Y2K: Lawyers, Insurers Prepare for Battle
Wednesday, December 15th, 1999 Litigation TechnologyThere was an ironic specter of doubt when, in June 1999, GTE filed suit in a U.S. District Court against Allendale Insurance, seeking to recover its Y2K remediation costs using the little known "sue and labor" clause (GTE v. Allendale Ins., et al). The following month, Xerox Corp. duplicated the headlines by making a similar sue and labor claim in Hartford County, Conn., Superior Court against its carrier, American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co. (Xerox v. American Guarantee and Liability Ins. Co.). The initial reaction by carriers, counsel, and trade magazine editorialists was a collective, blasé condemnation of flagrant litigation in an attempt to recover the costs of doing business. Trade associations wasted no time to condemn what might be called: The Conspiracy Theory of Trial Attorneys.
