Judge throws out headset lawsuits

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has thrown out the last of a group of class-action lawsuits that sought to force wireless carriers to supply consumers with headsets and reimburse those who’ve already purchased them as a protection against possible health risks that companies allegedly failed to disclose to the public.
In 2005, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled most headset cases could go forward in state courts after determining the litigation was not pre-empted by federal law.
In the 44-page opinion, U.S. District Judge John Padova said the 4th Circuit reached the wrong conclusion in its interpretation of a federal pre-emption statute governing cellular operators.
Meantime, a handful of health-related lawsuits remain pending — most on appeal by plaintiffs in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals — and results are expected soon from a multinational research project on possible biological effects from low-level radiation emitted by handsets.