Y2K issue reaches court

Year 2000 lawsuits are slowly reaching American
courtrooms. Some experts suggest that despite the passage this fall of
the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, litigation
surrounding Year 2000 compliance will escalate.
The Readiness and Disclosure Act will help, but it is in no way a
panacea, according to experts.
Among the examples of pending or potential Year 2000 litigation;
Faegenburg v. Intuit, Inc., New York Superior Court: This is a class
action on behalf of thousands of licensees for the return of their
license fees and for unspecified damages resulting from the
noncompliance of defendant’s Quicken software versions prior to 1998.
Defendant made a compliant upgrade available, but only for an additional
fee of approximately $35 per package. Intuit has stated that it will
provide a free remediation patch for noncompliant versions five and six
prior to 2000, possibly making the Intuit class actions moot.
Atlaz International, Inc. v. Software Business Technologies, Supreme
Court of California, Marin County: A class action caused by an alleged
breach of warranty; fraud, deceit; fraudulent and unfair business
practices. Atlaz alleges new version of software differs only by ability
to recognize Year 2000 date change and that defendants are requiring
plaintiff class to pay for this essential upgrade. SBT says they will be
offering a free upgrade to all users of this accounting software that
will be Year 2000 compatible. A hearing on the case has been scheduled.
Jean Marie Cameron and others v. Symantec, Santa Clara, California
Superior Court: A class action breach of warranty in connection with
defective computer software and failing to offer an upgrade or fix
within a reasonable time and without charge. The lawsuit alleges
violation of Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, fraud and deceit, fraudulent
and unfair business practices and violation of the Consumer Legal
Remedies Act. Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus software versions released
before September 1997 are not Year 2000 compliant. Company is charging
for Y2K upgrade.