§6611 Damages in Tort Claims

Summary

People bringing a Y2K lawsuit for harm (but not claims about intentional wrongs that are separate from a contract) cannot get money for “economic loss” unless one of two things is true. Either the contract between the parties specifically lets them recover those losses, or the losses come directly from damage to physical property (things you can touch or land/buildings) caused by the Y2K failure. That does not include damage that is the subject of the parties’ contract, and if there is no contract it does not cover damage only to the property that experienced the Y2K failure. For this rule, “economic loss” means money awarded for losses like lost profits or sales, business interruption, indirect losses, losses from third-party claims, special damages, and consequential damages as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code or similar state commercial law. A valid written contract between the plaintiff and defendant can change this meaning. If a case is not covered by this chapter because of section 6603(c), a person who pays Y2K damages may still use other federal or state remedies to recover those amounts.