WASHINGTON-The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has delayed oral argument on whether the mobile-phone industry should provide free headsets to consumers to reduce risk of injury from radiation emitted by wireless handsets.
Oral argument had been scheduled to be heard by a three-judge panel in Richmond, Va., this month. No reason was given for the change. Lawyers close to the case said the two sides might have to wait until May before they can tangle in court.
Last March, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake of Baltimore dismissed five class-action lawsuits that claimed mobile-phone companies misled consumers about phone safety and should do more to protect them from potential health risks.
Government officials here and overseas say data does not point to any imminent risk from cell phones. However, with some studies finding genetic breaks and other health effects from mobile-phone radiation and in view of the hundreds of millions of wireless subscribers worldwide, health experts say more research is needed before they can declare handsets completely safe.
Blake, whose 2002 rejection of an $800 million cancer lawsuit against Motorola Inc. and others was affirmed by the Fourth Circuit last fall, ruled the headset claim is pre-empted by federal law governing licensing of wireless systems and human exposure to radio-frequency emissions. Plaintiffs, led by the law firm of Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angeles, argue the case belongs in state court.
The Fourth Circuit’s treatment of the jurisdictional question could dictate what happens next to nine brain-cancer suits in Blake’s court. Those suits originated in state court before being removed to federal court. Before Blake are motions to remand the brain-cancer cases to courts in various states and the District of Columbia.
On a related front, Blake has yet to rule on last year’s industry request that Christopher Newman-the plaintiff in the failed $800 million cancer lawsuit-pay $55,000 in court costs to wireless defendants in the case.
