Terms and Conditions

Please read these Terms & Conditions carefully.

By subscribing, you agree to these Terms & Conditions, which include an Arbitration Provision that may affect your legal rights. The parties to these Terms & Conditions are you and anyone who uses or reads your subscription(s), as well as Sonoma Media Investments, LLC (“we” or “Sonoma Media”), which owns and operates The Press Democrat, The Sonoma Index-Tribune, Petaluma Argus-Courier, and North Bay Business Journal. These Terms apply to all Sonoma Media’s publications.

AUTO-RENEWAL TERMS

Sonoma Media subscriptions are continuous subscriptions that automatically renew after the initial term until you cancel.

  • Your subscription will continue and automatically renew on a recurring basis corresponding to the term of your subscription and Billing Period unless and until you cancel your subscription, or your account is otherwise suspended or terminated pursuant to these Terms.
  • Requested trial subscriptions of the North Bay Business Journal are available to new subscribers, only. New subscribers are defined as having no active paid subscription in the past 60 days.
  • The amount charged for a renewal will be: (i) the amount referenced when you signed up for your subscription, (ii) the amount referenced on your renewal notice, or (iii) the then-current rate for your subscription.
  • Sonoma Media reserves the right to change the terms of your subscription, including price, from time to time, effective as of the beginning of your next Billing Period following the date of the change. We will give you advance notice of these changes.
  • You may cancel your subscription at any time after the minimum subscription length (if any) noted when you signed up.
  • To cancel, contact Customer Service by phone at 707-521-5270 (option 4), during Customer Care Center business hours (Mon – Fri 6am-4pm PST, Sat 7am-12pm PST, Sun 7am-11:30am PST) or by visiting myaccount.northbaybusinessjournal.com. You will receive a refund for any newspapers set for delivery after your cancellation.

PAYMENT METHOD

Unless otherwise indicated, you will be required to provide a credit card or other payment method accepted by Sonoma Media (“Payment Method”). We will charge your Payment Method a periodic subscription fee on a recurring basis corresponding to the term of your subscription, and any applicable taxes. You are solely responsible for any and all fees charged to your Payment Method. If you want to use a different Payment Method than the one you signed up to use during registration, you may edit your Payment Method information by visiting myaccount.northbaybusinessjournal.com and viewing your account details.

BILLING HOLDS

In the event of a failed attempt to charge to your Payment Method (e.g. if your Payment Method has expired), we reserve the right to retry billing your Payment Method. In the event that you or we (through our payment service providers) update your Payment Method to remedy a change in validity or expiration date, we will automatically resume billing you for your subscription. We may suspend or cancel your subscription if we remain unable to successfully charge a valid Payment Method. We also reserve the right to pursue any amounts you fail to pay in connection with your subscription, including collection costs, bank overdraft fees, collection agency fees, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and arbitration or court costs.

We may offer you the ability to pause your subscription for a specified period of time. If you do not cancel before the end of the pause period, billing will resume automatically.

BILLING PERIOD

As used in these Terms, “billing” shall indicate either a charge or debit, as applicable, against your Payment Method. We will automatically bill your Payment Method on the later of the day you start your subscription and three (3) days prior to each recurring billing date thereafter. Your “Billing Period” is the interval of time between each recurring billing date and corresponds to the term of your subscription, which may be adjusted based on credits (e.g., service adjustments) or debits to your account. Where applicable, charges may be prorated for any partial month of service. You acknowledge that the timing of when you are billed and the amount billed each Billing Period may vary.

GRACE PERIOD

You agree that, if renewal payment is not received by the expiration date of the current Billing Period, you will enter a 60-day grace period. During the grace period, deliveries and electronic edition access will continue and you will be charged for up to 60 days or until you cancel the subscription. You will be charged for any newspapers delivered or to which you have access prior to cancellation.

TEMPORARY DELIVERY HOLD REQUEST (For print delivery)

Delivery of The North Bay Business Journal is fulfilled by the U.S. Postal Service. Submit temporary hold requests to the U.S Postal Service.

PRICE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Prices are subject to change upon the expiration date of each subscription term.

BOOK OF LISTS

The annual Book of Lists, a $45 value, is included free of charge, once per term, for paid subscriptions in good standing.

DIGITAL ACCESS

Most subscriptions include unlimited access to northbaybusinessjournal.com and the eEdition. Activate your digital access by registering at: myaccount.northbaybusinessjournal.com.

DELIVERY ISSUES

The North Bay Business Journal is published on Monday’s, excluding one week in January and one week in December. Delivery is fulfilled by the U.S. Postal Service. To talk to a North Bay Business Journal Customer Service representative, phone or email, during the business hours listed above.

ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY. WE WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS. If you have an issue with your subscription, we encourage you our Customer Care Center at 707-521-5270 (option 4). In the event there is an issue that still requires attention, we want to make the resolution process as quick and efficient as possible. We also want to specify now what each of us should expect in order to avoid any confusion later. To that end, you and Sonoma Media agree to first discuss any issue informally for at least 60 days before commencing an arbitration proceeding. To do that, please send your full name and contact information, your concern and your proposed solution by mail to us at:

Sonoma Media Investments, LLC
416 B Street Suite C
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

If we do not reach an agreed upon solution after our discussions for at least 60 days, you and Sonoma Media agree that any and all claims that either of us may have, whether based on past, present, or future events, arising out of or relating to: (i) these Terms (including formation, performance, or breach of them, and including the scope and enforceability of this arbitration provision); (ii) your subscription; or (iii) any aspect of our relationship with each other must be resolved through binding arbitration.

You and Sonoma Media understand and agree that (a) the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §1, et seq.) governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Provision, (b) these Terms & Condition memorialize a transaction in interstate commerce, and (c) this Arbitration Provision shall survive termination of these Terms & Conditions.

Arbitration will be administered by JAMS Mediation, Arbitration, and ADR Services (“JAMS”) in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures (“JAMS Rules”) or other similar JAMS rules in effect at the time of filing, excluding any rules that may permit class or representative arbitration. The JAMS Rules and instructions about how to initiate an arbitration are available at www.jamsadr.com or 1-800-352-5267. Please note that YOU ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO LITIGATE A DISPUTE IN COURT BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY. As an exception to this arbitration agreement, Sonoma Media is happy to give you the right to pursue in small claims court any claim that is within that court’s jurisdiction, as long as you proceed only on an individual basis.

YOU AND SONOMA MEDIA AGREE TO ARBITRATE IN EACH OF OUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES ONLY, NOT AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER OF A CLASS, AND EACH OF US EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO FILE A CLASS ACTION OR SEEK RELIEF ON A CLASS BASIS.

For your convenience, arbitration may be conducted in-person, through the submission of documents, by phone, or online. Proceedings that cannot be conducted through the submission of documents, by phone, or online, will take place in Sonoma County, California. But if you can demonstrate that arbitration in Sonoma County, California would create an undue burden to you, you are free to initiate the arbitration closer to your home. It is important that you understand that the arbitrator’s decision will be binding and final (except for a limited right of appeal under the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act) and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of these Terms & Conditions, including any claim that all or any part of these Terms are void or voidable. The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity.

You may elect to opt-out (exclude yourself) from the final, binding, individual arbitration procedure and waiver of class and representative proceedings specified in this Section by sending a written letter to Sonoma Media Investments, LLC at 416 B Street Suite C, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 within thirty (30) days of the start of your subscription that specifies (i) your name, (ii) your mailing and email address, and (iii) your request to be excluded from the final, binding individual arbitration procedure and waiver of class and representative proceedings specified in this Section. In the event that you opt-out consistent with the procedure set forth above, all other terms shall continue to apply, including the requirement to provide notice prior to litigation.

If you’re not sure what all of this means, of course please feel free to ask an attorney. Specifying what happens if an issue arises with one of our readers is never a fun topic. But we pride ourselves on transparency and we thank you in advance for understanding why it’s important that you and Sonoma Media agree on the process described in this Section.