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Litigation - Recent Cases.
Rittman v. Motorola, Inc.
Last modified on:
Tuesday, July 30, 2002 12:20:00
Copyright © 1994-2008, Information Ventures, Inc.
Background: Dean Vincent Rittmann, a physician, died allegedly of brain cancer due to extensive cellular telephone usage. A suit by his estate was first filed in 1995 in Tarrant County District Court (Estate of Rittmann et al. v. Motorola, Inc. et. al., No. 348-160584-95). The suit alleged that Motorola, Inc., NEC USA, Inc., General Electric Co., and Ericsson Inc. negligently designed cellular telephone products. In June 1996, the estate moved for nonsuit in Tarrant County District Court and on June 21 refiled in Harris County District Court in Houston (Estate of Rittmann et al. v. Motorola, Inc. et al., No. 96-31228). The suit alleges that Rittmann used "defectively designed and manufactured" cellular phones between 1988 and his death in 1994, including a General Electric mini-retractable antenna phone, a Motorola PT 500 hand-held cellular phone, a Motorola "DPC 550 Flip" phone and a NEC P401 cellular phone. Citing federal preemption, Motorola and the other manufacturers on July 30 entered their notice of removal in the Southern District of Texas' Houston Division (Estate of Rittmann et al. v. Motorola, Inc., et al., No. H-96-2443). They maintain that suit is preempted by the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. State regulation of electronic products that emit electromagnetic energy is also preempted under 1995's Electronic Products Radiation Control Act. The Rittmann estate has until August 30th to seek remand of its suit to a Texas distric court in Houston.
The Rittmann estate is represented by John M. O'Quinn, Kendall C. Montgomery and Maura Kolb of O'Quinn, Kerensky, McAninch & Laminack in Houston. Motorola is represented by Terry O. Tottenham of
Fulbright & Jaworski in Austin, and by Johnathan B. Skidmore and Sean P.Brennan of the firm's Dallas office. GTE and its affiliated companies are represented by Scott D. Lasseter, Steven M. Zager and Dean D. Hunt of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston. GE and Ericsson, Inc. are represented by Richard T. McCarroll and Kay Andrews of Brown, McCarroll & Oaks Hartline in Austin. Discount Communications, Inc. and Parkinson Electronics Co. are represented by Edwin J. Lamberty Jr. of
Patterson, Lamberty, Stanford, Walls & Dwyer in Dallas.
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