TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: 9/11 Lawsuit Against Motorola Tossed Again

9/11 Lawsuit Against Motorola Tossed Again

Lisa Minter (lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com)
Mon, 2 May 2005 18:48:33 PDT

BY WILLIAM MURPHY
STAFF WRITER

Relatives of a dozen city firefighters who died on Sept. 11 cannot sue
Motorola Inc. and the city for problems with department radios, a
federal appeals court panel ruled Monday.

The three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
unanimously that the lawsuit was barred by the decision of the
relatives to file claims with the federal Victim Compensation Fund.

In addition to damages, the relatives were hoping that the suit would
reveal evidence to support their contention that the radios were
defective.

The appeals court noted the emotion of the case, but decided it on
strictly procedural grounds.

The law creating the federal compensation fund "balanced the certainty
of no-fault recovery against the relinquishment of one's right to
bring a federal action -- created by the statute -- for injuries
arising from the disaster," the three-judge panel said.

The radios in use that day, which were the subject of the suit, were
Sabre model Motorolas that were put back into service earlier in the
year after a newer Motorola model delivered in 2000, the XTS3500, was
found to have deficiencies. That model was returned to use in 2002.

Copyright (c) 2005, Newsday, Inc.
Visit Newsday on line at http://www.newsday.com

This article originally appeared at:
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/wtc/nyc-rad0503,0,2464109.story?coll=nyc-homepage-breaking2

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