Legal Question in Business Law in California

First, I assume you are familiar with the provisions covering "Dating Service Contracts" set forth in the Civil Code at sections 1694 through 1694.4. These are mainly for the protection of the client, not the operator of the service.

Next, with the relatively high proportion of kooks, loonies and other dangerous characters out there, who will use services like this to meet potential victims, I'd be extremely cautious to avoid personal liability, or the threat of personal liability from clients and their familiies.

Among other self-protection measures you should consider are: (1) incorporate the business, and follow all the corporate governance rules including adequate capitalization, record-keeping, separation of personal and corporate assets, holding annual meetings, and so forth; (2) find and use an experienced insurance agent or broker, and buy the recommended business insurance after fully discussing the nature of the business and the risks of suit; and (3) establish a working relationship with a local business attorney and have at least occasional conferences to discuss avoidance of liability including the disclosure form and what it contains, as well as how clients execute it.

Also, I think the business plan should include some kind of built-in safeguards for limiting those who can and do become members. You might want to exclude known offenders or other high-risk individuals. Perhaps you can get some assistance here through a chat with your local police or district attorney.

In addition to the very good advice given by Mr. Whipple, I would add that the mere existence of the disclosure on your website would almost never establish that your client knew it was there, read it, or understood it, and would therefore basically be worthless. Even if you told a client it was there, you would have no proof in writing that the client looked at it, and wouldn't be able to prove easily that it was there on a certain date.