dictionary

Makers of cell phones hit with class-action suits

NEW YORK -- Class-action suits have been filed in four states requiring all major manufacturers of mobile phones to supply head sets free of charge to each purchaser or lessee, or to reimburse any consumer who has purchased a headset, an attorney told CNNfn Thursday.

Class-action lawyer Peter Angelos said the suits make three principal allegations about radio transmissions from handsets:

• They cause biological changes with a potential for resulting in adverse health effects;

	LEGAL RESOURCES
Latest Legal News
Law Library
FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

• Industry has known for many years that the biological changes caused by Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) could be significantly reduced or eliminated through the use of headsets;

• Industry nevertheless mass-marketed wireless hand-held telephones without the protection provided by a headset and without informing the public of the potential risk involved.

The lawsuits allege conspiracy, fraud and negligence on the part of major manufacturers. In addition to the headsets, the suits ask for unspecified punitive damages and unspecified costs, attorney fees and legal pre-judgment interest.

Significantly, the suits do not explicitly claim a connection between the use of cell phones and the promotion of or acceleration of brain tumors. Earlier suits that tried to tie the technology to the specific disease failed in court.

The suits were filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City; Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; the Circuit Court for Middlesex County, New Jersey; and the Supreme Court for Bronx County, New York.

The named defendants are a who's who of the mobile phone hardware and service business, including Motorola, Sprint, Audiovox, Nextel, Matsushita, Philips, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sanyo, Sony, AT&T, Verizon, Cingular, SBC, Cellular One, and Voicestream.

Mobile phones: Hitting saturation point?
Baby Bells get set for a cell phone explosion
Cell phones aren't just for gabbing
Study finds digital cell phones can pose risk to pacemaker patients
Mobile phones: Hitting saturation point?
Baby Bells get set for a cell phone explosion
Cell phones aren't just for gabbing
Study finds digital cell phones can pose risk to pacemaker patients

See related sites about LAW

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.