Cellphone Manufacture Production Liability Lawsuit
brain tumor cell phone court DC Superior Court judge law suit liability litigation mobile phone radiation Morganroth Motorola Murray trial WeisbergD.C. courtroom considers how to shroud out ‘bad science’ inwards local trials
Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post, November 24, 2015
Excerpts
The District’s highest courtroom on Tuesday considered whether to modify the rules for screening out “bad science” from trials together with to adopt the standards used inwards most states together with federal courts.
The illustration earlier the appellate courtroom involves the inquiry of whether cellphones tin stimulate encephalon cancer. Plaintiffs receive got sued cellphone manufacturers together with providers inwards D.C. Superior Court alleging that long-term exposure to cellphone radiations causes encephalon tumors.
The appellate courtroom volition non dominion on that specific issue, but the total courtroom is taking the chance to weigh how judges create upwards one's hear which adept witnesses are allowed to testify.
Under the measure used inwards the District, Illinois together with a small-scale number of other states, the approximate determines whether a methodology or theory has gained “general acceptance” inwards the expert’s field. The exam is known equally Frye, a reference to a 1923 D.C. Circuit case.
After a landmark 1993 Supreme Court case, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, federal courts — together with right away the bulk of states — adopted a to a greater extent than extensive test, making the approximate the “gatekeeper” for ensuring that the scientific evidence is “not exclusively relevant, but reliable.”
On 1 hand, [Judge] Weisberg said, at that spot is non plenty evidence for whatsoever scientist to conclude alongside certainty that cellphones stimulate encephalon cancer. On the other, because of the District’s standards for admitting evidence, Weisberg said he would permit the testimony of 5 experts who would tell inwards final result that cellphones are to a greater extent than probable than non to stimulate or promote surely encephalon tumors.
But Weisberg besides noted that inwards a federal courtroom, that testimony was unlikely to live aired.
Attorneys for the thirteen plaintiffs together with a local scheme of trial lawyers had urged the courtroom inwards its filings to maintain the standard, which lawyer Jeffrey B. Morganroth said Tuesday is “working only fine.”
Plaintiffs’ attorneys, representing people who endure from or receive got died from encephalon tumors, said whatsoever modify would live a “drastic departure” from electrical flow practice.http://wapo.st/1MQclwA
Case on Health Risk From Cellphones Is Back inwards Court
Ryan Knutson, Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2015
Excerpts
Murray v. Motorola faces some other exam Tuesday when the 2 sides debate over what legal measure to use
In the years since the lawsuit was filed, other plaintiffs receive got brought to a greater extent than than 2 dozen similar cases, the most recent 1 inwards October. Defendants include almost all the major cellphone together with wireless companies, including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Apple Inc. together with Samsung Electronics Co.
Representatives for Motorola together with the other defendants referred questions to the CTIA, the wireless manufacture merchandise group, which said inwards a argument that “peer-reviewed scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do non pose a world wellness adventure for adults or children.”
So far, the cases receive got generally been a battle over legal procedure, non scientific discipline ...
... Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 total of thirteen cases receive got been consolidated into the Murray case, together with the plaintiffs are seeking to a greater extent than than $1.9 billion inwards damages combined.
In filings alongside the Securities together with Exchange Commission, cellphone manufacturers together with wireless carriers specifically acknowledge the adventure posed past times health-related lawsuits. “We may incur pregnant expenses inwards defending these lawsuits,” Verizon wrote inwards its 2015 annual filing. “In addition, nosotros may live required to pay pregnant awards or settlements.”
... Eight of the plaintiffs inwards other cases receive got died piece the lawsuits receive got been pending, he said. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 determination inwards favor of Motorola together with the other defendants, which are pushing for the Daubert standard, would ship ripples beyond the Murray lawsuit. Seventeen of the other cellphone-health cases are stayed pending a ruling inwards this case.
If the plaintiffs prevail, regain volition start on the broad number of whether cellphones tin stimulate encephalon tumors, specifically, glioma together with acoustic neuroma. In addition, the plaintiffs would demand to prove cellphones caused the cancer inwards their specific cases.http://on.wsj.com/1LuI2cW
August 8, 2014
My comments: This superior courtroom ruling enables the regain stage of the trial to begin. Perhaps, nosotros volition before long larn whether the wireless manufacture has been roofing upwards cognition of the wellness risks of mobile telephone use.
The insurance manufacture has refused to supply production liability insurance on jail Galvanic cell phones primarily due to this business concern equally they fearfulness that jail Galvanic cell telephone litigation may plough out similar tobacco or asbestos litigation did alongside huge punitive awards.
My most recent press release, "FCC: 98 Scientific Experts Demand Stronger Regulation of Cellphone Radiation" makes the illustration that the scientific community has known for many years nearly the wellness risks of mobile telephone radiation. The wireless industry, however, has confused authorities officials together with Earth past times co-opting scientists to back upwards the industry's disinformation drive to purchase time.
--
29 encephalon tumor lawsuits displace toward trial inwards Washington, DC
Arthur Firstenberg, Cellular Phone Task Force, Aug 11, 2014
Twenty-nine high-profile lawsuits brought past times people whose encephalon tumors were caused past times their jail Galvanic cell phones are lastly moving toward trial. Six of these cases were originally filed inwards 2001 together with 2002. Many of the plaintiffs are no longer alive.
On Friday, Judge Frederick H. Weisberg, inwards the D.C. Superior Court, admitted the testimony of 5 adept witness for the plaintiffs, together with the 12- together with 13-year-old cases volition right away come inwards the regain phase. Each of the plaintiffs is scream for for to a greater extent than than $100,000,000. There are 46 defendants including Motorola, Nokia, AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Cellular One, Cingular Wireless, SBC Communications, Verizon, Vodafone, the Telecommunications Industry Association, the IEEE, ANSI, the CTIA, together with the FCC. The plaintiffs are represented past times Jeffrey B. Morganroth of Morganroth & Morganroth, a police pull business solid inwards Birmingham, Michigan.
For over a decade the manufacture together with the plaintiffs receive got played tug-of-war alongside the oldest cases, sending them dorsum together with forth betwixt federal together with nation courts, together with fighting over whether the plaintiff's claims were preempted past times the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
In 2009 the D.C. Court of Appeals, inwards Murray v. Motorola (982 A. 2nd 764), ruled that the telecommunication companies could non live sued over encephalon tumors caused past times jail Galvanic cell phones manufactured afterward 1996. But since all of these plaintiffs had used pre-1996 phones, their lawsuits were allowed to become forward. They were besides allowed to become forwards on their claims that the defendants made fake together with misleading statements together with failed to let out information nearly the dangers of jail Galvanic cell phones. These claims were brought nether the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
In Dec 2013 together with Jan 2014, testimony was heard from:
DR. SHIRA KRAMER, a Maryland epidemiologist;
DR. MICHAEL KUNDI, professor of epidemiology together with occupational wellness at the Medical University of Vienna;
DR. VINI KHURANA, a neurosurgeon together with professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University inwards Canberra;
DR. IGOR BELYAEV, caput enquiry scientist at the Cancer Research institute at the Slovak Academy of Science inwards Bratislava, Slovakia;
DR. WILHELM MOSGOELLER, professor together with medical physician at the University of Vienna Medical School’s Institute for Cancer Research;
DR. DIMITRIS PANAGAPOULOUS, founder of the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at the University of Athens;
DR. ABRAHAM LIBOFF, professor emeritus of physics at Oakland University inwards Rochester, Michigan; and
DR. LAURA PLUNKETT, pharmacologist together with toxicologist inwards Houston.
On Friday, August 8, 2014, the testimony of Drs. Kramer, Khurana, together with Panagopoulos was disallowed. But the testimony of Drs. Kundi, Belyaev, Mosgoeller, Liboff, together with Plunkett was admitted. They volition bear witness at trial nearly "general causation," i.e. that jail Galvanic cell phones tin stimulate encephalon tumors.
The lawsuits right away come inwards the regain phase, inwards which each side is compelled to gain documents together with answer questions. This is the start fourth dimension that the manufacture has had to plough over data. There volition together with then live a struggle over the admission of the testimony of witnesses on "specific causation," i.e. doctors together with others who volition bear witness that these specific jail Galvanic cell phones caused these specific tumors.
Friday's determination past times Judge Weisberg allowed thirteen of the cases, which receive got been consolidated inwards 1 action, to become forward. The other sixteen cases are beingness tried separately, but the parties inwards those cases agreed to live jump past times Friday's decision.
---
Judge Frederick H. Weisberg, Washington D.C. Superior Court: Expert Preemption Order (page 5):
Judge Weisberg's ruling on adept witness admissibility
Michael Patrick Murray et al. v. Motorola, Inc. et al.
Superior Court for the District of Columbia
http://bit.ly/DC_expert_ruling
Microsoft Corporation. Form 10-K. U.S. Securities together with Exchange Commission. Washington. July 31, 2015. pp. 87-88.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312515272806/d918813d10k.htm
U.S. jail Galvanic cell telephone litigation
Nokia, along alongside other handset manufacturers together with network operators, is a accused inwards xix lawsuits filed inwards the Superior Court for the District of Columbia past times private plaintiffs who allege that radio emissions from cellular handsets caused their encephalon tumors together with other adverse wellness effects. We receive got assumed responsibleness for these claims equally purpose of the NDS acquisition together with receive got been substituted for the Nokia defendants. Nine of these cases were filed inwards 2002 together with are consolidated for surely pre-trial proceedings; the remaining 10 cases are stayed. In a carve upwards 2009 decision, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that adverse wellness final result claims arising from the exercise of cellular handsets that operate inside the U.S. Federal Communications Commission radio frequency emission guidelines (“FCC Guidelines”) are pre-empted past times federal law. The plaintiffs allege that their handsets either operated exterior the FCC Guidelines or were manufactured earlier the FCC Guidelines went into effect. The lawsuits besides allege an industry-wide conspiracy to manipulate the scientific discipline together with testing some emission guidelines.
In September 2013, defendants inwards the consolidated cases moved to exclude plaintiffs’ adept evidence of full general causation on the reason of flawed scientific methodologies. In March 2014, defendants filed a carve upwards displace to preclude plaintiffs’ full general causation testimony. In August 2014, the courtroom granted inwards purpose defendants’ displace to exclude plaintiffs’ full general causation experts. The plaintiffs filed an interlocutory appeal. In Dec 2014, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals agreed to hear en banc defendants’ interlocutory appeal challenging the measure for evaluating adept scientific evidence. Trial courtroom proceedings are stayed pending resolution of the appeal.
Canadian jail Galvanic cell telephone shape action
Nokia, along alongside other handset manufacturers together with network operators, is a accused inwards a 2013 shape activity lawsuit filed inwards the Supreme Court of British Columbia past times a purported shape of Canadians who receive got used cellular phones for at to the lowest degree 1,600 hours, including a subclass of users alongside encephalon tumors. Microsoft was served alongside the electrical load inwards June 2014 together with has been substituted for the Nokia defendants. The litigation is non yet active equally several defendants remain to live served.
--
Court Allows Expert Testimony inwards Litigation Alleging Cell Phone-Linked Tumors According to Consumers' Legal Team
WASHINGTON -- Aug 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Washington D.C. superior courtroom ruled that 5 scientific adept witnesses tin bear witness for consumers suffering from encephalon tumors allegedly caused or promoted past times jail Galvanic cell telephone exercise Ashcraft & Gerel LLP Morganroth together with Morganroth PLLC Lundy Lundy Soileau & South L.L.P. together with co-counsel said today.
Judge Frederick H. Weisberg who is presiding over thirteen consolidated lawsuits against the telecom manufacture ruled that experts met the Dyas/Frye legal standards together with tin offering testimony related to injury causation together with wellness effects. The courtroom held evidentiary hearings inwards Dec 2013 together with Jan 2014 together with reviewed hundreds of exhibits.
Judge Weisberg noted that piece the courtroom did non create upwards one's hear the number of whether jail Galvanic cell phones stimulate encephalon tumors novel scientific studies together with information receive got emerged recently. His lodge referred to a May 2014 French case-control epidemiological written report that works life back upwards for "a possible association betwixt heavy mobile telephone use" together with encephalon tumors.
Each of the plaintiffs inwards the litigation suffers from a encephalon tumor or is suing for a identify unit of measurement of somebody who died of encephalon cancer.
The plaintiffs are represented past times Morganroth together with Morganroth PLLC of Birmingham Mich.; Ashcraft & Gerel LLP of Washington D.C. together with Lundy Lundy Soileau & South LLP of Lake Charles La.; The Knoll Law Firm LLC of Marksville La.; Pribanic & Pribanic LLC of Pittsburgh; Frasier Frasier & Hickman LLP of Tulsa Okla.; together with Bernstein Liebhard LLP of New York.
Hunter Lundy of Lundy Lundy Soileau & South LLP said "The telecom manufacture argued for years that jail Galvanic cell telephone consumer litigants could non gain scientists who could relate exposure to jail Galvanic cell telephone radiations to tumors. The ruling today refutes that disputation together with our experts' opinions having met the Dyas/Frye test are admissible."
Jeffrey B. Morganroth of Morganroth together with Morganroth PLLC said "We right away receive got opinions together with testimony from prominent scientific experts that volition live admissible together with back upwards our clients' claims that jail Galvanic cell telephone radiations tin stimulate encephalon tumors inwards humans. With this landmark ruling the cases are moving forwards to fact discovery."
Michelle Parfitt together with James F. Green of Ashcraft & Gerel LLP said "The evidence presented at the evidentiary hearings months agone exclusively included publicly available materials together with did non include whatsoever testing information or information inwards possession of the defendants. We volition seek that information equally before long equally possible."
The start of the consolidated cases is "Michael Patrick Murray et al. v. Motorola Inc. et al." Case No. 2001 CA 008479 B inwards the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. The defendants inwards the cases are Motorola Inc. Qualcomm Inc. Nokia Inc. Audiovox Communications Corp. together with Samsung Telecomm American LLC.
Contact: Erin Powers Powers MediaWorks LLC for Ashcraft Gerel LLP info@powersmediaworks.com.
SOURCE Ashcraft & Gerel LLP
