WASHINGTON-The U.S. mobile phone industry, having watched a slew of headset and brain cancer suits returned to state courts the past year and a half, is scrambling to keep three other health suits with the Maryland federal judge who sided with wireless companies in two major decisions.
The three cases before U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake appear poised for movement early next year. Two of the three are brain cancer suits and the third is a headset suit remanded by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to Blake in March for further proceedings. Industry prefers federal court for health litigation, while plaintiffs opt for state court.
In 2002, Blake threw out a $800 million brain cancer suit against Motorola Inc. and other firms for lack of scientific evidence. Blake also rejected five class action headset suits in March 2003 on federal preemption grounds, but the 4th Circuit overturned that ruling.
“[T}he science issues are an ‘essential element’ of each of the claims in the case pending in this MDL (multidistrict litigation), which supports a Newman-type science-first case management order followed by summary judgment motions,” industry lawyers told Blake last month.
In a Dec. 2 filing to Blake, plaintiff lawyers representing Kim Brower, who claims her husband’s fatal brain cancer was caused by cell phone use, accused industry lawyers of again trying “to manufacture a federal question to justify removal of this action, where quite simply none exists.”
Meantime, four class action suits seeking to force wireless carriers to supply consumers with headsets to reduce phone radiation exposure are advancing in state courts in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia and New York.
Separately, the Superior Court for the District of Columbia is getting close to deciding whether to keep or toss out six brain cancer suits against wireless companies, trade associations and industry standards bodies.
Blake is awaiting further updates on the three suits later this month.
