SCOTUS Asks for Apple Response to Cellphone Safety Cert Petition

The Supreme Court asked Apple to file a response by March 15 to the Jan. 23 cert petition from two dozen iPhone users seeking uniformity in circuit courts’ rulings on cellphone safety, said a text-only entry Monday (docket 22-698). Apple’s Jan. 26 waiver said Apple wouldn’t file a response to the petition unless SCOTUS requested one. The petition said there's profound inconsistency among the appellate courts over whether certain FCC guidelines “impliedly preempt” state-law claims about cellphone safety (see 2301270065). SCOTUS has a “golden opportunity” to bring uniformity to the decision-making, it said. The petition seeks a reversal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion on Aug. 26 affirming the district court’s summary judgment for Apple, based on federal law preemption of the state-law claims. The petition is in circulation for the justices' Friday conference.