©2020 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. CC3965621 (0620-0A9Z) APP39085-11 (06/20)
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Schwab Custodial IRA Account Reregistration Application Agreement - Client Copy
• All parties to this Agreement are giving up
the right to sue each other in court, including
the right to a trial by jury, except as provided
by the rules of the arbitration forum in which
a claim is filed.
• Arbitration awards are generally final and
binding; a party’s ability to have a court
reverse or modify an arbitration award is
very limited.
• The ability of the parties to obtain
documents, witness statements and other
discovery is generally more limited in
arbitration than in court proceedings.
• The arbitrators do not have to explain the
reason(s) for their award unless, in an
eligible case, a joint request for an explained
decision has been submitted by all parties to
the panel at least 20 days prior to the first
scheduled hearing date.
• The panel of arbitrators will typically include
a minority of arbitrators who were or are
affiliated with the securities industry.
• The rules of some arbitration forums may
impose time limits for bringing a claim in
arbitration. In some cases, a claim that is
ineligible for arbitration may be brought in
court.
• The rules of the arbitration forum in which
the claim is filed, and any amendments
thereto, shall be incorporated into this
Agreement.
No person shall bring a putative or certified
class action to arbitration, nor seek to enforce
any predispute arbitration agreement against
any person who has initiated in court a
putative class action; or who is a member of a
putative class who has not opted out of the
class with respect to any claims encompassed
by the putative class action until:
1. the class certification is denied;
2. the class is decertified; or
3. the customer is excluded from the class by
the court.
Such forbearance to enforce an agreement to
arbitrate shall not constitute a waiver of any
rights under this Agreement except to the
extent stated herein.
Section 10: Arbitration Agreement.
Any controversy or claim arising out of or
relating to (i) this Agreement, any other
agreement with Schwab, an instruction or
authorization provided to Schwab or the
breach of any such agreements, instructions,
or authorizations; (ii) the Account, any other
Schwab account or Services; (iii) transactions
in the Account or any other Schwab account;
(iv) or in any way arising from the relationship
with Schwab, its parent, subsidiaries,
affiliates, officers, directors, employees,
agents or service providers (“Related Third
Parties”), including any controversy over the
arbitrability of a dispute, will be settled by
arbitration.
This arbitration agreement will be binding
upon and inure to the benefit of the parties
hereto and their respective representatives,
attorneys-in-fact, heirs, successors, assigns
and any other persons having or claiming to
have a legal or beneficial interest in the
Account, including court-appointed trustees
and receivers. This arbitration agreement will
also inure to the benefit of third-party service
providers that assist Schwab in providing
Services (“Third-Party Service Providers”) and
such Third-Party Service Providers are
deemed to be third-party beneficiaries of this
arbitration agreement.
The parties agree that this arbitration
agreement will apply even if the application to
open the Account is denied and will survive
the closure of your Account and/or the
termination of services rendered under this
Agreement.
Such arbitration will be conducted by, and
according to the securities arbitration rules
and regulations then in effect of, the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or any
national securities exchange that provides a
forum for the arbitration of disputes, provided
that Schwab is a member of such national
securities exchange at the time the arbitration
is initiated. Any party may initiate arbitration
by filing a written claim with FINRA or such
eligible national securities exchange. If
arbitration before FINRA or an eligible national
securities exchange is unavailable or
impossible for any reason, then such
arbitration will be conducted by, and
according to the rules and regulations then in
effect of, the American Arbitration Association
(AAA). If arbitration before the AAA is
unavailable or impossible for any reason, the
parties agree to have a court of competent
jurisdiction appoint three (3) arbitrators to
resolve any and all disputes or controversies
between or among the parties. Each party
shall bear its own initial arbitration costs,
which are determined by the rules and
regulations of the arbitration forum. In the
event of financial hardship, the arbitration
forum may waive certain costs in accordance
with such rules. At the conclusion of the
hearing, the arbitrators will decide how to
assess the costs of the arbitration among the
parties.
Any award the arbitrator makes shall be final
and binding, and judgment on it may be
entered in any court having jurisdiction. This
arbitration agreement shall be enforced and
interpreted exclusively in accordance with
applicable federal laws of the United States,
including the Federal Arbitration Act. Any
costs, fees or taxes involved in enforcing the
award shall be fully assessed against and paid
by the party resisting enforcement of said
award.
For FINRA arbitrations, FINRA will appoint a
single public arbitrator in customer cases
decided by one arbitrator. In customer cases
decided by three arbitrators, investors have
the option of choosing an arbitration panel
with two public arbitrators and one non-public
arbitrator (Majority-Public Panel Rule) or a
panel of all public arbitrators (Optional All-
Public Panel Rule). If the customer declines to
elect a panel selection method in writing by
the applicable deadline, the Majority-Public
Panel Rule for selecting arbitrators will apply.
All notices from one party to the other
involving arbitration shall be considered to
have been fully given when so served, mailed
by first-class, certified or registered mail, or
otherwise given by other commercially
accepted medium of written notification.
In addition to the above provisions, if a party
to this Agreement is or becomes a non-U.S.
resident at the time of any controversy
subject to this arbitration agreement, such
party acknowledges and agrees to the
following additional provisions:
(1) The rules of the organization administering
the arbitration specifically provide for the
formal designation of the place at which
the arbitration is to be held.
(2) Entering into this Agreement constitutes
consent to submit to the personal
jurisdiction of the courts of the state of
California, U.S.A., to interpret or enforce
any or all of these arbitration provisions.
Judgment on any arbitration award may be
entered in any court having jurisdiction, or
application may be made to such court for
judicial acceptance of the award and an
order of enforcement, as the case may be.
(3) The exclusive language to be used by the
parties and the arbitrators in the
arbitration proceedings shall be English.
Any party wishing an interpreter shall
make all arrangements directly with the
interpreter and shall assume all costs of
the service.
(4) If a party is a foreign government or state,
state-owned or state-operated enterprise
or other instrumentality of a foreign
government or state, such party waives all
rights of sovereign immunity and neither
the Federal Act of State doctrine nor the
doctrine of sovereign immunity shall apply
insofar as any enforcement in courts
located in the U.S.A. is concerned.
Section 11: Electronic Copies.
The electronically stored copy of your (or your
agent’s) signature, any written instructions or
authorizations, the Account Application and the
Agreement and Disclosures is considered to be
the true, complete, valid, authentic and
enforceable record, admissible in judicial,
administrative or arbitration proceedings to the
same extent as if the documents and records
were originally generated and maintained in
printed form. You agree to not contest the
admissibility or enforceability of Schwab’s
electronically stored copy of such documents in
any proceeding between you and Schwab.