Choice of law

5. NON-COMPETE PROVISION. I agree that for the one (1) year period after the date my employment ends for any reason, I will not, directly or indirectly, as an officer, director, employee, consultant, owner, partner, or in any other capacity, solicit, perform, or provide, or attempt to perform or provide, services that are the same or similar in function or purpose to the services I provided the Company during the Look Back Period to a Competing Business in the Restricted Area. If the choice of law provision in Section 6.1 is deemed not to apply, the foregoing provision shall not apply to employees residing in California, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. Further, the foregoing provision shall not apply, regardless of where said employee resides, to individuals who are hourly, non-exempt employees of the Company.

3.4 If the choice of law provision in Section 6.1 is deemed not to apply: the provisions in Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 shall only apply to employees residing in California to the extent such employee’s conduct is aided by the use or disclosure of the Company’s trade secrets (as defined by California law); the provisions in Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3. shall only apply within the Restricted Area (as defined below) for employees residing in Arizona; and for employees residing in Louisiana, the provisions in Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 shall only apply within the Restricted Area (defined below).

3.5 For purposes of this Agreement, a “Customer” is any person or entity who or which, at any time during the Look Back Period (as defined below): (i) (a) was in direct contact with me; (b) was an entity as to which I supervised the Company’s business dealings; or (c) was an entity about which I acquired Proprietary Information, and that contracted for or received from the Company any product, service or process; or (ii) was solicited by the Company or in consideration or planning to be solicited by the Company in an effort in which I was involved or as to which I acquired Proprietary Information. If the choice of law provision in Section 6.1 is deemed not to apply: for employees in Nebraska, the definition of “Customer” is limited to Section 3.5(i)(a); and for employees in Oklahoma, “Customer” shall be further limited to the Company’s established customers (a customer will be presumed to be “established” where actual sales and/or services have occurred or been performed in the preceding year and/or where there is an active proposal for sales or services pending as of the date employee’s employment with Company ends).

3.9 For purposes of this Agreement: (a) for sales employees, “Restricted Area,” means such employee’s assigned sales territory during the Look Back Period and/or the geographic area as to which such employee supervised sales activities during the Look Back Period; and (b) for all other employees, “Restricted Area” means the United States, including the State of North Carolina. If the choice of law provision in Section 6.1 is deemed not to apply, for employees in Louisiana, Restricted Area refers to the parishes within Louisiana and the counties outside of Louisiana that are identified in Exhibit C.

The parties shall have the right to conduct discovery relevant and material to the outcome of the arbitration and to present witnesses and evidence as needed to present their claims and defenses, and the Employment Law Arbitrator shall resolve any discovery or evidentiary dispute. Each party shall have the right to subpoena relevant witnesses and documents, including, without limitation, documents from third parties; subpoenas may be issued for production of documents or witnesses at any deposition(s) or pre-hearing proceeding(s) and/or at the arbitration hearing. At least thirty (30) days before the arbitration hearing, the parties must exchange a list of witnesses and copies of all exhibits to be used at the arbitration hearing. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the AAA Employment Rules, the AAA Commercial Rules, any other AAA rule and/or procedure and/or any applicable law, the Employment Law Arbitrator shall only have the power to award remedies available under the substantive law of the State of Colorado, without giving effect to choice of law principles, and the availability of any such remedies shall further be limited to those that would be available to a party in his/her/its individual capacity for all Claims presented to the Employment Law Arbitrator (for the avoidance of doubt and without limitation of the foregoing, Grantee may not bring a class arbitration and is not entitled to remedies for Grantee’s Claims on behalf of any other person or entity and/or that are available to plaintiffs in a class action but not available to individual or non-class action plaintiffs). Any remedy awarded by the Employment Law Arbitrator shall be subject to review by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado or the appropriate state court located in the City and County of Denver, Colorado for the purpose of determining whether such remedy is consistent with such substantive law and complies with the limitations set forth above; any decision by the Employment Law Arbitrator that is inconsistent with such substantive law and/or fails to comply with such limitations shall be deemed beyond the authority of the Employment Law Arbitrator. Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection 6(b)(iv) and/or Subsection 6(b)(iii) of this Agreement, the Employment Law Arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding, and judgment upon the Employment Law Arbitrator’s decision and/or award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction; provided that the parties agree to take all reasonable steps to ensure that all documents, pleadings and papers are filed and/or entered with the court under seal and/or in a manner that would maintain their confidentiality, including, without limitation, complying with all rules of procedure and local rules for filing documents, pleadings and papers under seal;

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5. This Release will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflicting provision or rule (whether of the State of California or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of California to be applied. In furtherance of the foregoing, the internal law of the State of California will control the interpretation and construction of this agreement, even if under such jurisdiction’s choice of law or conflict of law analysis, the substantive law of some other jurisdiction would ordinarily apply. The provisions of this Release are severable, and if any part or portion of it is found to be unenforceable, the other paragraphs shall remain fully valid and enforceable.