Can the Y2K “Millennium Bug” Lead to Litigation?
The answer is yes. The “Millennium Bug” or “Y2K” problem is relatively simple to understand, but can have complex and profound ramifications that can leave many businesses subject to liability. In fact, there are already many Y2K related lawsuits pending in courts across the country and witnesses testifying before Congress have opined that the Y2K problem could lead to one of the biggest litigation waves our country has ever seen. A class action lawsuit has been filed in California by a plaintiff alleging that its accounting software cannot recognize dates starting in the year 2000. In another suit, a Michigan retailer alleged that its computerized cash register system was unable to process credit cards which expire in or after the year 2000. The Y2K arises because the date coding found in many information systems identifies dates using six digits, two each for the day, month and year. Thus, the system cannot distinguish between the year 1900 and 2000. Literally any device with a time
