Judge Rejects Bid to Stop Suit Over Failed 911 Call

A state superior court judge on Monday refused to throw out a lawsuit holding L.A. Cellular Co. responsible for a customer’s inability to reach 911 dispatchers during a 1994 carjacking attempt.

Judge Bernard J. Kamins ruled that there are “triable” issues of fact on five of the six allegations made against the cellular phone company by Marcia Spielholz, a former MGM Studios executive who was shot and injured during the incident on the Westside.

Kamins did rule in favor of the company on one count, in which Spielholz charged that L.A. Cellular was responsible for the “intentional infliction of emotional distress” on her by not disclosing that its service can be erratic or even nonexistent even in well-populated and centrally located areas of Los Angeles.

The judge cleared the way for pretrial discovery and depositions to take place.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Spielholz’s attorney, Mark O. Hiepler, after the ruling. “This means that L.A. Cellular will be forced to stand trial.” An L.A. Cellular spokesman said the company was disappointed that the judge allowed the case to progress on five of the six counts.

“We’re going to continue to try to stop this case,” said the spokesman, Steven C. Crosby.

Spielholz’s case has drawn nationwide attention from consumer advocates and federal regulators because it suggests that cellular companies underplay their services’ shortcomings in order to attract customers relying on their cell phones for emergencies.

Spielholz was driving from Culver City to her home in Beverly Hills in December 1994 when her car was cut off by another vehicle. She says in her lawsuit that she repeatedly tried to reach an emergency 911 dispatcher on her L.A. Cellular portable phone but was unable to summon help before an assailant shot her through the window of her car and then fled.