Statement by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Re: McCain-Wyden substitute amendment to the S 96, the Y2K Act.
Date: April 19, 1999.
Source: Office of Sen. John McCain.

MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
PIA PIALORSI (202)224-2670
DAVE SELDIN (202)224-5244

McCAIN, WYDEN UNVEIL REVISED Y2K BILL

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), member of the Commerce Committee, today released the revised version of S.96, the Y2K Act. The bill encourages producers and consumers to resolve issues without litigation. The new version reflects a compromise reached since the Committee voted on the bill on March 3.

"The Y2K bug should not be an excuse for opportunistic lawyers to swamp the legal system at the expense of consumers. Most consumers and small business owners want their products and equipment to work; they don't want to be tied up in costly and time-consuming litigation," McCain said. "The revised bill would attack the Y2K problem by encouraging companies to direct their resources to solving Y2K problems, so that January 1, 2000, is a non-event. I commend Senator Wyden for his hard work and valuable contribution to this bill which will prevent Y2K mishaps."

"Congress needs to act to make sure that the Y2K problem doesn't prove as overwhelming for employees, pension funds, and shareholders as it may be for some computer systems. We should do that by creating incentives for remediation, not litigation. I believe Chairman McCain has taken significant steps to protect both consumers and businesses, and I look forward to working with him to pass this into law," Wyden said.

Estimates of litigation costs for Y2K problems range as high as $1 trillion dollars -- in addition to the estimated $200 billion to $1 trillion for fixing the problem.

30 Day Notice: Requires a plaintiff to submit a 30-day notice to the defendant on the plaintiff's intention to sue with a description of the Y2K problem. If the defendant responds with a plan to remediate, then an additional 60 days is allowed to resolve the problem. If the defendant does not agree to fix the problem, the plaintiff can sue on the 31st day.

Punitive Damage Caps: Caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages or $250,000 (greater for large businesses, smaller for small businesses -- under 25 employees). Eliminates punitive damage caps for egregious behavior such as when the plaintiff proves that the defendant intended to injure the plaintiff.

Establishes Liability Proportionality: Ensures that defendants don't pay more than the damage they are responsible for. Exceptions include plaintiffs with a modest net worth that aren't able to collect from one or more defendants; and defendants that have intentionally injured plaintiffs.

Protects Government Entities from Punitive Damages: Does not require taxpayers to pay additional taxes for punitive damages.

Preserves Contract Rights: Does not interfere with parties who have already agreed on Y2K terms and conditions.

Duty to Mitigate: Confirms existing law that plaintiffs have to limit damages, and can't collect damages that could have been avoided. This is an opportunity for potential defendants to provide widespread information on Y2K solutions to assist potential plaintiffs.

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims Not Covered Under Bill.

The bill will be available on the McCain website at http://www.mccain.senate.gov as soon as it is finalized.