OFFICIAL RULES
NOTICE: THESE OFFICIAL RULES CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, A CLASS ACTION WAIVER, AND A JURY TRIAL WAIVER (SEE SECTION 12). BY ENTERING THE CHALLENGE, YOU AGREE TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH SOLIN THROUGH INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION.
Purchase of a Participating Challenge is required to be eligible for prizes. The Challenge is an athletic contest of skill, strength, and endurance; chance plays no role in the selection of winners (see Section 7). The Challenge is void in Maryland, in Canada, and where prohibited or restricted by law (see Section 2.3).
1. The Challenge; Sponsor
The Solin Showdown 2026: Transformation Challenge (the “Challenge”) is sponsored by Blue Light Holdings Inc., doing business as Solin (“Solin,” “we,” or “us”). The Challenge consists of challenges from different fitness creators hosting their own challenges on Solin. By joining a creator’s challenge that is included in the Challenge (a “Participating Challenge”), you enter the overall competition, which includes participants from all Participating Challenges. One set of winners will be selected across all Participating Challenges by a judging panel applying the criteria in Section 4 uniformly to all eligible entries. Participating Challenges are identified as such in the description on their landing pages and are listed at https://solin.stream. If you are unsure whether a particular challenge is participating, contact Solin before purchasing. Each Participating Challenge’s landing page will link to these Official Rules.
By purchasing a Participating Challenge and submitting an entry, you (the “entrant” or “you”) agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Solin and the judging panel, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Challenge. The Challenge runs from October 12, 2026 through November 22, 2026 (the “Challenge Period”); submission deadlines are stated in Section 2.2.
These Official Rules supplement the Blue Light Terms of Service Agreement (the “Terms of Service”), which governs your use of the Solin platform (the “Blue Light Service” described in the Terms of Service) and is incorporated into these Official Rules by reference. If these Official Rules conflict with the Terms of Service with respect to the Challenge, these Official Rules control.
2. Eligibility
2.1 Who may enter.
The Challenge is open to individuals who, at the time of entry, are at least eighteen (18) years old and are legally resident in, and physically located in, an eligible jurisdiction (see Section 2.3). Employees, contractors, officers, and directors of Solin and its affiliates, and members of their immediate households, and creators hosting Participating Challenges, are not eligible to win prizes.
2.2 How to enter.
To be eligible for prizes, you must (a) purchase a Participating Challenge; (b) upload your “before” transformation photographs, “before” verification video, and written “before” transformation story in the Solin mobile app by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 16, 2026; and (c) upload your “after” transformation photographs, “after” verification video, and written “after” transformation story in the app by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 27, 2026. All six submissions are required and are evaluated under Section 4. Submission requirements are described in Section 8. Failure to meet any deadline will result in your disqualification from the Challenge, and you will be ineligible for any prize. The price you pay for a Participating Challenge is the price of the creator’s program; it is not contributed to the prize pool and is not refundable on account of your eligibility for, or results in, the Challenge, except as provided in the Terms of Service.
2.3 Eligible and excluded jurisdictions.
Prizes will be awarded only to entrants who are legally resident in, and physically located in, an eligible jurisdiction at the time of entry and at the time of award. The Challenge is void, and no prizes will be awarded, in the following jurisdictions:
(a) the State of Maryland;
(b) Canada (all provinces and territories);
(c) Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates;
(d) Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, and any other jurisdiction subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions; and
(e) any other jurisdiction where the Challenge is prohibited or restricted by law, or would require registration, bonding, a local sponsor or administrator, or other administration that Solin does not provide.
Solin may update this list at any time to comply with applicable law, and may require proof of residence and location before awarding any prize. By entering, you acknowledge that the jurisdiction where you reside or are located may make you ineligible for a prize, and that purchasing a Participating Challenge does not by itself make you eligible for a prize.
3. Prizes
3.1 Prize pool.
Thirty-nine (39) winners will share $101,000 in cash prizes, as follows:
(a) Three (3) Grand Prize winners ($15,000 each): one in each of the Overall Transformation, Fat Loss Transformation, and Muscle Gain / Body Recomposition Transformation categories described in Section 4.
(b) Five (5) Second-Place winners ($5,000 each), from any category.
(c) Thirty-one (31) Third-Place winners ($1,000 each), from any category.
3.2 Fixed, sponsor-funded prizes.
Prizes are funded by Solin and are announced in advance. Prizes are not composed of or derived from entry fees, and they do not increase or decrease based on the number of entrants or the amount of entry fees collected. Solin and its personnel do not compete for any prize.
3.3 Creator prizes.
Creators may, at their sole discretion, advertise or provide prizes outside of the official Challenge prize pool. Those prizes are not part of the Challenge, are not sponsored or managed by Solin, and Solin has no responsibility for their fulfillment. Any claims or disputes related to creator-offered prizes must be resolved directly between the participant and the creator.
4. Judging Criteria and Winner Selection
4.1 Judging Panel.
All eligible entries will be evaluated by a judging panel designated by Solin, consisting of individuals with experience in fitness or physique assessment. The panel will apply the criteria set forth in this Section 4 uniformly to every eligible entry. No random drawing will be conducted, and chance plays no role in the evaluation of entries or the selection of winners.
4.2 Categories.
The Challenge has three (3) categories:
a. Overall Transformation. The most impressive overall transformation, without regard to whether the change is primarily fat loss, muscle gain, or both.
b. Fat Loss Transformation. Visible evidence of fat loss across the body, which may include changes to the face, neck, and chin, arms, back, midsection, hips, legs, and overall body composition. Fat loss is assessed across the whole body and is not limited to the stomach area.
c. Muscle Gain / Body Recomposition Transformation. Visible evidence of increased muscularity, improved definition, or body recomposition across the body, including changes to the arms, shoulders, back, chest, glutes, and legs, and not limited to any single area. Body recomposition generally means gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, so scale weight may change very little even though the physique appears noticeably leaner and more defined.
4.3 Category Placement.
You do not select your own category. You may describe your goal in your transformation story, but that description is not binding on the panel. The panel will place each eligible entry into the category it determines is most consistent with the change demonstrated in the submitted before-and-after materials. Category placement determines only the benchmark against which the first criterion in Section 4.4 is evaluated; all entries are evaluated under the same criteria.
4.4 Judging Criteria.
The panel will evaluate each eligible entry against the following criteria, applied uniformly to all entries. The criteria are listed in descending order of weight. Each criterion is material to the outcome, and an entry that performs poorly under any criterion may be ranked below entries demonstrating a lesser degree of physical change.
First: Physical Transformation. The degree and quality of the physical change demonstrated between the before and after submissions, evaluated against the entrant’s assigned category, including the magnitude of the change, how consistently it is expressed across the whole body rather than in a single area, and the apparent difficulty of achieving that change from the entrant’s starting point. This criterion carries the greatest weight in the panel’s evaluation.
Second: Evidence Quality and Consistency. Whether your before and after submissions allow the panel to accurately assess the change. The panel will consider:
a. Lighting. Comparable lighting conditions in the before and after materials, with the subject not obscured by shadow, backlighting, or glare.
b. Framing. Comparable camera distance, height, and angle, with the full body in frame in both submissions.
c. Clarity. In-focus, adequately resolved images and video, free of filters, retouching, cropping, or other digital alteration.
d. Consistency of posing. The same poses, from the same angles, in the before and after materials.
e. Consistency of attire. Comparable clothing offering comparable coverage in the before and after materials.
f. Midsection visibility. The midsection must be fully visible in both the before and after materials. Clothing should not be used to cover, compress, tuck, or reshape the midsection or any other body area in either submission.
g. Photo-to-video consistency. Your before and after verification videos should be consistent with your corresponding before and after photographs, taken in the same condition, attire, and setting, so that the video corroborates and adds visual context to the change shown in the photographs.
Submissions that obscure, conceal, or manipulate the appearance of the body in either the before or after materials will weigh against the entry under this criterion, and may result in disqualification as described in Section 5.
Third: Transformation Story. Each entrant must submit a written “before” transformation story and a written “after” transformation story. This criterion evaluates both submissions together, and considers whether the entrant has provided specific, relevant context that enables the panel to accurately assess the significance of the physical change shown in the submitted materials, including how difficult that change was to achieve from the entrant’s starting point and what the entrant changed in order to achieve it.
Before transformation story. The “before” story establishes the entrant’s starting point. Relevant context includes:
a. the entrant’s starting body weight, and any other starting measurements taken, such as clothing size, waist or hip measurements, body composition, body fat percentage, or body mass index, and how those measurements were taken;
b. the entrant’s starting strength, endurance, mobility, or other performance measures;
c. the entrant’s circumstances at the start of the Challenge, including prior training and nutrition history, and any obstacles the entrant expects to make change more difficult to achieve; and
d. the entrant’s goals for the Challenge.
After transformation story. The “after” story describes the approach the entrant took and the change achieved. In evaluating the approach described, the panel will consider its specificity and soundness. A story describing a considered, deliberate approach, for example a defined and moderate calorie deficit, adequate protein intake, structured resistance training, and consistent adherence over the full Challenge Period, will weigh more favorably than one describing an extreme or unstructured approach. A story describing an extreme approach, such as prolonged severe caloric restriction or extreme overtraining, will weigh substantially against the entry and may result in the entry being ranked below entries demonstrating a lesser degree of physical change. The panel evaluates the approach the entrant describes having taken during the Challenge, and does not predict or assess any entrant’s future results. Relevant context includes:
a. change in body weight;
b. change in any other measurements taken at the start, such as clothing size, waist or hip measurements, body composition, body fat percentage, or body mass index, and how those measurements were taken;
c. changes in strength, endurance, mobility, or other performance measures;
d. any obstacles during the Challenge that made the change more difficult to achieve;
e. the specific approach the entrant took to nutrition during the Challenge, including any calorie or macronutrient targets and how they were determined, food choices, tracking method, and how the entrant managed adherence;
f. the specific approach the entrant took to training and activity, including session frequency, type of training, progression, and daily activity levels;
g. the specific habits the entrant adopted and sustained across the six weeks of the Challenge, including sleep, hydration, tracking or accountability practices, and how the entrant handled weeks where adherence was difficult;
h. specific changes in the entrant’s approach, discipline, or relationship with training and nutrition, described in terms of what the entrant actually did differently and continued to do; and
i. any other context bearing on the difficulty or significance of the demonstrated transformation.
The panel will consider whether each story is specific rather than general, whether it identifies factors that make the demonstrated change more or less significant, and whether the two stories are consistent with each other and with the submitted photographs and verification videos. This criterion is not scored on writing quality or production value. Responses that are unsupported by, or inconsistent with, the submitted visual evidence will weigh against the entry under this criterion.
Threshold: Rules Compliance. You must follow all instructions, rules, tips, and guidance provided in the Solin app governing the capture and upload of before and after photographs, before and after verification videos, transformation stories, and any other Challenge submission. Entries that fail to satisfy the app’s mandatory submission requirements are not eligible and will not be evaluated. Entries that satisfy the mandatory requirements but deviate from the app’s stated guidance in other respects will weigh against the entry.
4.5 Winner Selection.
The panel will rank all eligible entries by applying the criteria in Section 4.4 in the order of weight stated. Winners are then determined as follows:
a. The highest-ranked eligible entry overall is the Grand Prize winner in the Overall Transformation category.
b. The highest-ranked remaining eligible entry placed in the Fat Loss Transformation category is the Grand Prize winner in that category.
c. The highest-ranked remaining eligible entry placed in the Muscle Gain / Body Recomposition Transformation category is the Grand Prize winner in that category.
d. The five (5) highest-ranked remaining eligible entries, from any category, are the Second-Place winners.
e. The thirty-one (31) highest-ranked remaining eligible entries, from any category, are the Third-Place winners.
If there are fewer eligible entries than prizes in any tier, the remaining prizes in that tier will not be awarded. Forfeited prizes are handled under Section 9.4.
5. Submission Compliance and Disqualification
5.1 Compliance with Instructions.
You must follow all instructions, rules, and guidance provided during the upload process in the Solin app, and meet all applicable deadlines. Failure to do so may result in disqualification, as described in Section 4.4. Solin reserves the right to disqualify any participant who does not comply with the rules or deadlines.
5.2 Clarification.
Solin may contact any entrant to request clarification of, or additional detail regarding, any element of their transformation story or other submission, where the panel determines that clarification would aid its evaluation. Solin is under no obligation to seek clarification from any entrant, and the decision to do so or not does not affect the application of the criteria in Section 4. An entrant who does not respond within the time period stated in Solin’s request will be evaluated on the materials already submitted. Clarifications provided in response to such a request will be considered part of the entrant’s transformation story and evaluated under the same criteria.
5.3 Prohibited Methods.
Participants are ineligible for prizes if, at any time from October 5, 2026 through November 27, 2026, they (a) use any exogenous androgenic or anabolic agents intended to increase anabolic or androgen-receptor signaling, or (b) undergo any surgical procedure intended to alter physique.
5.4 Other Grounds for Disqualification.
In addition to Sections 5.1 and 5.3, the panel may disqualify any entry that it determines involves digital alteration of any submission, misrepresentation of the timing or subject of any submission, deliberate concealment or manipulation of body appearance, submission of materials depicting a person other than the entrant, or any other conduct materially inconsistent with these Official Rules or the app’s submission rules. The verification and disqualification process in Section 8.5 applies.
6. No Guarantee of Winning
Participation in the Challenge does not guarantee that you will win any prize. Winner selection is evaluative and highly competitive, with participants from all Participating Challenges competing for one set of prizes. Your transformation may resemble that of a winning entry without being selected as a winner. Winners are selected by a judging panel designated by Solin, applying the criteria set forth in Section 4 uniformly to all eligible entries. It is entirely possible that the panel’s evaluation does not match your own or that of other third parties.
7. Ties and Contest Character
7.1 Ties.
Where the panel determines that two or more entries are equivalent, the tie will be resolved in favor of the entry demonstrating the greater degree and quality of physical transformation under the first criterion in Section 4.4. If the entries remain equivalent, the tie will be resolved on the second criterion, and then on the third. No tie will be resolved by chance, drawing, or lot.
7.2 Skill-Based Contest.
The Challenge is an athletic contest and a bona fide contest of skill, strength, and endurance. All winners are selected as actual contestants, based on the criteria set forth in Section 4, applied uniformly to all eligible entries. The criteria are announced in advance and within each entrant’s control through their own effort. Chance plays no role in the selection of winners.
8. Submission Requirements and Authenticity
8.1 Required submissions.
Each entrant must submit “before” and “after” photographs, a “before” and “after” verification video, and a written “before” and “after” transformation story, as described in Section 2.2 and in the Solin app. Each verification video must be captured in a single continuous take without cuts, filters, or edits, sufficient for Solin to verify that your photographs are authentic and are not AI-generated or altered. Entries without both verification videos are ineligible. All rules in this Section 8 apply equally to photographs and videos.
8.2 Unaltered submissions.
Photographs and videos must be original, must accurately depict you, and may not be edited or manipulated in any way that alters your appearance or context. Prohibited alterations include body reshaping or slimming, skin smoothing or blemish removal, filters and AR effects, background replacement, composite images, object removal or addition, generative fills or AI upscaling, face or body swaps, and any AI-generated or AI-altered content. Device settings that automatically apply cosmetic changes, such as “beauty mode” or portrait retouch, must be disabled. The only permitted adjustments are rotation to correct orientation, modest cropping that does not remove your face or body, and compression or resizing for upload.
8.3 App guidance.
You must follow the photograph, video, and story instructions and guidance provided in the Solin app, which are incorporated by reference and may be updated during the Challenge. If app guidance conflicts with these Official Rules, these Official Rules control.
8.4 Verification and retention.
Solin may require any of the following: original files with intact metadata, a time-stamped re-shoot, a short live verification video, additional angles, or proof that device beautification settings were off. Removing or altering metadata, failing to provide originals, or refusing a reasonable verification request is a violation of these Official Rules. You must retain your original files for at least ninety (90) days after the Challenge ends and cooperate with any authenticity review within the timeframe Solin specifies.
8.5 Disqualification process.
If Solin determines in good faith, based on reasonable evidence, that a submission has been edited or otherwise violates these Official Rules, Solin may disqualify the entrant. Disqualification decisions are final. Solin may withhold or recover prizes and select an alternate winner.
8.6 Other people and minors.
If another person appears in any submission, you must have that person’s permission and may be required to provide it. Submissions may not include minors.
9. Prize Claim and Payment
9.1 Claim requirements.
Potential winners will be notified by email to the address or text to the phone number associated with their Solin account. To receive a prize, a potential winner must, by January 8, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (the “Claim Deadline”): (a) respond to Solin’s winner notification within 72 hours of the first notification; (b) complete winner verification, which may include identity, eligibility, and anti-fraud checks, a live or recorded interview with Solin regarding the entrant's participation in the Challenge, and, where lawful, execution of an affidavit of eligibility and a liability and publicity release; and (c) onboard to and maintain a valid payout account supported by Solin’s payment processor, in the winner’s legal name and country of residence, and provide accurate payment details. Solin currently uses PayPal and may require completion of PayPal’s KYC onboarding; for larger prizes, Solin may use a different payment service.
9.2 Tax information.
Winners must provide all tax information requested by Solin, as well as any government-issued identification, no later than December 28, 2026 to support year-end reporting. Solin may withhold amounts required by law. Winners are solely responsible for all taxes on prizes.
9.3 Fees, currency, and timing.
Winners are solely responsible for all fees, charges, currency conversion, and bank or processor costs associated with the payout. Prizes are paid in U.S. dollars. After all required steps are completed and approved, Solin will attempt payment up to three times within sixty (60) days. Solin is not responsible for delays caused by third-party processors, banks, or compliance reviews.
9.4 Forfeiture and alternate winners.
A winner forfeits the prize if the winner fails to complete any required step by the Claim Deadline, fails verification or required KYC, provides inaccurate payout details that prevent payment, declines the prize, or if payment is prohibited by law or processor policy. Solin may, at its discretion, select an alternate winner or no winner at all.
9.5 No transfer or substitution.
Prizes may not be assigned or transferred. Substitutions are not permitted, except that Solin may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if an advertised prize becomes unavailable. Solin cannot pay prizes to persons or jurisdictions that are on applicable sanctions or restricted-party lists or where payment is unlawful or impracticable.
10. Publicity and Use of Your Content
10.1 License.
By participating, you grant Solin permission to use your name, image, likeness, voice, photographs, videos, transformation stories, testimonials, and any other content you submit or that Solin collects in connection with the Challenge (“Participant Content”), worldwide, in perpetuity, in any media, and without additional compensation, for advertising, marketing, publicity, press, and promotional purposes. Solin may edit Participant Content for length, clarity, or compliance without further approval from you, and has no obligation to use any Participant Content.
10.2 Recording.
Solin may record winner announcements, prize-winner interviews, and related content connected to your winnings. As required by law, Solin’s video conferencing providers will notify you when a recording is in progress.
10.3 Release and accuracy.
To the extent permitted by law, you waive any moral rights in Participant Content and release Solin and its designees from claims related to the permitted use of Participant Content. You confirm that you have all rights needed to grant this license and that your statements reflect your honest opinions and experiences.
10.4 Privacy.
Solin’s collection, use, and retention of your submissions, including your photographs, verification videos, and transformation stories, are subject to Solin’s Privacy Policy and applicable law. Solin will not publish your body weight, body composition, body fat percentage, body mass index, or other numerical health measurements without your separate consent.
11. General
11.1 Changes to the Challenge.
Solin may modify these Official Rules where required to comply with applicable law or platform requirements, or to address fraud, technical failures, or other causes that threaten the integrity or proper conduct of the Challenge. Any modification will be posted where these Official Rules are published. No modification will reduce the prize pool announced in Section 3 or introduce any element of chance into winner selection. If the Challenge cannot be conducted as planned for reasons beyond Solin’s reasonable control, Solin may extend the submission deadlines or suspend or cancel the Challenge. If the Challenge is cancelled, Solin will award the prizes described in Section 3, to the extent eligible entries permit, by judging under Section 4 the entries for which both “before” and “after” submissions were received before cancellation.
11.2 Platforms.
The Challenge is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Apple, Google, or any other platform. Any questions or comments regarding the Challenge must be directed to Solin, not to any platform.
11.3 Terms of Service.
The Terms of Service apply to the Challenge, including Sections 7 (Disclaimers), 8 (Limitation of Liability), and 9 (Indemnification) of the Terms of Service.
11.4 Health and safety.
The Challenge involves diet and exercise. You should consult a physician before beginning any nutrition or training program and should participate only if you are in good health. Solin, the creators, and the judging panel do not provide medical advice. You participate at your own risk and are solely responsible for your own health and safety. Extreme approaches, including prolonged severe caloric restriction and overtraining, are discouraged and weigh against an entry under Section 4.4.
12. Disputes; Arbitration Agreement; Class Action and Jury Waiver
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES WITH SOLIN ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND LIMITS THE WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF. By entering the Challenge, you agree to arbitrate all claims relating to the Challenge and these Official Rules, to waive your right to a trial by jury, and to waive any right to proceed on a class basis in arbitration or otherwise. This Section 12 restates, and applies to the Challenge, the arbitration agreement in Section 10 of the Terms of Service.
12.1 Pre-Dispute Notice and Opportunity to Cure
Before initiating any arbitration or other formal proceeding against Blue Light, you must first deliver to Blue Light, at the legal notice address set forth in Section 11 of the Terms of Service, a written Notice of Dispute (the "Notice"). The Notice must: (a) be signed by you personally (and, if you are represented by counsel, also signed by counsel); (b) state your full legal name, mailing address, email address, and account identifier (if any); (c) describe in reasonable factual detail the specific conduct alleged to give rise to the dispute, including the dates, times, and means of your interaction with the Blue Light Service; (d) identify each statutory provision, regulation, or other legal authority on which the claim is based and how Blue Light’s conduct allegedly violated it; (e) state the specific relief requested, including any monetary demand; (f) include a written certification by you (and, if you are represented by counsel, also by your counsel) — given under penalty of perjury — that the claim has been investigated in good faith and has a non-frivolous factual and legal basis; (g) attach contemporaneous evidence supporting the allegations, including, where applicable, timestamped screenshots, browser history, account-creation records, or other records of your interaction with the Blue Light Service; and (h) identify by name and counsel any other claimant similarly situated to you who is known to you or your counsel to be represented, or contemplated for representation, by the same counsel in connection with similar claims. A Notice that consists of, or substantially incorporates, a form letter or template not individually tailored to your specific factual circumstances does not satisfy this requirement.
Following receipt of a compliant Notice, Blue Light shall have sixty (60) calendar days to investigate the dispute and to propose a resolution. No arbitration or other proceeding may be commenced before the expiration of the 60-day period. The 60-day period shall toll any otherwise-applicable statute of limitations or contractual limitations period.
Failure to comply with this Section in good faith is a material breach of this Agreement and a basis for dismissal of any subsequently filed arbitration.
12.2 Contractual Limitations Period
Any claim or cause of action arising out of or relating to this Agreement or your use of the Blue Light Service must be commenced — by delivery of a compliant Notice pursuant to Section 12.1 and, where required, the subsequent commencement of arbitration — within one (1) year after the date on which the conduct giving rise to the claim or cause of action first occurred. This one-year contractual limitations period shall apply regardless of any otherwise-applicable statutory limitations period and shall not be tolled, extended, or postponed by any "discovery rule," "continuing violation" doctrine, or other equitable doctrine, except for the express tolling provided by Section 12.1 during the 60-day pre-dispute investigation period. The parties acknowledge that this provision is intended to provide a definite and short limitations period for the orderly resolution of disputes.
12.3 Arbitration Agreement.
The exclusive means of resolving any dispute or claim arising out of or relating to the Challenge, these Official Rules (including any alleged breach of them), or your use of the Blue Light Service shall be BINDING ARBITRATION administered by National Arbitration and Mediation ("NAM") under NAM’s Comprehensive Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures, including, as applicable, the Mass Filing Supplemental Dispute Resolution Rules and Procedures. If NAM declines or is unable to administer the dispute, the arbitration shall instead be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, including, as applicable, the Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted in English, before a single arbitrator, on a documents-only basis unless either party requests, or the arbitrator determines, that a hearing is warranted.
12.4 Overview.
Arbitration provides a private dispute resolution process that is usually more streamlined and less formal than litigation. In an arbitration, your rights will be determined by a neutral third party called an arbitrator, and not a judge or jury. Both you and Solin are entitled to fundamentally fair proceedings at every stage of the arbitration, including the hearing (if any). The arbitrator will decide all issues relating to the dispute, including the question of arbitrability, and can grant any relief that a court could grant. Decisions by the arbitrator are enforceable in court and may be overturned by a court only for very limited reasons.
12.5 Location of Hearing.
If you are a consumer, as defined by the applicable arbitration provider in its consumer minimum standards, you may request that the arbitration hearing be conducted in the area in which you reside. Otherwise, the hearing (if any) shall take place in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America.
12.6 Mass Filing Protocol
If ten (10) or more demands for arbitration are filed against Blue Light by or with the assistance of the same law firm, counsel, or coordinated group of claimants within any rolling ninety (90)-day period and present substantially similar factual allegations or legal theories (whether or not the named claimants are related), the following procedures (the "Mass Filing Protocol") shall apply, supplementing and, where in conflict, superseding the rules of the applicable arbitration provider:
(a) Pre-bellwether mediation. Within twenty-one (21) days of the tenth (10th) such demand, claimants and Blue Light shall first engage in good-faith mediation before a NAM or AAA mediator to attempt global resolution of all pending and reasonably anticipated demands within the cluster. Pre-bellwether mediation shall continue for not less than thirty (30) days unless terminated earlier by mutual written agreement. No Bellwether Case shall be selected or proceed unless and until pre-bellwether mediation has concluded without global resolution.
(b) Bellwether selection. Within thirty (30) days following the conclusion of pre-bellwether mediation without resolution, claimants shall jointly select ten (10) cases and Blue Light shall select ten (10) cases from the pool. These twenty (20) cases (the "Bellwether Cases") shall proceed sequentially in groups of no more than five (5) at a time.
(c) Stay of remaining demands. All other demands shall be administratively stayed pending completion of the Bellwether Cases. No filing, administrative, or arbitrator fees shall accrue to either party for stayed demands during the stay.
(d) Post-bellwether mediation. Within sixty (60) days after completion of the final Bellwether Case, the parties shall engage in good-faith global mediation using outcomes of the Bellwether Cases as benchmarks.
(e) Individual resumption. If post-bellwether mediation does not produce a resolution within ninety (90) days, stayed demands may resume on an individual basis, subject in each case to the Pre-Dispute Notice and Opportunity to Cure requirements of Section 12.1.
(f) Fee allocation. Notwithstanding any provider rule to the contrary, in any Mass Filing Protocol matter, each side shall bear its own filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees pro rata across its share of cases. No claimant may avoid this allocation absent contemporaneous documentary evidence of indigency provided directly to Blue Light’s counsel and verified to Blue Light’s reasonable satisfaction.
(g) No-coordination certification. At the time of filing each demand falling within this Section, claimant counsel shall certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, that the demand is not the subject of any informal coordination, fee-sharing, joint-defense, common-interest, referral, or similar arrangement with any other law firm or counsel having the purpose or effect of evading the trigger threshold of this Section. Knowingly false or evasive certification shall be a basis for dismissal of the demand with prejudice and for such further relief as the arbitrator or court determines is appropriate.
(h) Severability. If any portion of this Section 12.6 is held unenforceable as to a particular dispute, the remainder of this Section 12.6 shall remain in effect.
12.7 Class-Action Waiver.
EACH PARTY WAIVES ITS RIGHT TO GO TO COURT, TO A TRIAL BY JURY, AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION.
The arbitrator shall have no authority to consolidate, join, or otherwise combine claims brought by or against multiple persons except as expressly provided in the Mass Filing Protocol set forth in Section 12.6.
Severability of Specific Relief. If any portion of this Class Action Waiver is finally determined by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable solely as to a claim seeking public injunctive relief or other relief that the waiver may not lawfully foreclose, that claim, and only that claim, shall be severed and resolved in the courts identified in Section 11 of the Terms of Service, and the remaining claims shall be arbitrated individually under this Section 12.
Non-Severability as to Class Arbitration. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, a court or arbitrator determines that any portion of this Class Action Waiver is unenforceable in a manner that would otherwise permit class arbitration or other representative arbitration, then the entire Arbitration Agreement set forth in this Section 12 shall be null and void as to the claims to which that determination applies, and those claims shall instead be resolved in court in accordance with Section 11 of the Terms of Service. Class arbitration is in no event consented to.
12.8 CCP § 1281.97 / § 1281.98 Cure Period
Before initiating any action, motion, or other proceeding against Blue Light under California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1281.97 or 1281.98 (or any successor or analogous statute or rule), or seeking to invoke any consumer-fee-waiver enforcement mechanism that may have the effect of materially reducing or eliminating Blue Light’s right to arbitrate, you must first deliver written notice to Blue Light at the legal notice address set forth in Section 11 of the Terms of Service. The notice must specify the alleged late payment, the date payment was due, the amount allegedly owed, and the date you intend to invoke the statutory or contractual remedy. Blue Light shall have fourteen (14) calendar days from receipt of such notice to cure any alleged non-payment. No action, motion, or other proceeding may be commenced under such statute or mechanism before the expiration of the 14-day cure period, and any timely cure within the 14-day period shall waive any contention that Blue Light is in material breach of its payment obligations.
12.9 Exception for Small Claims Court Matters.
Notwithstanding the above, each party has the right to bring an individual claim against the other in a small claims court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 1 of the applicable arbitration provider’s Consumer Minimum Standards. If one party files an arbitration that could be litigated in such a small claims court, the responding party may request that the dispute proceed in small claims court. If the responding party requests to proceed in small claims court before the appointment of the arbitrator, the arbitration shall be administratively closed. If requested after the appointment of the arbitrator, the arbitrator shall administratively close the arbitration so long as the proceedings are at an early stage and no hearing has occurred.
12.10 Governing Law; Jurisdiction and Venue.
The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) shall govern this arbitration agreement. To the extent not preempted by or inconsistent with the FAA, these Official Rules and this arbitration agreement are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, as provided in Section 11 of the Terms of Service. Any arbitration award may be entered in a court of competent jurisdiction.
12.11 Binding Arbitration with Creators.
To the extent that a creator has agreed to resolve disputes with consumers through arbitration in its agreements with Solin, you agree that any dispute with a creator arising out of or relating to your purchase of, or participation in, a Participating Challenge shall be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION administered by JAMS in accordance with this Section 12.
12.12 Severability of Arbitration Agreement
Each subsection of this Section 12 is intended to be severable from every other subsection. If any provision of this Section 12 is held by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable in whole or in part, the unenforceable provision shall be (i) modified or "blue-penciled" by the court or arbitrator to the minimum extent necessary to render it enforceable, while preserving the parties’ intent to the maximum extent permitted by law, or, if such modification is not possible, (ii) severed, with the remainder of this Section 12 continuing in full force and effect. The unenforceability of any provision of this Section 12 as to a particular claim or party shall not affect the enforceability of that provision as to any other claim or party. The parties expressly grant the court or arbitrator authority to blue-pencil this Section 12 to preserve the parties’ intent to arbitrate on an individual, non-class basis.
13. Contact
For questions about the Challenge or these Official Rules, contact Solin at support@solinfitness.com.