ENGAGEMENT LETTER AND AGREEMENT
On behalf
of Creative Forensic Services (“CFS”), I thank you for your patronage. We take pride in our work and will do our
best to assist you. This letter is
intended to set forth in detail our business and contractual relationship
through which we will assist you.
The
accompanying invoice sets forth the work we will do for you and the amount of
the retainer we require before we will start work on your behalf. Please contact us immediately if you have
any questions or comments. We need
payment in advance of all services as set forth in the accompanying rate
sheet. Both forms also constitute a
part of this agreement and are incorporated by reference herein. If you need for us to start immediately you
will need to pay us by certified check, otherwise we require five days to let
the check clear. Retainers are based on
a good faith estimate of the time needed to complete the work requested, but
the actual final bill may be higher.
All of our charges are based upon the hourly rate set forth in the rate
sheet, plus expenses. Expenses include
transportation costs, telephone charges, copying charges and other clerical
expenses, and costs of obtaining records or required materials. CFS reserves the right to confer with experts
in this and other fields. If their
services are required to complete our work, their fees and expenses shall be
your sole responsibility once you are notified of the amount they require. Certain items of work may be billed at a
flat rate rather than at an hourly rate, as stated on the invoice and rate
sheet. All retainers are nonrefundable.
All
invoices after the first invoice are payable as specified therein, but in no
case any later than thirty days from the date of invoice. Any additional work is also subject to the
terms of this letter, and the invoice will specify the additional work you have
requested. Unpaid balances over 30 days
old shall accrue simple interest at the rate of 1 % per month. We reserve the right to stop all work under
this agreement if you are not current in your obligations. We also reserve the right to terminate
this agreement at any time with or without cause, in which case you
will be billed for work done to date, you will be provided the results of our
work to date, and all original materials will be returned to you. We shall not be liable to you for any claims
arising out of any stoppage of work or termination of this agreement.
Please be
advised that our opinions and conclusions are based solely upon the information
provided to us and not upon any desired result, and that our work for you is
only as good as the information and sources provided to us. It is very important that you provide us
with all the information you can obtain and that you identify all potential
sources of information or assistance.
Please call us immediately if you are not sure whether something is
relevant to our work or not. We also
require all source media you ask us to examine unless we specify
otherwise. Authentication fees are
based upon the number of original recordings and not upon the number of
combined recordings presented to us.
If our
testimony is required at deposition or trial, you agree to pay us in advance
for preparation for, and attendance at, the deposition or trial, including all
associated expenses. We reserve the
right to refuse to testify if you have not met your obligations.
All original source materials, duplicates, other materials or documents provided to us,
and our work product, and any reports related thereto, shall be retained by us until such
time as all charges are paid in full, or mutually agreeable alternative arrangements are
made with us. If we have not heard from you for
a period of 24 months, we reserve the right to dispose of any and all original source materials,
duplicates, other materials or documents or any other information provided by you to us,
and you hereby waive any claims thereto and the right to seek damages for their disposal.
Any
action or proceeding brought by either party against the other arising out of
or relating to this agreement shall be brought only in a court located in
Androscoggin County, Maine, and the parties hereby consent to personal
jurisdiction and venue in Androscoggin County, Maine. You will be liable for all costs of collection, including reasonable
attorneys fees. This agreement shall be
governed by Maine law.
This
agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior
oral or written representations and statements between the parties. In order to prevent any misunderstandings,
any requests by you for changes in the work requested shall be made in a
writing signed by both parties. To the
maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties relating to the
work we do for you, whether express or implied.
If a
guarantor has signed this agreement, he or she waives notice of acceptance and
also the right to presentment, demand, notice and protest. This guaranty remains in effect until we
receive all payment due hereunder.
The
undersigned acknowledge that they have read this agreement and the accompanying
invoice and rate sheet in full, that they understand their contents, that this
document is a binding contract, and that they have the authority to execute
this agreement.
Very
truly yours,
Arlo
West, President
Creative
Forensic Services
SEEN AND AGREED
TO BY:
Print
Name: _______________________
Title: _______________________,
duly authorized
Company: _______________________
Address: _______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Signature: _______________________
Date: _______________________
I
personally guaranty the above obligations of the Company named above.
Print
Name: _______________________
Date: _______________________