Lawyers all over the planet must be rubbing their hands in glee on this one: insurance underwriters at Lloyd’s of London were told Thursday that the millennium bug will lead to litigation costing $1 trillion in the US alone. This according to Jeff Jinnett, of US law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. This figure is bigger than all other litigation for liabilities, the $300bn from asbestos, tort and pollution suits, he added. Reuter reports that the conference, the insurer’s first ever professional indemnity briefing, was furthermore warned that shareholders will sue companies for poor management, information technology consultants will be sued for malpractice, and computer suppliers will face product liability actions for selling non- compliant products. Directors’ and officers’ policies and professional liability policies will probably have to cover these claims, Jinnett told the awestruck insurers.
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