2005 Washington Revised Code RCW 4.24.650: Year 2000 failure — Affirmative defense to contract action. (Expires December 31, 2006.)

(1) A person has an affirmative defense to any claim or action, based on a contract, brought against the person if he or she establishes that:

     (a) The default, failure to pay, breach, omission, or other violation that is the basis of the claim against him or her was caused, in whole or in part, by a year 2000 failure associated with an electronic computing device;

     (b) The year 2000 failure being asserted was not proximately caused by a failure of the person to update an electronic computing device, that is under his or her dominion or control, to be year 2000 compliant; and

     (c) If it were not for the year 2000 failure, the person would have been able to satisfy the contractual obligation that was the basis of the claim.

     (2) If an affirmative defense as set forth in subsection (1) of this section is established, then the person or entity making the claim may not reassert the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted for a period of thirty days from the date on which the court dismissed the case as a result of the affirmative defense. Any statute of limitations applicable to the claim shall be tolled for forty-five days upon the dismissal of the case under this section.

     (3) The dismissal of an action as the result of the affirmative defense under this section does not impair, extinguish, discharge, satisfy, or otherwise affect the underlying obligation that is the basis of the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted. However, the ability of a party to bring the claim based upon the obligation is delayed as set forth in subsection (2) of this section.

     (4) A person who has established an affirmative defense as set forth in subsection (1) of this section may dispute directly with a credit reporting agency operating in this state any item of information in the person's consumer file relating to the subject of the affirmative defense. The dispute shall be filed in accordance with RCW 19.182.090(6). If requested by the person under this subsection (4), the credit reporting agency shall furnish a statement, made in accordance with RCW 19.182.090(7), to the person and include the statement in the person's consumer file. The credit reporting agency may not charge the person a fee for the inclusion of this statement in the person's consumer file.

     (5)(a) The definitions in RCW 4.22.080 apply to this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

     (b) As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, "person" means a natural person or a small business as defined in RCW 19.85.020.

     (6) This section does not affect those transactions upon which a default has occurred before any disruption of financial or data transfer operations attributable to a year 2000 failure.

     (7) This section does not apply to or affect any contract that specifically provides for a year 2000 failure.

     (8) This section does not apply to any claim or cause of action filed after December 31, 2003.

     (9) This section expires December 31, 2006.

[1999 c 369 § 2.]

Effective date -- 1999 c 369: See note following RCW 4.22.080.