§ 6603. — Application of chapter.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC6603]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 92--YEAR 2000 COMPUTER DATE CHANGE
Sec. 6603. Application of chapter
(a) General rule
This chapter applies to any Y2K action brought after January 1,
1999, for a Y2K failure occurring before January 1, 2003, or for a
potential Y2K failure that could occur or has allegedly caused harm or
injury before January 1, 2003, including any appeal, remand, stay, or
other judicial, administrative, or alternative dispute resolution
proceeding in such an action.
(b) No new cause of action created
Nothing in this chapter creates a new cause of action, and, except
as otherwise explicitly provided in this chapter, nothing in this
chapter expands any liability otherwise imposed or limits any defense
otherwise available under Federal or State law.
(c) Claims for personal injury or wrongful death excluded
This chapter does not apply to a claim for personal injury or for
wrongful death.
(d) Warranty and contract preservation
(1) In general
Subject to paragraph (2), in any Y2K action any written
contractual term, including a limitation or an exclusion of
liability, or a disclaimer of warranty, shall be strictly enforced
unless the enforcement of that term would manifestly and directly
contravene applicable State law embodied in any statute in effect on
January 1, 1999, specifically addressing that term.
(2) Interpretation of contract
In any Y2K action in which a contract to which paragraph (1)
applies is silent as to a particular issue, the interpretation of
the contract as to that issue shall be determined by applicable law
in effect at the time the contract was executed.
(3) Unconscionability
Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent enforcement of State law
doctrines of unconscionability, including adhesion, recognized as of
January 1, 1999, in controlling judicial precedent by the courts of
the State whose law applies to the Y2K action.
(e) Preemption of State law
This chapter supersedes State law to the extent that it establishes
a rule of law applicable to a Y2K action that is inconsistent with State
law, but nothing in this chapter implicates, alters, or diminishes the
ability of a State to defend itself against any claim on the basis of
sovereign immunity.
(f) Application with Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act
Nothing in this chapter supersedes any provision of the Year 2000
Information and Readiness Disclosure Act.
(g) Application to actions brought by a government entity
(1) In general
To the extent provided in this subsection, this chapter shall
apply to an action brought by a government entity described in
section 6602(1)(C) of this title.
(2) Definitions
In this subsection:
(A) Defendant
(i) In general
The term ``defendant'' includes a State or local
government.
(ii) State
The term ``State'' means each of the several States of
the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
(iii) Local government
The term ``local government'' means--
(I) any county, city, town, township, parish,
village, or other general purpose political subdivision
of a State; and
(II) any combination of political subdivisions
described in subclause (I) recognized by the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(B) Y2K upset
The term ``Y2K upset''--
(i) means an exceptional temporary noncompliance with
applicable federally enforceable measurement, monitoring, or
reporting requirements directly related to a Y2K failure
that are beyond the reasonable control of the defendant
charged with compliance; and
(ii) does not include--
(I) noncompliance with applicable federally
enforceable measurement, monitoring, or reporting
requirements that constitutes or would create an
imminent threat to public health, safety, or the
environment;
(II) noncompliance with applicable federally
enforceable measurement, monitoring, or reporting
requirements that provide for the safety and soundness
of the banking or monetary system, or for the integrity
of the national securities markets, including the
protection of depositors and investors;
(III) noncompliance with applicable federally
enforceable measurement, monitoring, or reporting
requirements to the extent caused by operational error
or negligence;
(IV) lack of reasonable preventative maintenance;
(V) lack of preparedness for a Y2K failure; or
(VI) noncompliance with the underlying federally
enforceable requirements to which the applicable
federally enforceable measurement, monitoring, or
reporting requirement relates.
(3) Conditions necessary for a demonstration of a Y2K upset
A defendant who wishes to establish the affirmative defense of
Y2K upset shall demonstrate, through properly signed,
contemporaneous operating logs, or other relevant evidence that--
(A) the defendant previously made a reasonable good faith
effort to anticipate, prevent, and effectively remediate a
potential Y2K failure;
(B) a Y2K upset occurred as a result of a Y2K failure or
other emergency directly related to a Y2K failure;
(C) noncompliance with the applicable federally enforceable
measurement, monitoring, or reporting requirement was
unavoidable in the face of an emergency directly related to a
Y2K failure and was necessary to prevent the disruption of
critical functions or services that could result in harm to life
or property;
(D) upon identification of noncompliance the defendant
invoking the defense began immediate actions to correct any
violation of federally enforceable measurement, monitoring, or
reporting requirements; and
(E) the defendant submitted notice to the appropriate
Federal regulatory authority of a Y2K upset within 72 hours from
the time that the defendant became aware of the upset.
(4) Grant of a Y2K upset defense
Subject to the other provisions of this subsection, the Y2K
upset defense shall be a complete defense to the imposition of a
penalty in any action brought as a result of noncompliance with
federally enforceable measurement, monitoring, or reporting
requirements for any defendant who establishes by a preponderance of
the evidence that the conditions set forth in paragraph (3) are met.
(5) Length of Y2K upset
The maximum allowable length of the Y2K upset shall be not more
than 15 days beginning on the date of the upset unless specific
relief by the appropriate regulatory authority is granted.
(6) Fraudulent invocation of Y2K upset defense
Fraudulent use of the Y2K upset defense provided for in this
subsection shall be subject to the sanctions provided in section
1001 of title 18.
(7) Expiration of defense
The Y2K upset defense may not be asserted for a Y2K upset
occurring after June 30, 2000.
(8) Preservation of authority
Nothing in this subsection shall affect the authority of a
government entity to seek injunctive relief or require a defendant
to correct a violation of a federally enforceable measurement,
monitoring, or reporting requirement.
(h) Consumer protection from Y2K failures
(1) In general
No person who transacts business on matters directly or
indirectly affecting residential mortgages shall cause or permit a
foreclosure on any such mortgage against a consumer as a result of
an actual Y2K failure that results in an inability to accurately or
timely process any mortgage payment transaction.
(2) Notice
A consumer who is affected by an inability described in
paragraph (1) shall notify the servicer for the mortgage, in writing
and within 7 business days from the time that the consumer becomes
aware of the Y2K failure and the consumer's inability to accurately
or timely fulfill his or her obligation to pay, of such failure and
inability and shall provide to the servicer any available
documentation with respect to the failure.
(3) Actions may resume after grace period
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an action prohibited under
paragraph (1) may be resumed, if the consumer's mortgage obligation
has not been paid and the servicer of the mortgage has not expressly
and in writing granted the consumer an extension of time during
which to pay the consumer's mortgage obligation, but only after the
later of--
(A) four weeks after January 1, 2000; or
(B) four weeks after notification is made as required under
paragraph (2), except that any notification made on or after
March 15, 2000, shall not be effective for purposes of this
subsection.
(4) Applicability
This subsection does not apply to transactions upon which a
default has occurred before December 15, 1999, or with respect to
which an imminent default was foreseeable before December 15, 1999.
(5) Enforcement of obligations merely tolled
This subsection delays but does not prevent the enforcement of
financial obligations, and does not otherwise affect or extinguish
the obligation to pay.
(6) Definition
In this subsection--
(A) The term ``consumer'' means a natural person.
(B) The term ``residential mortgage'' has the meaning given
the term ``federally related mortgage loan'' under section 2602
of title 12.
(C) The term ``servicer'' means the person, including any
successor, responsible for receiving any scheduled periodic
payments from a consumer pursuant to the terms of a residential
mortgage, including amounts for any escrow account, and for
making the payments of principal and interest and such other
payments with respect to the amounts received from the borrower
as may be required pursuant to the terms of the mortgage. Such
term includes the person, including any successor, who makes or
holds a loan if such person also services the loan.
(i) Applicability to securities litigation
In any Y2K action in which the underlying claim arises under the
securities laws (as defined in section 78c(a) of this title), the
provisions of this chapter, other than section 6612(b) of this title,
shall not apply.
(Pub. L. 106-37, Sec. 4, July 20, 1999, 113 Stat. 188.)
References in Text
The Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act, referred to
in subsec. (f), is Pub. L. 105-271, Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2386, which
is set out as a note under section 1 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 6611 of this title.
