3Ms defense team also filed a Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, arguing that punitive damages should not be permitted because the plaintiff failed to meet certain evidentiary burdens under Texas law. Has Anyone Received a Settlement In the 3M Earplug Lawsuit? In response, lawyers for the earplug plaintiffs have stated that while they are not necessarily opposed to the appointment of Judge Carr, they want to make sure that it will not have any impact on the jurisdiction of the MDL court. In the first bellwether trial, the jury hit 3M with $7.3 million in punitive damages, but that was split between 3 plaintiffs. I also understand that Miller & Zois works with multiple law firms on these claims and that I may be contacted by an affiliated law firm working with Miller & Zois on these lawsuits. Blog Home. Judge Rodgers stuck the motion as improper, chastising 3M that the court docket is not a repository for lawyers to preview future litigation strategies.. Wayman is an Army veteran who is claiming that 3Ms defective earplugs caused him to develop tinnitus which has made his PTSD condition worse. This prevents any proceedings from moving forward against Aearo in the earplug lawsuits, but not against 3M. Dont you have to look in the mirror at some point? So when will the 3M earplug lawsuit settle? December 4, 2022 Update: Ever since 3M had its subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, file bankruptcy, the proceedings in the 3M earplugs class action MDL have been frozen by an automatic stay. The first defense witness was 3M scientist Dr. Eric Fallon, former chief Audiologist at Walter Reed Medical Center. Then at 11:00 a.m., the plaintiff, Ronald Sloan, took the stand to tell his story. 3M (NYSE:MMM) on Thursday rose as much as 4.3% after a news report said the company claimed that U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs in the Combat Arms lawsuits . If the plaintiffs can consistently get juries to hit 3M with punitive damages in future bellwether trials it could be a major game-changer. By 5:30 the jury had decided that Palanki failed to prove any of his claims against 3M and returned a defense verdict. Twelve new 3M lawsuits were filed today; 30 were filed yesterday. Wait what? Wilkerson was seeking summary judgment on 3Ms 5 affirmative defenses (learned intermediary, superseding cause, failure to mitigate, open and obvious danger, and statute of limitations defense), all of which were governed by Wisconsin law. They also made the fit of a soldiers helmet somewhat of a challenge. Our lawyers have always said 3M would be foolish to let the 11th Circuit rule on this before settling the lions share of these lawsuits. We will see if this is the catalyst for meaningful settlement talks to resolve the 3M earplug class action lawsuit. Rhodes then paid lip service to the upcoming mediation session. Really? For the first time, this litigation has meaningfully impacted 3Ms stock price. Understandably. Fallon holds a doctorate in audiology and works for 3M as a Technical Senior Service Specialist. That is $58 million in 3M verdicts this weekend. 3M has been wearing rose-colored glasses from Day 1 of this litigation. ]}. This 3M lawsuit is the largest mass tort in American history. March 28, 2022 Update: The action continues in the 3M litigation. But the result was stunning: $7.5 in compensatory damages; $15 million in punitive damages. The result in Palanki marked the 2nd win in a row for 3M in the bellwether trials (the Blum trial also resulted in a defense verdict). July 28, 2022 Update: Does the Aearo bankruptcy mean 3M will get an automatic stay on continued litigation? Judge Rodgers stopped short of granting summary judgment on the statute of limitations defense and deferred ruling on that issue until the relevant facts have been presented at trial. In cases where an MDL judge believes the claims have merit, the judge always wants a successful resolution to the litigation and that means a settlement. May 10, 2022 Update: Yesterday marked the beginning of the end of the 3M earplug lawsuit bellwether trials. by Roy D. Oppenheim. Filing a lawsuit against 3M for hearing loss related to defective earplugs is unlikely to impact your eligibility for disability benefits. Friday morning (January 14, 2022) was Day 5. January 21, 2023 Update: Mediators Christopher Sontchi and Randi Ellis updated the bankruptcy court in Indiana that they will have a settlement mediation in early February.. 3M filed a motion seeking to force all these plaintiffs to immediately pay their filing fees or have their case dismissed. They were sold to the military for $7.63. But these settlement amounts and timing predictions are just pure speculation. October 14, 2022 Update: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has agreed to an expedited review of 3Ms appeal of the bankruptcy court decision that effectively blocked 3M from pulling the 230,000 earplug lawsuits into bankruptcy. See October 11, 2022 update below. The vast majority of those are consolidated before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rogers in the Northern District of Florida, in the largest multidistrict litigation in history. He also has a funny bit where he complains forgetting for a moment that we are in America that jury trials are not the appropriate way to handle this litigation. Berger is a former 3M scientist and division head (now retired) who was part of the team that originally designed and developed the Combat Arms Earplugs. Judge Graham ruled that Aearos bankruptcy should have no ruling on the earplug lawsuits pending against 3M. 3M Co. said U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs show that most claimants in Combat Arms earplug litigation have normal hearing under medically accepted . Rogers hit 3M with this unprecedented sanction for what she described as 3Ms brazen abuse of the litigation process. The sanction prevents 3M from avoiding liability for the earplug claims by shifting blame to Aearo Technologies, the subsidiary which filed bankruptcy in August. Sloan was then cross-examined by 3Ms lawyers for about 90 minutes. Kelley will be the second female bellwether plaintiff. In other words, 3M has been barred from pursuing its strategy to force the earplug claims into bankruptcy. This is good news for 3M. Now it may be time for Plan B: a comprehensive, and still costly, settlement process for US soldiers who claim hearing damage.. To help push the settlement negotiations, Judge Rodgers appointed Randi S. Ellis as the special master for the mediation. There have been some bell weather trials and most have been for the veteran / plaintiffs. It means that no matter where you are, your lawsuit will most likely be housed in Florida while these lawsuits proceed through the multidistrict litigation process. Because bankruptcy is a more equitable system for valuing claims for settlement than the civil justice system we have had for hundreds of years in this country? But this might get us closer to a global settlement of the earplug lawsuits. January 20, 2023 Update: MDL Judge M. Casey Rodgers issued an Order formally terminating the court-sponsored settlement mediation. This is not a good dynamic for 3M who would rather not battle a group of soldiers in the courtroom. If you need representation, call us at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.. Conversely, if this appeal fails as I strongly suspect that it will, 3Ms quiver is empty and settlements become that much harder. Thursday morning on Day 4 in the Sloan/Wayman trial, the jury heard short video deposition testimony from three fact witnesses. March 10, 2022 Update: Yesterday, the plaintiff in the upcoming bellwether trial (Steven Wilkerson) scored a solid victory when Judge Casey Rodgers granted his motion for summary judgment on all but one of three 3Ms affirmative defenses. July 27, 2022 Update: 3Ms new strategy to resolve the earplug lawsuits in a bankruptcy proceeding is being directed by new legal counsel that the company recently retained to help deal with their mounting litigation troubles. But it is not. So they must be contending that they believe 3M will pay more through the bankruptcy process, but it is necessary because it is fairer. You wonder how that could happen. 3 of the 9 plaintiffs lost and were awarded $0 damages. The story which is behind a paywall, of course offers a general overview of the earplug lawsuits against 3M and an explanation of how the massive size of the litigation could end up costing 3M billions in liabilities. At that point, why not keep trying these cases when the average successful jury payout is around $20 million? The plaintiffs are still in their case so dont expect a verdict soon. This sounds like a bad thing, right? Will this be the settlement value for the 3M lawsuits? 3M has maybe $35 billion in assets and is worth approximately $100 billion. December 23, 2022 Update:The MDL Judge has imposed a significant sanction on 3M blocking it from pursuing the Aearo bankruptcy. 3M began court-ordered negotiations in July 2022 with lawyers representing soldiers who used the earplugs. Meanwhile, however, Judge Rodgers order means that thousands of earplug plaintiffs can avoid having to produce documents to support their claims and pay filing fees. (7:20-cv-00098). The fear is how long it will take for it to pay that price. This is after Judge Rodgers told us earlier in the week that there was a settlement impasse because 3M sought to resolve earplug lawsuits through the bankruptcy proceedings in Indiana, and the plaintiffs lawyers reject a bankruptcy-only resolution. But the mediators report that they respectfully disagree with the characterization of certain of the facts that underlie Judge Rodgers conclusion. This time, however, the summary judgment motion has a much better chance of being granted, and Judge Rodgers may be inclined toward it. 3Ms big defense, that they seemed confident would succeed, to end these cases before they began was asserting that all claims are preempted by the Feres doctrine. Because, in the end, 3M bought a company that made an awful product that hurt people that served our country. Dr. Crawford is an ENT doctor specializing in hearing protection. Aearo and 3M remain focused on reaching an efficient, equitable, and expeditious . More than pressure from judges or veterans, that is what will get the 3M earplug lawsuits settled. Specifically, we would like your opinion on. There is also reason to be pessimistic. Your attorney should be in regular contact with you. It did not begin well. 3M is most likely going to lose this appeal, and the sooner that happens, the sooner meaningful progress on a global settlement can occur. So hiring another lawyer is unlikely to speed up the path to a 3M earplug settlement. The biggest roadblock to a mass settlement with 3M at this point is the raw number of plaintiffs (290,779 before the recent dismissals). She also ordered the parties to resume the settlement mediation. Data day is often as it is in this case facilitated by a third-party vendor who can assist with managing the data and facilitating the review process. The bankruptcy ruling prevented 3M from implementing its controversial plan to force the earplug MDL cases into a bankruptcy proceeding. Our lawyers looked at the applicable law and believed the plaintiffs would defeat this argument. But he implied that the mediation was aimed at resolving the bankruptcy proceeding, rather than an effort to negotiate a global settlement in the MDL. April 13, 2022 Update: A majority of the nearly 300,000 plaintiffs with 3M earplug lawsuits in the MDL have their cases resting on the administrative docket, which means they can avoid the $402 filing fee until their case is activated. The response broke no new ground. Blog Home. 3M hid design flaws and doctored test results, while also failing to provide proper instructions on how . 3M will now be able to present certain arguments in the Aearo bankruptcy without the risk of being held in contempt of court by Judge Rodgers. After a 2-week trial before Judge Mark Walker, the jury came back with a verdict Monday afternoon. August 25, 2022 Update: As of 9:07 a.m. no ruling from Judge Graham. "How do I qualify for a 3M earplug lawsuit?" Progress toward an earplug settlement is probably likely. A 2016 lawsuit filed by a whistleblower alleged that 3M had violated the False Claims Act by selling to the Defense Logistics Agency earplugs with a known design defect that, in the Department of Justice's words, "hampered the effectiveness" of the device. And for the vast majority of plaintiffs, filing a claim requires minimal effort. Decisions on both requests are pending. Sloan filed a motion asking for prejudgment interest on the $15 million in compensatory damages. Too many lawyers have filed 3M earplug lawsuits without making sure their clients have a viable claim. 3M Earplug Lawsuit in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana Experienced. A previous motion was filed in August which also sought to block 3Ms bankruptcy strategy, but the MDL denied that motion because it was essentially premature. Rhodes labeled the decision as wrong and noted that 3Ms appeal has been sent directly to the 7th Circuit. Two more test trials are set for January 2022. How Much Do You Pay A Lawyer For A 3M Lawsuit? It might involve settlements for the lawsuit inventory of specific law firms, as opposed to a global settlement for all plaintiffs. There will soon be 300,000 lawsuits filed. (Anthony Souffle, Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS). 3M is convinced that not all of these plaintiffs have valid claims. But this is the depressing part of the judges order: Hopefully as the MDL, the bankruptcy, and the various appeals proceed, all of which undoubtedly will take years to run their course, the intransigence on both sides will give way to a genuine commitment to negotiate reasonably and meaningful compromises on both sides so that a just and mutually acceptable resolution of these matters may be achieved.. The company admitted, however, that the earplugs were defective and did nothing to protect soldiers from significant hearing loss, subjecting them to the risk of deafness. It is scheduled for 2 weeks. Posted on July 15, 2021 in Class Actions, Consumer Law . December 15, 2022 Update: Reuters does a nice job summarizing 3Ms bankruptcy appeal. }} This will box 3M in a corner. $110 million. Day 12 of the trial marked the close of 3Ms defense case. Rodgers dismissed 3Ms claim that bogus plaintiffs are not being vetted, pointing out that 80,000 claimants have already been dismissed. Like Bayer in the Roundup lawsuits, 3Ms biggest mistake that led to this debacle was buying a company without doing enough due diligence as to the potential litigation liabilities. In nine bellwether trials, the plaintiffs have won 5 times and 3M has won 4 times. They would not argue that. However, the most recent summary judgment motion has a much better chance of success. The next trial in group D will follow immediately after in Pensacola on Monday, March 28, 2022, with the case of Denise Kelley. In Luke Vilsmeyers trial, the jury awarded $50 million yesterday. August 4, 2022 Update: The 3M Earplugs MDL Judge (Casey Rodgers) issued an Order stopping the process of transferring pending cases from the inactive to the active docket. This is called an MDL, which is like a class action lawsuit for pre-trial discovery purposes. February 23, 2023 Update: Judge Rodgers held the 3M earplug data day as planned this morning, which featured comments from the bench and a 90-minute presentation from the third-party claims administrator. by Roy D. Oppenheim. July 25, 2022 Update: In the 10 days following the settlement mediation that was ordered by MDL Judge Casey Rodgers, the plaintiffs lawyers have filed several motions pushing wave cases forward. Palanki claimed that he suffered hearing damage while using 3Ms combat arms earplugs while on active duty with the Army at a base in Texas. This [Aearo] filing is yet another illustration of the bad faith exhibited by 3M, they said. November 1, 2022 Update: The judge in the 3M earplugs MDL is expected to rule very soon on the pivotal issue of whether 3M can be held solely and independently liable for the earplugs developed by its subsidiary Aero (which is filing bankruptcy). The doctrine bars service members and civilian government employees from bringing claims against the U.S. government for injuries that arose out of or were sustained while engaged in activity incident to service.. Here is the money quote, quoting University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias: $466 million is a lot of money to spend on lawyers and defense costs, not to mention the reputation harm theyre doing to themselves with all these trial losses.. (Tribune News Service) A 3M subsidiary claims that U.S. Defense Department records show that over 175,00 military members who allege the Maplewood-based companys earplugs were defective have normal hearing under key medical standards. November 17, 2022 Update: The judge in the bankruptcy filed by 3M subsidiary Aero Technologies has ruled that 3Ms law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, can continue to represent Aero in the bankruptcy. The plaintiff, James Beal, took the stand on the morning of Day 4. In the meantime, however, the MDL judge has issued a general stay of all events and deadlines in the MDL. That is, unfortunately, not how typical mass tort settlements work. Incredibly, the $50 million was all compensatory damages (there are no punitive damages available under Indiana law). 3M lawyers had a great deal to work with in cross-examining him. The battleground is the government contractor defense our earplug lawyers talked about from Day 1 of this litigation. Im sorry for all the rhetorical questions. These 3M trials will have to be consolidated into groups of 50 soldiers to try at one time. January 6, 2023 Update: This litigation is in limbo. This did not get Wall Streets attention until recently. A Tallahassee jury awarded the plaintiff $13.1 million in damages. A federal jury awarded $110 million to two U.S. Army veterans who said 3M earplugs caused them to suffer hearing damage. Our lawyers believe there could be a global settlement in 2023. A reasonable time frame to expect a result is about 6 months or more. Last week provided 3M earplug lawsuit verdicts in the 6th and 7th bellwether test trials in the ongoing 3M earplugs litigation, the largest consolidated mass tort in U.S. history. 3Ms Chief Legal Affairs Officer, Kevin Rhodes, claimed that the recent decision by the Bankruptcy Court rejecting 3Ms strategy was wrong and is being appealed directly to the Seventh Circuit. Even soldier plaintiffs Ive talked to believe a percentage of the soldiers that applied administratively for the 3M lawsuit do not have legitimate claims. (3:19-cv-2324). The average amount of compensatory damages awarded to the 6 successful plaintiffs is $1,216,322, but this average is skewed by the Atkins case in which all $8.2 million in damages were compensatory. February 20, 2023 Update: New 3M earplug cases continue to get filed in large numbers. But there is more reason for hope than after Judge Rodgers order on Wednesday. But there are no guarantees. If you have a potential 3m earplug lawsuit, you may be pushing up against the deadline to sue. Lets go back to the individual settlement value of these cases because all victims have a keen interest in claim value. The remainder of the day was spent on 3Ms final expert witness, Dr. James Crawford. He testified for nearly 8 hours. In her 22-page opinion, Judge Rogers explains how 3M actively litigated the earplug cases for 4 years during which it held itself out as the sole responsible party and never asserted that Aearo was the responsible party: Scorched earth battle was waged against every theory of liability alleged in this litigation. This is a huge deal because it means that the pending appeal in the Aearo bankruptcy is basically meaningless. "@type": "FAQPage", That being said, there have been seven successful verdicts that have awarded plaintiffs compensation for suffering injuries like hearing loss and tinnitus due to 3M's negligent manufacturing and . Recently, however, a group of earplug plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to partially lift that stay with respect to all cases alleging injuries occurring after 3M acquired Aearo in 2008. They quite literally worked as hard as if not harder than the doctors to save our lives. The hearing will pay particular focus on the details of 3Ms agreement to assume Aearos liabilities as part of the deal. Is the 3M earplug lawsuit worth it? ", The fact that 3M is trying to involve the bankruptcy judge in the mediation suggests that they have no genuine interest in negotiating a settlement right now. If we track wins and losses by individual plaintiffs, we get a more accurate picture of where things stand. Published By Miller & Zois, Attorneys at Law, 3M Faces Billions in Liabilities Over $7.63 Earplugs, consolidated in the Northern District of Florida, You served in the military between 2003 to 2015, You wore military-issued earplugs during service, You were exposed to loud sounds during military service, You have been diagnosed with hearing loss/tinnitus. "acceptedAnswer": { Yet, there was nary a whisper that Aearo, and not 3M, was the only proper target, or even a target. This makes 3M liable for conduct both before and after 2008. (For context, this $33 billion also includes the PFAS lawsuits.) The $110 million verdict against 3M in the Sloan/Wayman bellwether trial is starting to draw the attention of people 3M cares about Wall Street analysts and investors. This victory for 3M follows its biggest loss in the earplug bellwether trials. Last week, the MDL judge granted a motion filed by Beal which effectively blocks 3Ms defense team from presenting their contributory negligence and other affirmative defenses at trial. No matter what, the company refused to admit any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. January 7, 2023 Update: 3M reports spending $450 million in attorneys fees defending the 3M earplug lawsuit. The judge granted the motion to stay as to a portion of the injunction but denied 3Ms effort to stay the injunction entirety. May 11, 2022: Over 20,000 3M earplug lawsuits were dismissed from the 3M earplug class action lawsuit this week after the plaintiffs failed to file the necessary paperwork required to keep their case active. On Friday, 3M Earplugs MDL Judge Casey Rodgers issued an Order requiring the parties to participate in settlement mediation. The size of the punitive damage award, in this case, exposes the potential vulnerability of 3M in these cases. But it cant muster the energy even to pretend. What to know about the 3M Earplug lawsuit Claimant awarded $50 million by 3M for suffering hearing damage after using combat earplugs More than 280,000 former and current army veterans suffered from hearing loss and severe tinnitus. Settlement is still an uphill slog. Oh, and 3M stock is down 10% on the news, its worst day in three years. 3M also presented the jury with video deposition testimony clips from a handful of fact witnesses, including Heather Beal, the plaintiffs wife. Yesterday, however, Judge Graham pushed the hearing date back to April. Not mentioned: it has little chance of success. Judge Rodgers stated that a perfectly solvent defendant such as 3M should not be entitled to bankruptcy protection simply because the MDL is not going the way it wants. Dr. Packer told the jury that Sloan and Wayman suffered hearing damage during their time in the Army as a direct result of defects in the 3M Combat Arms earplugs. Can you see why 3M wanted to hide from juries in bankruptcy court? Retired judge Mark Falk and veteran settlement negotiator Ellen Reisman will assist Ms. Ellis. That decision will significantly impact the course of the litigation moving forward and could potentially render the appeal in 3Ms controversial bankruptcy gambit essentially moot. These veterans can now sue 3M and demand financial compensation. But he noted that a conflict could arise in the future and that K&E was navigating a minefield.. That bankruptcy was admittedly different in some ways. For its part, 3M says it is committed to the settlement process in bankruptcy court. The next bellwether trial begins today in the case of Denise Kelley. The 3M earplug claim is a class-action lawsuit in which more than 300,000 of veterans are suing 3M for defective earplugs. Over the past two years, military plaintiffs won 10 of 16 earplug bellwether . Aearo claims that under AMA criteria, almost 90% of plaintiffs have no hearing impairment; under WHO standards, more than 85% of plaintiffs have normal hearing. All Rights Reserved. March 27, 2022 Update: In a historical weekend in the 3M earplug litigation, the Wilkerson jury came back yesterday with an $8 million verdict. October 23, 2022 Update: 3M got some excellent news this week, albeit soft good news. February 4, 2023 Update: Plaintiffs lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the Aearo bankruptcy petition after an appellate court dismissed a similar bankruptcy involving Johnson & Johnson in the talc powder litigation. A 3-judge panel from the 7th Circuit found that an expedited appeal was appropriate because the decision will impact many people and establish a significant precedent. 3M needs to wake up and offer reasonable settlement amounts to these soldiers. The MDL judge yesterday ordered over 20,000 lawsuits parked on the administrative docket transferred to the active docket within 60 days. Keeping score by Rounds is somewhat misleading, however, because Round 1 included the consolidated trial of 3 plaintiffs. ST. PAUL, Minn., March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs show that the vast majority of claimants in Combat Arms earplug litigation have normal hearing under medically accepted standards. Justice triumphs (this time). The summary judgment motion is aimed at preemptively blocking any continuing hope 3M may have of forcing the MDL lawsuits to be resolved in bankruptcy.