgageHomeEquity's Lender network (“Network”).
4. Eligibility.
4.1 MortgageHomeEquity requires, and enforces, strict compliance with our eligibility (“Eligibility”) requirements, as defined herein. Our Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. It is intended solely for members of the consuming public that are of legal age and Lenders that want to participate in our Network. Registration on our Service is reserved for qualified Lenders and therefore, registration by any other person or entity is strictly prohibited, unauthorized, unlicensed, void, and in violation of this Agreement.
4.2 By registering on our Service you assert and warrant that you are doing so for the purpose of using our Service as a qualified Lender. Lender qualification is determined by MortgageHomeEquity, in its sole discretion, but at a minimum requires Lenders to possess all state, federal and local licenses required to make its products or services ("Offerings") available on our Service. Registration for any other purpose violates this Agreement and is strictly prohibited. By registering on our Service you further assert and warrant that you are of legal age and possess the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement on behalf of the entity you represent.
5. Account Registration.
5.1 As a Registered User you are required to provide us accurate, current, reliable and otherwise valid data when completing the registration forms that establish your account (“Account”) on our Service and you agree that such data must be kept current and revised in a timely manner when events occur that may alter its validity.
5.2 As a Registered User you agree that you are solely responsible for the data and activities related to updating and maintaining your Account, notwithstanding the fact the MortgageHomeEquity may, for technical or other reasons, assist you in making changes to your Account at your direct request, and after proper authentication.
5.3 Registration on our Service requires you to maintain security credentials that allow you access to your Account. The credentials include a user identifier and a corresponding password. You may also be required to establish additional credentials should MortgageHomeEquity deem them necessary to protect the integrity of our Service. You agree that you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of said credentials.
6. Marketplace Intermediary.
6.1 MortgageHomeEquity is a marketing lead generator (“MLG”). As such, MortgageHomeEquity DOES NOT PERFORM ANY OF THE FOLLOWING BUSINESS FUNCTIONS ON YOUR BEHALF, ON BEHALF OF OUR LENDERS, and OR ON BEHALF OF ANY THIRD PARTY: (a) take loan applications; (b) make loans; (c) make credit decisions; (d) retrieve credit scores; and (e) issue commitments or lock-in agreements.
6.2 As an MLG, MortgageHomeEquity simply gathers some basic information about your mortgage requirements (“Submission”) and forwards this information to certain Network members, depending on the information in your Submission, which subsequently may provide you with conditional loan offers and other services (“Offerings’).
6.3 You acknowledge and agree that MortgageHomeEquity is not recommending any particular Lender and is not acting as your agent with respect to your interaction with its Network. You further acknowledge and agree that MortgageHomeEquity has not charged you a fee for your Submission or for any other function or feature provided by our Service.
6.4 You acknowledge and agree that the requirements of any Offerings made available by a Lender including, but not limited to, rates and fees where applicable, are made by the Lender and that MortgageHomeEquity does not endorse, warrant or guarantee any such Offerings, nor does MortgageHomeEquity participate in the transaction between you and a Lender pertaining to said Offerings.
6.5 You acknowledge and agree that by providing MortgageHomeEquity with a Submission you are consenting to be contacted by one or more Lenders in our Network and by any suitable medium including, but not limited to, via a mobile device or email, based on the information provided in said Submission, even if you have opted out of a National, State, or company Do Not Call list.
6.6 You acknowledge and agree that a Lender may maintain information provided by you in your Submission, even if said Lender does not respond to your Submission with one or more Offerings. You further acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to contact a Lender directly if you no longer want to receive further communications from said Lender.
6.7 You acknowledge and agree that Lenders in our Network expressly reserve the right to terminate the availability of any and all Offerings, at the Lenders' sole discretion, and that MortgageHomeEquity has no control over Lender Offerings, with respect to availability, terms, or in any manner whatsoever.
7. Limited License.
7.1 All content on our Service including designs, text, graphics, pictures, video, information, applications, software, music, sound and other files, and their selection and arrangement (the “Information”), are the property of MortgageHomeEquity or its licensors with all rights reserved.
7.2 If you meet the requirements of Eligibility, and have properly gained access to our Service as provided for in this Agreement, then you are granted a limited license to use our Service and the Information, and to download and print a copy of any portion of the Information for non-commercial use, provided that you keep all copyright or other proprietary notices intact.
7.3 As pertaining to all the Information you may not make available, in any form and by any mechanism, said Information on any public or private website or incorporate the Information in any other database or compilation.
7.4 Any use of the Information, other than as set forth herein, is strictly prohibited. This limited license allows you to use the Information only for lawful uses in accordance with the foregoing and does not allow you to sell the Information, use the Information for commercial use, or use any type of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods on our Service.
7.5 Absent prior written consent from MortgageHomeEquity, you may not copy or imitate any elements of our Service, including but not limited to, graphics, digital images, logos, sounds, images, and buttons protected by trade dress and other laws. Absent prior written consent from MortgageHomeEquity, you may not use framing, metatags, or hidden text techniques in association with our logo, trademark or other copyrighted or proprietary information.
7.6 Unless expressly stated in this Agreement, or in a subsequent agreement entered into by MortgageHomeEquity and a Registered User, nothing herein shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, in any form or by any mechanism.
7.7 The MortgageHomeEquity limited license is revocable at any time without notice and with or without cause.
8. Transmissions.
8.1 As defined herein, transmissions (“Transmissions”) may take the form of Submissions, questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback, notes, messages, e-mails, postings, letters, or other written materials about, or concerning, our Service, provided by you to MortgageHomeEquity. You acknowledge that Transmissions by you to and from our Service are non-confidential, and that others may read and/or intercept such Transmissions.
8.2 MortgageHomeEquity has the right, but not the obligation, at its sole discretion, to review any Transmissions submitted to our Service and to edit or delete any Transmissions that violate any part of this Agreement. You hereby consent to MortgageHomeEquity's collection and use of such Transmissions in accordance with MortgageHomeEquity’s then current Privacy Policy. You further agree and acknowledge that submitting Transmissions to our Service creates no financial or fiduciary relationship between you and MortgageHomeEquity.
8.3 By using our Service, you thereby assign all right, title, and interest, including the copyright therein, in all Transmissions, to MortgageHomeEquity. Accordingly, MortgageHomeEquity shall own all intellectual property rights in the Transmissions and shall be entitled to unrestricted use of the Transmissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment, compensation, or liability to you. By submitting such Transmissions to our Service, you irrevocably waive all “moral rights” in such Transmissions.
8.4 In order to foster reviews that are civil and respect all participants, our Service provides the following guidelines for comments. Comments that include profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, harassment, or are sexist, racist, violate an individual’s right to privacy, or are otherwise inappropriate will be removed.
8.5 By submitting any content to our Service, you represent and warrant that: (a)you are the sole author of the review; (b) all “moral rights” that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you; (c) all content that you post is accurate; and (d) you are at least 18 years old or the age of majority in your jurisdiction.
8.6 You further agree and warrant that you shall not submit any comments or ratings:(a) That are misleading, false, or inaccurate; (b) That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers; (c) that violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; (d) that is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation; (e) for which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any third party; (f) you agree to indemnify and hold MortgageHomeEquity, harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above.
8.7 Your Submissions on our Service or postings on Facebook, Twitter, or on any similar social media property may be used at our sole discretion without compensation to you. MortgageHomeEquity reserves the right to modify, condense or delete any content on our Service or on any social media property that we deem, in our sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these General Terms. For the ratings and reviews service, ratings and written comments are generally posted within one to four business days. MortgageHomeEquity does not guarantee that you will have any recourse to edit or delete any Submissions you have submitted. MortgageHomeEquity reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any Submission for any reason. You acknowledge that you, not MortgageHomeEquity, are responsible for the contents of your Submission.
8.8 None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of MortgageHomeEquity. By submitting content in connection with your rating and review, you agree that MortgageHomeEquity and its third party service providers may contact you about the status of your review and other administrative purposes.
9. Indemnification.
9.1 You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold MortgageHomeEquity, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents and employees, its suppliers and their respective affiliates and agents harmless from all claims, liabilities, damages, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising out of or relating to your use of our Service, including but not limited to: (a) your Submission to our Service of any Transmission; (b) your alleged breach of this Agreement; or (c) your infringement of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.
9.2 MortgageHomeEquity acknowledges and agrees that the indemnification sought in 9.1 is limited to acts that are directly or indirectly under your control regarding your use of, or inability to use, our Service, and does not extend beyond that.
10. Limitations of Liability.
10.1 IN NO EVENT SHALL MortgageHomeEquity BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE OUR SERVICE; OR FOR THE LOSS OF PROFITS OR DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THEFT, DELAYS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES, ERRORS, DEFECTS, VIRUSES, FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, DESTRUCTION OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, PROFITS, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLES WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE); OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF MortgageHomeEquity HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
10.2 APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES. IN SUCH CASES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. TO THAT EXTENT, MortgageHomeEquity’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL LOSSES, DAMAGES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION SHALL NOT BE GREATER THAN THE TOTALITY OF PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO MortgageHomeEquity IN EXCHANGE FOR ALLOWING YOU TO USE OUR SERVICE DURING THE PAST THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF ANY LEGAL ACTION OR PROCEEDING, OR $100.00 USD, WHICHEVER IS LESS.
11. Disclaimer.
11.1 YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR SERVICE AND THE INFORMATION THEREIN ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND THAT MortgageHomeEquity MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING OUR SERVICE OR THE INFORMATION. MortgageHomeEquity DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
11.2 BY USING, OR ATTEMPTING TO USE, OUR SERVICE, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING:
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THE INFORMATION COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES AND/OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS;
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MortgageHomeEquity DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THE TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION; AND
(c) MortgageHomeEquity DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT OUR SERVICE OR ANY RELATED SERVERS ON WHICH IT RESIDES ARE FREE OF ERRORS OR VIRUSES OR OTHER POTENTIALLY DAMAGING CONTENT.
11.3 MortgageHomeEquity MAY PERIODICALLY MAKE CHANGES TO ANY SERVICE CONTENT, INFORMATION, FEATURES OR FUNCTIONS. MortgageHomeEquity RESERVES THE RIGHT TO IMPLEMENT SUCH CHANGES AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU, OTHER THAN THAT WHICH IS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT.
11.4 UNLESS SPECIFICALLY INDICATED IN WRITING TO THE CONTRARY, NO REFERENCE IN OUR SERVICE TO ANY PRODUCTS, PROCESSES, SERVICES OR OTHER INFORMATION BY TRADE NAME, TRADEMARK, MANUFACTURER, SUPPLIER, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY MortgageHomeEquity’S ENDORSEMENT OR SPONSORSHIP THEREOF.
12. Links.
12.1 Our Service may include hypertext links to other websites over which MortgageHomeEquity has no control. MortgageHomeEquity makes no representations of any kind regarding the content on such websites or the content on any website linked to such websites or to any changes or modifications made thereto.
12.2 You hereby acknowledge that by using any such hypertext links, you irrevocably waive any and all claims against MortgageHomeEquity regarding such websites and must adhere to the usage and privacy policies governing such sites. MortgageHomeEquity’s usage of links does not imply our endorsement, or sponsorship, of any such websites.
13. Intellectual Property Rights of Third Parties.
13.1 MortgageHomeEquity respects the intellectual property rights of others and requires Users of our Service to do likewise. MortgageHomeEquity prohibits Users from making available, in whatever form and by whatever mechanism, content on our Service that infringes upon any party’s intellectual property rights.
13.2 MortgageHomeEquity has the right to terminate the Account of any infringing Registered User and will take steps to do so immediately upon proper notification and in compliance with applicable law. You acknowledge and agree that a violation of the intellectual property rights of others on our Service triggers the Indemnification as provided for herein.
14. Trademark.
14.1 All trademarks used on our Service are the property of their respective owners and may not be used without permission therefrom.
14.2 Whether or not specifically designated as such, MortgageHomeEquity.com and all other colors, graphics, logos, sounds, images, icons and buttons displayed on our Service are, or may be, trademarks of MortgageHomeEquity or its affiliates.
14.3 Absent prior written consent from MortgageHomeEquity, you may not copy, imitate, or use any portion of these marks.
15. User Conduct Restrictions: Impermissible Use and Activities.
15.1 You agree not to use our Service to transmit data or code which: (a) is unlawful, threatening or abusive; (b) encourages criminal or other activity that would reasonably give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, or international law; (c) contains false or misleading information; (d) inhibits another User from use or enjoyment of our Service; (e) is defamatory, libelous or otherwise unlawful; (f) contains a virus or surreptitious code; (g) contains any type of commercial component or advertising; or (h) allows for the harvesting of email addresses or other contact information, or the harvesting of information of any kind.
15.2 Furthermore, you agree not to use our Service to engage in the following kinds of activities: (a) transmit, upload, post, store, and share content of any kind, and by any other mechanism, that you are not the lawful owner or licensee of; (b) register for more than one Account or register an Account in the name of another; (c) impersonate a person or entity or make misrepresentations regarding affiliations of any kind; (d) engage in any kind of behavior that can reasonably be construed as SPAMMING; (e) engage in any behavior likely to cause harm to MortgageHomeEquity, our Service, its Users, or to the public at large.
16. Data Collection.
16.1 Your Transmissions are subject to MortgageHomeEquity's Privacy Policy. By using our Service you agree to review MortgageHomeEquity’s Privacy Policy and to be bound by its terms and conditions. From time to time MortgageHomeEquity may change its Privacy Policy without notice to you, other than that provided for in the Policy. Your continued use of our Service, after the posting of any changes to said Policy, shall constitute your agreement and acceptance of such changes.
16.2 MortgageHomeEquity does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information (or information of any other kind) directly from anyone under the age of 18, with or without parental consent. If you have a good faith belief that MortgageHomeEquity has inadvertently collected such information, please contact MortgageHomeEquity at [email protected]. MortgageHomeEquity will take immediate steps to remove such information from our Service and from any databases under MortgageHomeEquity’s control.
17. Governing Law.
17.1 The laws of the State of Florida, United States of America shall govern this Agreement, as well as MortgageHomeEquity’s Privacy Policy, notwithstanding any principles of conflicts of law.
17.2 You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Agreement or MortgageHomeEquity’s Privacy Policy, other than those disputes or claims subject to Arbitration as enumerated below, shall be filed only in state or federal court located in the State of Florida, in a venue sitting, or most proximate to, Clark County. You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such action.
18. Arbitration.
18.1 Any claim or controversy arising among or between the parties hereto pertaining to our Service, or any claim or controversy arising out of, or with respect to, any matter contained in this Agreement, or any differences as to the interpretation or performance of this Agreement, other than those wherein either party has infringed or threatened to infringe the other party’s intellectual property rights, or wherein you have violated our User Conduct Restrictions, shall be settled by arbitration in the State of Florida. Such arbitration shall be before three arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”) under its then prevailing rules.
18.2 Intellectual property rights, as defined herein, include patent, copyright, trademark or trade secrets. You and MortgageHomeEquity jointly acknowledge that arbitration is not an adequate remedy at law for actual or threatened infringement of either party’s intellectual property rights. Therefore, it is agreed that injunctive or other appropriate relief may be sought under these circumstances.
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18.3 In any arbitration involving this Agreement, the arbitrators shall not make any award that will alter, change, cancel or rescind any provision in this Agreement, and their award shall be consistent with the provisions of this Agreement. Any such arbitration must be commenced no later than one (1) year from the date such claim or controversy arose, or the claim is waived.
18.4 The award of the arbitrators shall be final and binding and judgment may be entered thereon in any court of competent jurisdiction.
19. Termination.
19.1 Either you or MortgageHomeEquity may terminate this Agreement. You may terminate this Agreement by destroying all materials obtained from our Service and, if you are a Registered User, by providing a termination notice to MortgageHomeEquity at [email protected]. MortgageHomeEquity may terminate this Agreement immediately, without notice for any reason, or no reason, and reserves the right to block or prevent your future access to our Service.
19.2 Should you or MortgageHomeEquity decide to terminate this Agreement then MortgageHomeEquity will prevent access to your Account on our Service. MortgageHomeEquity agrees to make a good faith effort to resolve any outstanding dispute between MortgageHomeEquity and a Registered User prior to termination. MortgageHomeEquity, at its sole discretion, may restore access to your Account if the dispute has been resolved to its satisfaction.
19.3 You acknowledge and agree that termination of this Agreement by either party pertains solely to your use of our Service, and has no effect on other contractual obligations that may exist between the parties, which remain in full force and effect.
20. Severability.
If any portion of this Agreement or of MortgageHomeEquity’s Privacy Policy is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that portion will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions hereof.
21. Entire Agreement.
This Agreement together with the Lender Agreement if applicable, contains all of the terms and condition agreed to by you and MortgageHomeEquity with respect your use of our Service. It supersedes all prior agreements, arrangements and communications between the parties dealing with same, whether oral or written.
22. Definitions and Constructions.
Unless otherwise specified, the terms “includes,” “including,” “e.g.,” “for example,” and other similar terms are deemed to include the term “without limitation” immediately thereafter.
23. Counterparts.
This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original, but all of which together will constitute one and the same agreement. Copies (photostatic, facsimile or otherwise) of signatures to this Agreement will be deemed to be originals and may be relied on to the same extent as the originals.