Terms of Use

Who We Are

Settlement Perspectives (referred to here as “SP” or “Settlement Perspectives” or “settlementperspectives.com”) is the professional website of John DeGroote, appearing at settlementperspectives.com, located in Dallas, Texas. Settlement Perspectives can be reached by e-mail by way of the e-mail address appearing on the “About” section of this site or by telephone at (214) 823-0302. As described more thoroughly below, Settlement Perspectives and John DeGroote generally own all of the information collected on settlementperspectives.com.

General Disclaimer on Content and Confirmation No Legal Advice Is Given

This site is made available for educational purposes only.  It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of my current or any former employer, and any comments posted reflect the opinions of those providing the comments rather than me. The perspectives on this site may or may not be appropriate for any given situation and are not intended to be, and should not be taken as, legal advice. By using this weblog you are confirming your understanding of, and agreement with, the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy posted on this site. Your agreement specifically includes your understanding that no legal advice is provided on this site and this site creates no attorney/client relationship between you and anyone affiliated with settlementperspectives.com.

Copyright

All material contained on Settlement Perspectives, including any comments, is © Copyright John DeGroote 2008 – 2010 unless I have clearly designated otherwise. In order to advance discussions of the issues addressed on this site, I will consider and respond to any request to reprint this material. Please contact me at the email address shown above with your request.

Products and Programs

SP may add, delete, or change the content or scheduling of the products and programs presented on this website at any time without notice.

Links to Other Websites

This website may contain links to other sites. SP has no control over the information and privacy policies and practices of those websites, and is not responsible for their content, collection and use of information, or freedom from error or viruses. It is your responsibility to recognize, by paying attention to your browser’s address bar, when you are leaving SP’s site.

Applicable Law

SP is controlled and operated from Dallas, Texas, in the United States. The SP website is not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of the United States. Please note that we do not represent or warrant that the SP website is appropriate for use in any particular jurisdiction. Those who choose to access the SP website do so at their own initiative and are responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Philosophy

SP believes that electronic privacy is crucial to the ongoing success of the internet as an educational, commercial, and service medium. This policy summarizes the type of information, including personally identifiable information, that we collect through our website and how we might use that information. By using our website, you consent to the collection and use of this information by SP.

What We Collect and How We Use It

For each visitor to our website, our web server automatically recognizes and collects the domain name of your internet service provider (but not your e-mail address), which does not identify you personally. This information may be used to improve the content and usefulness of our website and for marketing purposes.

We also collect, retain in our database, and use the information you voluntarily provide under the following circumstances:

• If you participate in an online survey or post a comment on the site, we collect non-personally identifiable information and the information you voluntarily provide, which will be used for internal and marketing purposes.
• If you request services, products, or other information through this website, we will collect Personally Identifiable Information from you, including Contact Information (name, title, company name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, fax number, and any other information that might facilitate contacting you) and Financial Information (credit or debit card number, bank account number, and any other information that might facilitate collecting payment from you), which will be used to fulfill requests for such services or products.
• If you correspond with SP via e-mail, we collect your e-mail address, the content of the e-mail, and other Contact Information, which will be used to address issues raised by you or to respond appropriately.

In addition to the uses noted above, SP may use your Contact Information to market to you any products and services we provide. Please notify us in writing if you do not wish to be marketed to by SP.

SP also reserves the right to share any Personally Identifiable Information or other information about you which you provide to (or which is gathered from) websites owned or operated by Settlement Perspectives or John DeGroote with any other websites owned or operated by Settpelement Pespectives or John DeGroote and their subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, our “Affiliates”) (subject to the opt-out right described below, with respect to disclosures of Personally Identifiable Information to Affiliates for their direct marketing uses). SP will also have access to any information you provide to (or which is gathered from) the web sites of any of our Affiliates.

Any such Personally Identifiable Information can be modified at your request by forwarding an e-mail to the e-mail address appearing on the “About” section of this site or by telephone at (214) 823-0302.

SP may also disclose Personally Identifiable Information in response to legal process, such as a court order or subpoena, and any Personally Identifiable Information that you provide may be transferred in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or other transaction involving SP or its assets.

General Data Tracking

SP is an informational/entertainment resource; SP does not generally collect or track any personally identifiable information. We do not presently share personally identifiable information with third parties, and have absolutely no plans to ever do so.

SP does make use of data-tracking software, such as Google Analytics, to analyze traffic to the web site and identify trends in usage so that we can continue to make sure that settlementperspectives.com is the best service that it can be. For example, we may store a piece of data called a “cookie” on visitors’ hard drives, or keep track of visitors’ IP addresses, so that we can better understand how the site is used. We use this information solely for developing enhancements/improvements to our services. We will not link cookies to any personally identifiable information; we do not presently share any individualized information with third parties, nor do we ever plan to do so.

SP does not presently share any of the web site usage information that we collect with third parties other than as described in this policy.

Ad Servers

SP does not partner with or have special relationships with any ad server companies advertising on our website. SP is not responsible for any collection or use of information that an outside ad server may have collected from you.

SP will occasionally use aggregated traffic information, such as the number of unique visitors to a newly launched section, to promote the success of various pages, services, etc. to third parties or to the public.

SP will provide visitors with the ability to register to receive electronic newsletters and other materials. These are opt-in services, which means you can choose whether you want to receive the material, and you can always change your mind. SP will use whatever Personally Identifiable Information you do provide, such as name and e-mail address, solely for purposes of distributing the materials. We do not share personally identifiable information with third parties.

SP may someday provide visitors with the ability to purchase merchandise through the SP Store, and customers may be asked to provide information sufficient to process the order such as name, mailing address, and credit card number. If and when that ever happens, credit card information would be encrypted while being transferred over the Internet.

SP does not presently share any personally identifiable information provided through the SP Store with third parties other than as described above without first obtaining your permission.

Changes To Our Policies

SP reserves the right to change or replace the Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy for this site at any time. Changes will be posted here before any new policy becomes effective. Please review this page periodically to remain apprised of our current policies and practices.

Questions or Comments

If you have any additional questions or comments about the Terms of Use or Privacy Policies of this web site, please send an e-mail to the e-mail address appearing on the “About” section of this site or call us at (214) 823-0302.

This document was last updated on August 29, 2008.