STORY:
Y2K Lawsuits Being Filed

Reports says 74 Y2K related lawsuits have been filed

Y2K related lawsuits have started to appear in the coffers of state and federal courthouses on behalf of defendants who believed they have been hurt by computer failures related to the computer Y2K bug.

According to a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 74 cases have been filed in state and federal courts against 45 defendants as of June 30. In the prior six months only 13 cases were filed compared to 21 in the second half of 1998 excluding multiple flings against the same defendant the report said.

In June, Reuters reports the actuarial firm Milliman & Robertson Inc. estimated that legal costs for Y2K problems ultimately could range between $5 and 10 billion.

By press accounts, the projections of the legal costs associated with Y2K have been trimmed recently. Still experts say the legal silence may come to a roar after the clock strikes midnight January 1, 2000.

Remediation, correcting the problem before it starts, may have prevented some lawsuits, the report said, but created others. As companies spend millions correcting and reprogramming their systems, they are turning to their insurance companies to foot the bill.

The recently enacted Federal Year 2000 Readiness and Responsibility Act, which encourages alternative ways to resolve problems associated with the Y2K problem, may reduce the number of lawsuits being filed because it gives defendants time to correct the problem and caps damages, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

Lawyers representing those who may bring suits also could be taking a wait-and-see approach, says the report because many courts have dismissed cases on the grounds that no problems have occurred...yet.

DATE: 8/24/99

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