Governing Law and Jurisdiction

What it is

Any legal matters relating to your use of Public.com are governed by Delaware law, regardless of where you actually live.

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The Delaware governing law designation determines which state's substantive law applies to interpretation and enforcement of the agreement terms. The waiver provision ensures that Public.com's selective enforcement of specific provisions does not eliminate or diminish the enforceability of other provisions in the agreement.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Users in states with stronger consumer financial protection laws, such as California or New York, may find that Delaware's governing law designation limits their ability to invoke home-state statutory protections in disputes with Public.com, though courts may not always enforce such choice-of-law provisions against consumers.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Choice-of-law clauses designating Delaware law in consumer financial services agreements may require evaluation under applicable state consumer protection statutes, which can override contractual choice-of-law provisions where the consumer's home state has a materially greater interest in the transaction. Courts in California and New York have declined to enforce choice-of-law clauses where doing so would deprive consumers of non-waivable statutory rights under their home state law. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. While Delaware governing law is a standard corporate choice given Delaware's favorable business law framework, its application to retail consumer disputes may create enforcement uncertainty in jurisdictions with strong consumer protection statutes. The interaction with the mandatory arbitration clause, where the arbitrator may be asked to apply Delaware law, creates additional complexity. JURISDICTION FLAGS: California residents have non-waivable statutory rights under the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and CCPA that may not be supplanted by a Delaware choice-of-law clause. New York consumers similarly retain rights under state consumer protection law. EU and UK users, if applicable, retain rights under consumer protection regulations that may override choice-of-law provisions in consumer contracts. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Commercial partners subject to these terms should assess whether Delaware law is appropriate for their specific business relationship with Public and whether separate commercial agreements with different governing law provisions are available. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should map which user jurisdictions create the highest risk of choice-of-law clause unenforceability and whether additional jurisdiction-specific disclosures or carve-outs are warranted. Arbitration proceedings governed by this clause should be assessed for consistency between Delaware law application and the arbitral forum's consumer protection standards.

Applicable agencies

Applicable regulations

Provision details

Other risks in this policy

• Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver high
• Unilateral Terms Amendment medium
• Account Suspension and Termination at Sole Discretion high
• User Content License Grant medium
• Limitation of Liability high
• User Indemnification Obligation medium