The complaint, filed in a New York state court, alleges Intuit "certainly should have known (that its Quicken software) would be rendered obsolete well before the end of its useful life."The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed on behalf of all purchasers of Quicken Releases 5 and 6 and seeks damages and injunctive relief to compel Intuit to rectify the problems without charge.According to the complaint, Intuit has admitted the online banking functions contained in Quicken versions 5 and 6, sold as recently as last October, are incapable of handling transactions with Year 2000 dates.

The complaint also alleged Intuit has not offered free software to correct the defect."Consumers, who have become accustomed to using Quicken, will have to spend a minimum of $35 to purchase Quicken98 -- the only version of Quicken that is fully Year 2000 compliant," said Jeffrey Klafter, a partner with Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, the New York law firm that filed the lawsuit.Intuit, based in Mountain View, California, said in a statement that it has not yet had an opportunity to see the complaint.