Tomas Moyer is the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. In a radio interview that was run on 820AM in Columbus, Ohio, he spoke regarding his concerns about Y2K. He stated that he forsaw a spate of new litigation due to unfulfilled contractural obligations. He was urging parties to try and work out differences via mediation rather than through the courts.

Folks, if nothing is going to happen why will there be contractural disputes?

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-- 8 (8@8.com), December 10, 1999

Answers

Polly answer: People will sue the profiteering vultures who sold them unnecessary fixes and survival gear.

Middle-roader: People are suing speculatively or punitively all the time, Y2K will just be a convenient excuse.

Doomer answer: Microsoft applications and operating systems aren't compliant. Work it out.

Real doomer answer: Lawyers provide some very important protein and calories, but remember to cut out the poison sacks first.

;)

Who knows? It's all just words. 21 days.

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 10, 1999.

Along those same lines "8", check this out (especially paragraph #7 & #8):

(Fair use & for educational purposes)

http://www.nationalpost.com/financialpost.asp?f=991209/147066&s2=canad ianbusiness&s3=news

"Lawyers sign Y2K truce deal" "Large companies agree to mediation before they sue"

Greg Crone Financial Post

"Canada's corporate lawyers and more than a dozen of the country's largest corporations have signed a Millennium Accord pledging to negotiate before they litigate in the event of legal disputes arising from Y2K computer problems."

"The accord is an international effort spearheaded by the Canadian Foundation for Dispute Resolution and leading alternative dispute resolution (ADR) organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. So far, more than 500 business, government, and industry associations worldwide have signed the accord, pledging to try to negotiate over a 21-day period and then to mediate their Y2K disputes. Signatories still preserve their right to go to court if all else fails."

"Courts usually give you win-lose solutions, not win-win," said William Hartnett, a Calgary corporate lawyer and president of the Canadian Foundation for Dispute Resolution."

"ADR gives you the opportunity for creative, business-driven, win-win decisions that might not be available in a court of law. In other words, you can make the pie bigger."

"Companies signing the accord include Imperial Oil Ltd., Canadian Pacific Ltd., Canadian National Railway Co., Nortel Networks Corp., and PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. The Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, which represents in-house company lawyers, is also a signatory."

"While there has been a massive effort to address Y2K computer problems, many companies will not complete their remediation programs until the end of the year. "That doesn't leave a lot of room for error in case unforeseen problems come up," Mr. Hartnett said."

"Statistics Canada has reported that 13% of smaller companies have not addressed Y2K problems at all while larger companies are often dependent on these smaller firms for products and services."

"There could be a domino effect here," said Mr. Hartnett.

"Y2K problems that run through the supply chain create a huge incentive to resolve things amicably, Mr. Hartnett said. "It's your customers and your suppliers that you could be having disputes with. One of the benefits of ADR over litigation is that it helps you preserve relationships."

"Nothing is lost by trying alternative dispute resolution, Mr. Hartnett said. "The first resort would be to ADR. That last resort would be to the courts."

"Simon Potter, a Montreal commercial litigation lawyer and chairman of the Millennium Accord committee, said Y2K disputes will be costly both in terms of time and management attention. "The whole point of this Millennium Accord is to find ways business partners can get their problems behind them and to get back to doing business."

"When you have a dispute you can either litigate it or settle it," said Dan Carroll, an Edmonton commercial litigation lawyer and an accord organizer. "Litigation sometimes cannot provide a business solution, but discussion and compromise and settlement can."

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), December 10, 1999.

C'mon now SERVANT...behave now...you almost made me choke on my cereal because of laughing with a mouthful...rofl.

beej

-- beej (beej@ppbbs.com), December 10, 1999.