By David M. Nadler and Valerie M. Furman
On May 27, 1999, DBN, Inc. v. Sage Software, Inc. became the first Year 2000 class action lawsuit to be certified by a court. The lawsuit, filed with the Superior Court for Orange County, California, charges Sage with, among other things, fraudulent business practices and breach of an express warranty. Sage had advertised that its "M*A*S 90" accounting software would "handle the needs of your business through the 90’s and beyond."
The plaintiffs, who purchased the M*A*S 90 software, allege in their complaint that all versions sold prior to 1998 are not Year 2000 compliant, and that the user manuals provided with the software falsely suggests that the software was capable of handling four-digit year fields. Sage has purportedly made compliant M*A*S 90 software available, but only for an upgrade fee of $7,000. The plaintiffs request, among other things, that the upgrades be provided free to all purchasers of the software. The class of
