PLAINTIFFS LAWYERS FIGHT RESTRICTIONS ON PRODUCT LIABILITY SUITS

 ALICIA MUNDY
August 13, 2008; Page A3

WASHINGTON -- Since 2001, the Bush administration has steadily whittled away the ability of consumers and other groups to sue corporations for damages related to their products.

Now plaintiffs' lawyers are fighting back by raising money to battle a Supreme Court case and to support candidates seen as sympathetic to their cause in the November congressional elections.

At stake are billions of dollars in potential product-liability lawsuits. Some corporations are already getting tough in settlement talks. Judges have put on hold some cases, including three involving GlaxoSmithKline PLC's antidepressant Paxil, pending a Supreme Court ruling.

"It is a war," said Houston attorney Ed Blizzard, a member of the plaintiffs' lawyers task force to fight regulations that pre-empt plaintiffs' right to sue.

The Supreme Court case, Wyeth v. Levine, which is to be heard Nov. 3, could affect lawsuits involving products such as cars, toys and flammable mattresses.

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