Cutest Pet Contest Official Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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The Cutest Pet Contest ("Contest") is composed of two components. The entry portion of the Contest begins at 8:00:00 a.m. CST on March 4, 2012, and ends at 7:59:59 a.m. CDT on March 18, 2012 (the “Entry Period”). The voting portion of the Contest begins at 8:00:00 a.m. CDT on March 18, 2012 and ends 4:59:59 p.m. CDT on March 31, 2012 (the “Voting Period”). The Entry Period and the Voting Period shall collectively be referred to herein as the "Contest Period". The sponsor of the Contest is Hy-Vee, Inc., 5820 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266 (“Hy-Vee” or “Sponsor”). In the event of a conflict between the entry instructions and these Contest rules, these Contest rules shall control. The clock located on the computer system used by Sponsor to manage the Contest shall govern with respect to the commencement and end times for the Entry Period, the Voting Period and the Contest Period, as well as the time and date of the receipt of each Contest entry.
2. ELIGIBILITY: Contest open to legal residents of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin, who are at least 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Not open to employees of Hy-Vee, or any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and their respective immediate family members (i.e., spouse, children, siblings, parents, and individuals residing in the same household). Void where prohibited by law.
3. HOW TO ENTER: During the Entry Period, to submit a valid entry, entrants must complete each of the following steps, in the order described herein: (a) create an original, homemade photo of entrant’s pet (a) herein (“Photo”), (b) visit the entry page at www.hy-vee.com (the “Website”) and fully complete the online registration form including, but not limited to, the entrant’s full name, physical address, email address, telephone number, and date of birth, then upload the Photo to www.hy-vee.com. Completed entries submitted during each calendar day shall be reviewed by Sponsor for lewd or objectionable content, in Sponsor’s sole judgment, by 9:00 a.m. (CST if prior to or on March 10, 2012, CDT if on or after March 11, 2012) on the immediately following business day. Those entries containing lewd or objectionable content shall be deemed void. Those entries not containing lewd or objectionable content shall be deemed valid Contest entries, and shall be promptly displayed on the Website for review and voting by the public. Only one (1) entry per individual shall be eligible to be accepted as a valid entry during the Entry Period. Entries submitted after the expiration of the Entry Period (as defined herein) shall not be considered as valid entries. All subsequent and/or duplicate entries shall be void. By entering into the Contest, entrants consent to the use of their Contest entry submission Photo, the entrant’s name, photograph, likeness, biography, voice, and/or video for advertising and promotional purposes, including online and on-air announcements, worldwide and without limitation and without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.
4. WINNER SELECTION/NOTIFICATION: During the Voting Period, the general public shall be invited to vote on his or her favorite Contest entries on the Website. Contest entries shall be displayed on the Website in the order as determined by the total number of votes received by the general public, with the entry generating the most votes displayed first, and the entry generating the fewest votes displayed last. Only one (1) vote per person, per day (calculated by internet protocol address (“IP addres”)) shall be accepted as a valid vote during the Voting Period. Automated methods of voting shall not be permitted. Sponsor reserves the right to remove or invalidate votes that it believes are ineligible, in Sponsor’s sole discretion) due to having originated from the same IP address as a prior vote during the same calendar day period, or were submitted via an automated process. The entry that has generated the most votes as of the expiration of the Voting Period shall be the potential Prize winner. In the event any one or more Contest entry that qualifies as a prize Winner generates the same number of votes, then during the week of April 2, 2012, Sponsor shall hold a random drawing from among those Contest entries with the same number of votes, and the selected Contest entry shall be deemed the Winner of the respective prize for which it qualified. In the event more than two (2) Contest entries that qualify as a prize Winner generate the same number of votes, then following the drawing of the first selected Contest entry, Sponsor shall draw subsequent Contest entries until each Contest entry with the same number of votes has been allocated a prize, subject to availability of remaining prizes (quantities are limited to the quantities set forth herein). Sponsor shall use its best efforts to contact the potential Winner by phone and/or email immediately following the drawing. If Sponsor is unable to contact the potential Winner within five (5) days, or should the potential Winner fail to comply with these Official Rules or any of the following conditions, the potential Winner will be declared ineligible and the entrant that submitted the entry that generated the second most votes as of the expiration of the Contest Period shall be the alternate potential Winner. The potential Winner must sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release of Liability/Publicity (where permitted). The Winner shall be announced on or before the week of April 9, 2012.
5. ODDS OF WINNING: The odds of winning depend on the total number of valid Contest entries received, the date of submission of a valid Contest Entry, and the number of valid votes cast by the general public.
6. PRIZE: The Winner shall win a year’s supply of pet food, redeemed via $200 in Hy-Vee gift card(s) (Approximate Retail Value (hereinafter “ARV”) $200.00), and a photo of the Winner’s pet will appear on a bag of Hy-Vee branded pet food. First runner-up as well as second runner-up will receive a year’s supply of pet food, redeemed via $200 in Hy-Vee gift card(s) (Approximate Retail Value (hereinafter “ARV”) $200.00).
7. DATA COLLECTION: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about participants when they enter the Contest. Personal data includes: name, address, date of birth, e-mail address and telephone number. Please review Sponsor’s privacy policy at: http://www.hy-vee.com/company/policy/privacy.aspx. By participating in the Contest, entrants hereby agree to all personal information uses and disclaimers as explained in the above noted privacy policy.
8. GENERAL CONDITIONS: By entering, entrants warrant and represent that they agree to be bound by these Official Rules (including all eligibility requirements) and the decisions of the Sponsor and any appointed agents, which shall be final and binding in all respects. A photo of any one or more Winners may appear in Sponsor’s and/or Contest Entities’ advertising (all media) and special interest publications. WINNERS AGREE TO ACCEPT ALL ASPECTS OF THE PRIZE "AS IS," AND SPONSOR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL TAXES, FEES, COSTS, AND EXPENSES OF WHATEVER NATURE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION SALES TAXES, PERMITS, AND INSURANCE SHALL BE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS, AS WILL ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE TAXES, COSTS, FEES, INSURANCE, AND EXPENSES RELATING TO ANY ASPECT OF THE PRIZES HEREUNDER. All U.S. federal, state, and local taxes, and all other expenses not specifically mentioned herein are the sole responsibility of Winner. Winners will be issued a 1099 form for the ARV of the prizes at the time of fulfillment. No cash redemptions of a prize is permitted. No transfer of a prize is permitted. No substitutions, except Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value at its sole discretion. Hy-Vee® is a registered trademark owned by Hy-Vee, Inc..
9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Hy-Vee and its affiliates, subsidiaries, promotion partners and advertising agencies, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees and agents (collectively, the “Sponsor Parties”) and the judging organization are not responsible for printing or typographical errors in any Contest-related materials. Sponsor Parties assume no responsibility for any technical problems in conjunction with transmission or receipt of entry including faulty electronic data transmission, traffic congestion on the Internet or on the website, hardware or software, equipment failure or malfunction, or other on-line communications problems, stolen, late, lost, garbled, delayed, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, postage due, illegible, incorrect, inaccurate transcription or loss of any information whatsoever, including without limitation human error. Use of the Website is at user’s own risk. Sponsor Parties are not responsible for any damage or losses of any kind that may be sustained to user's or any other person's computer resulting from participation in the Contest, use of the Website or the download of any information from the Website. Sponsor Parties reserve the right to cancel, suspend or modify the Contest if fraud or technical failures compromise the integrity of the Contest as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In the event Contest is cancelled, the prize will be awarded in a random drawing from eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the time of cancellation. By participating in this Contest and accepting a prize, winner agrees that Sponsor Parties shall not be liable for any loss, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind in connection with the Contest or resulting from the winner’s Contest participation, acceptance, possession, use, or misuse, of any prize, including without limitation, personal injury, death, and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, privacy or defamation. Sponsor Parties reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual or IP address if Sponsor Parties believe such person or IP address tampers with the entry or voting process. Should multiple users of the same e-mail account enter the Contest and a dispute thereafter arises regarding the identity of the entrant, the authorized subscriber of said e-mail account at the time of entry will be considered the entrant. “Authorized account subscriber” is defined as the primary person who is assigned an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization which is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses or the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.
10. ARBITRATION/CHOICE OF LAW: Entrants agree that (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, or any prize awarded, or the determination of the winner shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by arbitration pursuant to the Rules of the American Arbitration Association, then effective; (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest but in no event attorney’s fees; and (c) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant, and Sponsor Parties in connection with the Contest shall be governed by the laws of the State of Iowa, without regard to conflicts of law principles or rules, and all proceedings shall take place in Des Moines, Iowa.
11. PRIZE WINNER AND OFFICIAL RULES: A copy of these Official Rules and the Contest results may be obtained by sending a self-address, postage prepaid written request to Hy-Vee, Inc., Attn: Cutest Pet Contest, 5820 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, IA 50266. Contest results will be available within 15 days after the close of the Contest Period. Written requests must be received by 5:00 p.m. CDT on April 16, 2012.
