Terms & Conditions

This is an agreement between you and Ladera Ranch Community Services.

This is an agreement between each LaderaLife.com user and Ladera Ranch Community Services (LARCS).

Before using the LaderaLife website (referred to as the "Service’), you must agree to all of the following terms and conditions. Each time you log into the Service, you accept the terms of this agreement and agree to comply with all terms and conditions herein, as may be amended from time to time. YOU MUST BE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE TO ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU ARE NOT 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, YOU MUST HAVE A PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AGREE TO THESE TERMS ON YOUR BEHALF.

By accepting this Agreement:

  • You also agree to abide by the User Guidelines and Content Management Guidelines at all times, which are posted on the Service and may be updated from time to time;
  • You are fully responsible for all members and guests of your household who use the Service, whether from your home or otherwise (NOTE: "guests” include anyone who accesses the Service using your login and/or password); and
  • You agree to monitor and supervise all use of the Service by guests and members of your household to ensure compliance with this Agreement, the User Guidelines, and the Content Management Guidelines. THIS RESPONSIBILITY INCLUDES SUPERVISION OF ANY HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS AND GUESTS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.
  • You agree to the terms of this Agreement on behalf of all minor users of the Service in your household
  • You agree, on behalf of yourself and all members and/or guests of your household, to abide by the following terms and conditions:

1. In General

The Service (including email, Instant Messaging, Message Board, Clubs, etc.) is operated by Ladera Ranch Community Services, or "LARCS.” LARCS may change, or add to, these terms and conditions at any time and reference to the term "Agreement” includes any such changes or additions that LARCS may make to these terms and conditions. LARCS will post any new or additional terms and conditions on the Service and these new or additional terms and conditions will be effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Service will serve as your agreement to abide by all such new or additional terms and conditions. If at any time, any term or condition of this Agreement is not acceptable to you, you (and all members and guests of your household) should immediately cease all use of the Service.

2. The Content

The Service provides access to information, software, photographs, audio, video, graphics, links and other material (referred to as "Content”) that is legally protected by LARCS and/or others under patent, copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You agree to comply with all copyright notices and other restrictions contained in any Content available on or accessed through, the Service. You agree to use this content only for personal purposes. Content may not be used on other websites without written permission.

You may not use, alter or exploit the Content other than as specifically provided for in this Agreement. In addition, you may not reverse engineer or decompile any software that you download by using the Service unless you receive express permission from the software owner. You may post only the following types of Content on the Service: (1) information which you have created, (2) copyright or other legally protected information for which you have received express permission from the owner, and (3) public information.

LARCS has the right to edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use any Content that you place on the Service without any compensation to you.

You shall not copy, or store electronically, any portions of Content, unless you: (1) obtain the prior approval of LARCS or the Content owner if it is someone other than LARCS and (2) maintain all copyright and other notices in the Content.

3. Rules of Conduct

You shall not post any Content on the Service which:

  1. may in any way be considered libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, harassing or threatening to any person or group of persons;
  2. contains computer viruses or other destructive features;
  3. violates the patent, trademark, copyright or any other intellectual or proprietary rights of another; or
  4. otherwise violates any law.

In addition, you may not post on the Service any links to any external Internet sites that may be considered obscene or pornographic or use the Service to distribute advertising, solicit funds, solicit users to join competitive online services or for any commercial purpose.

4. Managing Content

LARCS has the right to delete or edit any Content which, in its sole discretion, violates this Agreement or it determines to be unacceptable. However, LARCS does not and cannot review the Content posted by users of the Service. Some Content may be inappropriate, especially for children. LARCS is not responsible for any Content that is created by uses or other third party persons posted or displayed on, or transmitted through, the Service. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SUPERVISING YOUR CHILDREN’S USE OF THE SERVICE. As a user of the Service, you should immediately report any inappropriate Content to LARCS by contacting content.manager@laderalife.com. The Service also may contain links to other sites on the Internet, which are owned and operated by other parties. LARCS is not responsible for the availability of these sites or any of the information contained on them.

5. Claims Against LARCS

You agree to hold LARCS harmless and to pay all liabilities, costs and expenses that LARCS incurs resulting from your use of the Service (including use by anyone who uses your password, whether authorized or not) or use of the Service by any member or guest of your household.

6. Termination of Service

LARCS has the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access (and access by any member or guest of your household) to all or any part of the Service, at any time for any reason without prior notice or liability. LARCS may also change, suspend or discontinue all or any aspect of the Service at any time without prior notice or liability.

7. Liability and Warranties

The Service and the Content made available through the Service are provided on an "AS IS” basis. LARCS and its agents and third party Content providers DO NOT make any warranties of any kind with respect to the Service, any Content or any other materials or information provided by LARCS relating to the Service, including, but not limited to the following:

  1. that the Service will be error-free;
  2. that the Service will not be interrupted;
  3. that the Content and any files available for downloading are virus-free; or
  4. that any email received by you through the Service is virus free. You are solely responsible to protect your computer against email viruses or other destructive features.

Neither LARCS, nor any of its agents or third party Content providers shall be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use the Service, even if they have been advised of the possibility of such damages. LARCS maximum liability to you for any claims relating to use of the service is limited to one hundred dollars ($100).

8. Miscellaneous

This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California. You agree that any legal claims relating to this Agreement by either you or LARCS must be brought in the courts located in Orange County, California.

Overview:

The LaderaLifeSM intranet ("LaderaLife”), the intranet for Ladera Ranch residents, is designed to promote neighbor-to-neighbor interaction and provide easy access to information relevant to residents. LaderaLife will be managed by Ladera Ranch Community Services "LARCS". Access is conditioned upon each resident’s acceptance of the User Agreement and adherence to that Agreement and these Guidelines.

LARCS may change these Guidelines or the User Agreement at any time. You agree to review changes to these Guidelines and the User Agreement and if any change is not acceptable to you, you agree to terminate your use of LaderaLife. Your continued use of LaderaLife after the effective date of any such change constitutes your acceptance of all of the changes.

User Guidelines:

LaderaLife is intended to facilitate the process of fostering a sense of community within Ladera Ranch. To achieve this goal, it is important to maintain an Intranet site that is friendly to users and supports positive interaction between residents. Conduct that is disruptive to the online community may result in disciplinary action by the LARCS Board of Directors, including possible suspension or termination of a resident’s privilege to access LaderaLife.

Guidelines for use of LaderaLife:

  • Only residents of Ladera Ranch and authorized employees of LARCS and DMB Ladera LLC and its service providers may access LaderaLife.
  • Access to LaderaLife is contingent upon acceptance of the User Agreement.
  • Parent or legal guardian must electronically agree to LaderaLife Terms & Conditions for any children under the age of 18 you wish to have access to LaderaLife.com.
  • Distribution of content to advertise, to solicit funds, to solicit users to join competitive online services, to send unsolicited communications and/or mass messages, or for any commercial purpose is prohibited. (See Content Guidelines for exceptions.)
  • Transmission, distribution or storage of offensive content and disabling code is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, viruses, Trojan horse programs, messages which include character sequences intended to control the recipient’s computer or display screen, make-money fast schemes, pyramid or chain letters, fraudulent offers, threats, harassment, defamatory statements and postings to a newsgroup in violation of its rules.
  • Transmission, distribution or storage of material or conduct in violation of any applicable local, state, federal or foreign law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, any unauthorized use of material protected by patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right or material that is obscene, constitutes an illegal threat or violates export control laws.

Content Guidelines:

Content published through LaderaLife will be managed in accordance with the following:

  • Content will be updated in an effort to provide current and relevant information to residents. Residents, approved staff members of Ladera Ranch Community Services ("LARCS") may update Content on LaderaLife.
  • All Content accessible in the "public” areas of LaderaLife may be monitored. "Public” is defined as the areas on LaderaLife that all users can access or areas that specific Groups can access. Examples include the Message Board or Community Clubs page.
  • LaderaLife is designed to be a self-regulating Intranet meaning that all communication has the user name identified and will encourage neighbors to work with each other to resolve any issues over content. Residents are encouraged to attempt to resolve disputes concerning content by first contacting the responsible Ladera Ranch resident directly, rather than seeking to have LARCS management or the Board of Directors intervene.

Any issues over content not resolved directly between neighbors will be forwarded to the LARCS Board of Directors.

Content postings by residents will meet these additional criteria:

  • Message Board postings shall remain on topic. Individuals who post information unrelated to the original topic may have their posting moved or removed.
  • Postings shall not include any argumentative or derogatory verbiage directed at another resident or individual.
  • Masked vulgarity, obscenity or profanity (e.g. "sh*t") is deemed to be the equivalent of using the actual objectionable word, phrase or symbol and shall be removed from the site
  • Postings shall not disclose another resident’s or other individual’s personal information, including but not limited to street addresses and/or telephone numbers.
  • Postings for referral of businesses/services shall be limited to the Wanted and Referral message board only. Business owners may not start a thread to advertise their business.
  • Postings on the same or similar subjects made repeatedly by the same individual within a short time frame shall be considered spamming and will not be allowed.
  • Postings within the Classifieds area must be an object for sale not a service.

However, the following exceptions apply:

  • Informal, community focused messages relating to commercial activities, such as babysitting, garage sales, and tutoring services, may be posted.
  • Product Party postings, such as cooking or candles, will be allowed by residents who are hosting the party but will not have a direct commercial purpose or benefit to that resident.
  • Employment opportunities will be allowed. Postings may include references to the industry, type of work, or company name but shall not include any promotion of the business itself.
  • Photos, images, or hyperlinks will not be allowed within postings on the Message Board.
  • Photos or images will be allowed within the Classifieds area.
  • Photos or images will be allowed within the community Clubs area.
  • Promotion of fundraisers will be allowed in the Community Clubs section. Entries may be posted thirty (30) days prior to the event and may contain a reference to the supporting business or vendor but shall not be used as a marketing opportunity for the business through verbiage that promotes the business or vendor.
  • Content may be monitored for appropriateness as outlined in these Guidelines, and, as required, may be removed and/or altered at the sole discretion of LARCS Content Manager.

Disciplinary Guidelines:

Posting of inappropriate content or content that otherwise violates the User Agreement or these Guidelines can result in disciplinary action by the LARCS Board of Directors which, in its sole discretion, can range from a warning to possible suspension or termination of user access rights. The disciplinary process followed by LARCS is outlined below. In addition, the outline provides residents with the process to petition for reinstatement of their user access rights.

Disciplinary Process:

Posting of inappropriate content by a LaderaLife user may result in the disciplinary process outlined in the numbered steps below. As a reference, the following definitions apply:

  • A Warning is a written communication sent to a resident that has posted inappropriate content of minimal impact or has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the LaderaLife User Agreement and/or Guidelines.
  • A Letter of Infraction is a written communication sent to resident that has posted inappropriate content of moderate to severe impact or has otherwise violated the terms and conditions of the LaderaLife User Agreement and/or Guidelines.
  1. As a first step, residents are encouraged to resolve disputes over content by first contacting their neighbor. Unresolved issues should be forwarded to LARCS for resolution.
  2. Content determined to have minimal or moderate impact will result in content being removed and a Warning or a Letter of Infraction, respectively, being sent to the resident or their parent or legal guardian. Note: The correspondence will be kept on record by LARCS for future reference.
  3. If a resident has received of 2 Warnings or a Letter of Infraction, they will have their entire household access rights to LaderaLife suspended for up to 6 months.
  4. Content determined to have a severe impact, such as content that is offensive, threatening, etc., will result in immediate removal of the content and suspension of the user’s access rights for up to 6 months. Subsequently, a Review Committee will meet within 60 days of the suspension to review the content and recommend further disciplinary action to the LARCS Board of Directors. LARCS will take the following steps in this process:
  • Send an Infraction Letter to the resident stating the alleged content infraction and requesting a meeting with the Review committee.
  • A meeting with the Review Committee will be held not less than 15 days from the date of the written notice.
  • Resident may be present in person or by written response for the meeting. After the meeting, the Review Committee will issue a written decision to the resident within 5 days. The decision may extend the suspension or possibly terminate the user account.

Petitioning for Reinstatement:

If a resident has had their access rights terminated, they may petition to have their rights reinstated as a part of the following process:

  1. The resident must send a written request for reinstatement to the Review Committee. The request must include the reasons for the resident’s access rights to be reactivated.
  2. LARCS will send a letter with a notice of hearing date to the resident.
  3. The resident must be present for the hearing. After the hearing, a written decision by the Review Committee will be sent to the resident.

Legal Action:

LARCS may disclose or provide access to a resident’s LaderaLife account to law enforcement agencies when in good faith they believe a crime has been committed or the law otherwise requires it. LARCS may also disclose to legal counsel or law enforcement agencies account information in special cases when they have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be violating LaderaLife’s User Agreement or may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) LaderaLife’s rights or property, other LaderaLife users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities.

Disciplinary Timeline:

ACTION TAKEN

  1. Warning Email
  2. Letter of Infraction – Suspension of LaderaLife Privileges for up to 6 months.
  3. Letter of Infraction – Suspension of LaderaLife Privileges for up to 6 months with Request for meeting with Review Committee.
  4. Meeting with Review Committee.
  5. Written notice of Committee decision which may reinstate, extend the suspension, or terminate the user account.