SACRAMENTO ¹ A bill to deter frivolous Y2K lawsuits and encourage computer system improvements will be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on May 11. The bill, AB 905 (Dutra), is a responsible approach to curbing wasteful, opportunistic litigation over the Year 2000 computer transition, according to the Civil Justice Association of California, the sponsor of the bill.

"This bill says 'fix the problem by spending time and money on solutions' rather than spending those same resources on expensive and time consuming litigation," said John H. Sullivan, Association president.

AB 905 will provide liability protection to software suppliers when they provide free repair, replacement or refund for products distributed in 1995 or later, and supply users with information about how to obtain repair of products distributed from 1989 through 1994.

The legislation is one of many Y2K bills in California, other states and in Washington which seek to avoid a proliferation of costly lawsuits based on Year 2000 computer failures. With 51 Y2K lawsuits filed to date around the country-many of them potentially lucrative class actions brought by trial lawyers-it is ever more apparent that policy offering responsible solutions must be enacted.

"Many trial lawyers are chomping at the bit to cash in on Y2K lawsuits and have been holding seminars on how to do so," Sullivan added. He noted that the hopes of some in the legal community are typified by the statement an Orange County attorney made in the American Bar Association Magazine: "I hope there will be enough to make everyone involved happy, but not so much as to change the economy of the United States."