Q&A - Questions and Answers

Home Office Computing, July, 2000 by Cristina Gair

Selling online? Jay Westermeier, attorney at Piper, Marbury, Rudnick, & Wolfe, in Washington, D.C., discusses ways to avoid legal problems.

Q. What policies should you adopt for an e-commerce storefront?

A. It's important to develop "terms of service" and "terms of use" disclaimers that customers are required to read and agree to before making a purchase. These disclaimers help protect you from potential lawsuits. Also, be sure to spell out where you're willing to do business by posting a jurisdiction statement. Last, don't make promises you can't keep--if you sell both in your state and worldwide, for instance, remember to detail for each customer group how and when they can expect to receive their merchandise.

Q. How can you protect your, serf from potential lawsuits?

A. E-tailers have a broad available market. Because the plaintiff could be anywhere in the world, make sure you've got protections in place, such as a "venue selection" clause posted on your site that lets you handle the case in your local geographical area. Also, whenever possible, try to solve disputes through arbitration. Both parties mutually agree on the arbitrator, the location, and the rules. Arbitration also minimizes the chance of multiple people putting together a class-action suit.