Courts to review phone co. suits under spy bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal courts would review potentially billions of dollars in lawsuits against phone companies under an electronic spy bill drafted by congressional and White House negotiators, sources said on Thursday.

Under the bipartisan legislation, a court could dismiss a suit if there is written certification that the White House asked a phone company to participate in a warrantless surveillance program President George W. Bush began shortly after the September 11 attacks, the congressional sources said.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro, editing by David Alexander))