D.9. Records. The Contractor shall maintain documentation for all charges against the Institution under this Contract. The books, records, and documents of the Contractor, insofar as they relate to work performed or money received under this Contract, shall be maintained for a period of three (3) full years from the date of the final payment and shall be subject to audit at any reasonable time and upon reasonable notice by the Institution, the Comptroller of the Treasury, or its duly appointed representatives. The financial statements shall be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. D.10. Monitoring . The Contractor's activities conducted and records maintained pursuant to this Contract shall be subject to monitoring and evaluation by the Institution, the Comptroller of the Treasury, or its duly appointed representatives. D.11. Progress Reports. The Contractor shall submit brief, quarterly, progress reports to the Institution as requested. D.12. Strict Performance. Failure by any party to this Contract to insist in any one or more cases upon the strict performance of any of the terms, covenants, conditions, or provisions of this Contract shall not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of any such term, covenant, condition, or provision. No term or condition of this Contract shall be held to be waived, modified, or deleted except by a written amendment signed by the parties hereto. D.13. Independent Contractor. The parties hereto, in the performance of this Contract, shall not act as employees, partners, joint ventures, or associates of one another. It is expressly acknowledged by the parties hereto that the parties are independent contracting entities and that nothing in this Contract shall be construed to create an employer/employee relationship or to allow either to exercise control or direction over the manner or method by which the other transacts its business affairs or provides its usual goods and/or services. The employees or agents of one party shall not be deemed or construed to be the employees or agents of the other party for any purpose whatsoever. The Contractor, being an independent contractor and not an employee of the Institution, agrees to carry adequate public liability and other appropriate forms of insurance on the Contractor's employees, and to pay all applicable taxes incident to this Contract. D.14. Institution Liability. The Institution shall have no liability except as specifically provided in this Contract. D.15. Force Majeure. The obligations of the parties to this Contract are subject to prevention by causes beyond the parties' control that could not be avoided by the exercise of due care including, but not limited to, acts of God, riots, wars, epidemics or any other similar cause. D.16. State and Federal Compliance. The Contractor shall comply with all applicable State and Federal laws and regulations, including Institution policies and guidelines in the performance of this Contract. D.17. Governing Law. This Contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee. The Contractor agrees that it will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tennessee Claims Commission in actions that may arise under this Contract. The Contractor acknowledges and agrees that any rights or claims against the Institution or its employees hereunder, and any remedies arising there from, shall be subject to and limited to those rights and remedies, if any, available under Tennessee Code Annotated , Sections 9-8-101 through 9-8-407. D.18. Severability. If any terms or conditions of this Contract are held to be invalid or unenforceable as a matter of law, the other terms and conditions hereof shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect. To this end, the terms and conditions of this Contract are declared severable. D.19. Headings. Section headings of this Contract are for reference purposes only and shall not be construed as part of this Contract.