United States Fourth Circuit

In a class action alleging an unsafe level of radiation in wireless phones, dismissal of the suit is reversed where the district court erred when it found that the plaintiffs' state law claims were preempted by the Federal Communications Act.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/16/2005
• Published 03/16/2005

Judges

• Before LUTTIG and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and KISER, Senior United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  Michael R. Allweiss, Lowe, Stein, Hoffman, Allweiss & Hauver, L.L.P., New Orleans, Louisiana, for Appellants.  Kenneth Winston Starr, Kirkland & Ellis, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Appellees.   ON BRIEF:  H. Russell Smouse, John C.M. Angelos, Glenn E. Mintzer, Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos, P.C., Baltimore, Maryland;  H. Thomas Howell, Howell & Gately, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants.  Garrett B. Johnson, Terrence J. Dee, Michael B. Slade, Kirkland & Ellis, L.L.P., Chicago, Illinois, for Motorola, Inc. Seamus C. Duffy, Mary Catherine Roper, Drinker, Biddle & Reath, L.L.P., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Cingular Wireless, Inc., SBC Communications, Inc. Mark F. Horning, Thomas M. Barba, Steptoe & Johnson, Washington, D.C., for AT & T Corp., AT & T Wireless PCS, LLC and AT & T Wireless Services, Inc. John H. Beisner, Brian P. Brooks, O'Melveny & Meyers, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Verizon Wireless, Cellco Partnership.  Paul F. Strain, Venable, Baetjer and Howard, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland;  M. King Hill, III, Venable, Baetjer and Howard, L.L.P., Towson, Maryland;  Jane Fugate Thorpe, Scott A. Elder, Alston & Bird, L.L.P., Atlanta, Georgia, for Cellco Partnership formerly d/b/a Bell Atlantic Mobile and Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Verizon Maryland, Inc. a/k/a Verizon Wireless, a/k/a Verizon, f/k/a Bell Atlantic-Maryland, Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., f/k/a Bell Atlantic Corporation, Verizon Wireless, a/k/a Bell Atlantic Nynex, a/k/a Nynex, a/k/a Bell Atlantic Mobile, Inc. f/k/a Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile, Inc. Thomas Watson, Curtis Renner, Watson & Renner, Washington, D.C., for Cingular Wireless, L.L.C. Michael Esher Yaggy, Jeffrey M. Yeatman, Piper Rudnick, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland, for Motorola, Inc. Steven M. Laduzinsky, Scott A. Hanfling, Kane, Laduzinsky & Mendoza, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois;  Robert B. Green, Irwin, Green & Dexter, L.L.P., Towson, Maryland, for Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.  Michael H. O'Brien, Jason P. Sultzer, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, White Plains, New York;  Laura N. Steel, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, Washington, D.C.;   John B. Isbister, Harold M. Walter, Tydings & Rosenberg, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland, for Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a/k/a Samsung Electronics.  Paul S. Schleifman, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Washington, D.C.;  J. Stan Sexton, Michael D. Moeller, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Kansas City, Missouri, for Sprint PCS Limited Partnership, a/k/a Sprint Spectrum;  Sprint Spectrum, L.L.C., d/b/a Sprint PCS. Charles P. Goodell, James A. Frederick, Goodell, Devries, Leech & Dann, Baltimore, Maryland, for North America, Inc. a/k/a Sanyo North America Group, Sanyo Corporation, Sanyo Business Systems Corporation.  Steven M. Zager, Lance Lackey, Robert Pemberton, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., Houston, Texas;  Paul F. Walter, Tydings and Rosenberg, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland, for Nokia, Inc., a/k/a Nokia Mobile Phones, Inc., and Nokia Corporation.  Ray M. Aragon, Raymond B. Biagini, McKenna, Long & Aldridge, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Electronics North America Corporation.  Eugene A. Schoon, Tamar B. Kelber, Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, L.L.P., Chicago, Illinois, for Voicestream Wireless Corporation a/k/a Voicestream Wireless, Powertel, Inc., Powertel PCS, Inc., Powertel/Atlanta, Inc. Patrick R. Buckler, Walter T. Dudley, McGuirewoods, L.L.P., Baltimore, Maryland;  Edward M. Crane, David L. Hanselman, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Chicago, Illinois, for Nextel Communications of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc., Nextel of New York, Inc., and Nextel South Corp. James P. Ulwick, Kramon & Graham, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland, for NEC America, Inc. Francis A. Citera, Greenberg & Traurig, P.C., Chicago, Illinois, for Electronics Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated.   Russell J. Rogers, Lawrence A. Slovensky, McKenna, Long & Aldridge, L.L.P., Atlanta, Georgia, for Partners Operating Corp. and Nextel Partners, Inc. Paul D. Krause, Laura N. Steel, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edleman & Dicker, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Matsushita Corporation of America, a/k/a Panasonic Corporation, and Sanyo North America, Inc. a/k/a Sanyo North America Group;  Sanyo Corporation;  Sanyo Business Systems, Corporation.  Paul Vishny, Paul Freehling, D'Ancona & Pflaum, L.L.C., Chicago, Illinois, for Telecommunications Industry Association.   Mark H. Kolman, Leslie R. Cohen, Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Audiovox Communications Corp.  Charles L. Perry, Andrews & Kurth, L.L.P., Dallas, Texas, for Cellular One Group.   Matthew T. Covell, Kevin B. Getzendanner, Arnall, Golden & Gregory, L.L.P., Atlanta, Georgia, for Mitsubishi Wireless Communications, Inc. Daniel S. Reinhardt, Steven J. Hewitson, Troutman Sanders, L.L.P., Atlanta, Georgia, for Southern Telecom, Inc.   Gregg L. Bernstein, Denis J. Charlesworth, Martin, Snyder & Bernstein, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland;  Charles L. Babcock, David T. Moran, James M. McCown, Ryan C. Wirtz, Jackson Walker, L.L.P., Dallas, Texas, for Ericsson Inc. Maureen Ellen Murphy, Murphy & Murphy, L.L.C., Catonsville, Maryland, for Baltimore Business Communications, Inc.