3M CEO Required to Participate in Earplug Lawsuit Mediation (Claims Pages Staff)

3M CEO Required to Participate in Earplug Lawsuit Mediation

  Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 Source: Claims Pages Staff

In an unprecedented decision, a federal judge has mandated that 3M CEO Mike Roman personally participate in mediation sessions aimed at resolving the longstanding legal battle concerning the alleged defects in the company’s military earplugs.

3M, a multinational conglomerate, is currently facing over 200,000 lawsuits in the U.S. District Court in northern Florida, making it one of the largest mass tort cases in the country. Presiding over these lawsuits, Judge Casey Rodgers has directed Roman to attend mediation sessions scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Pensacola, FL.

The lawsuits against 3M involve tens of thousands of former and current military members who claim that the company’s defective earplugs, which were once standard military issue, have caused hearing damage. These individual claims were consolidated into a "multi-district litigation" (MDL) case overseen by Judge Rodgers. MDL cases often include bellwether trials that set the tone for resolving all claims. In Florida, military plaintiffs won 10 out of 16 earplug bellwether trials, resulting in jury awards of nearly $300 million.

Despite these trial outcomes, a comprehensive global settlement of all the lawsuits has yet to be reached. In June, Judge Rodgers mandated formal mediation between 3M and the plaintiffs’ attorneys in an effort to find a resolution. However, the talks were terminated in January due to their failure.

In late April, the plaintiffs’ attorneys requested a resumption of mediation, arguing that a global settlement was also being sought by plaintiffs involved in a separate set of earplug claims in Minnesota. They believed that renewed mediation would benefit all parties involved.

3M, however, disagreed with the need for further mediation in Judge Rodgers’ court, asserting that "nothing has materially changed" since January. The company expressed its commitment to ongoing mediation but proposed conducting it in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy court mediation. Last summer, 3M filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for its subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, which halted litigation against the subsidiary. Aearo Technologies was responsible for the production of 3M’s earplugs and is also named as a defendant in the ongoing earplug lawsuits.

In an attempt to extend the litigation freeze to 3M itself, the company sought bankruptcy court protection. However, in December, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey Graham denied this request, dealing a significant blow to 3M’s legal strategy.

Following Aearo’s bankruptcy filing, 3M shifted its position, claiming it was not solely liable for the hearing damage suffered by military veterans who used its earplugs. This prompted Judge Rodgers to accuse the company of "bad faith manipulation."

3M faces the potential liability of billions of dollars in damages related to the earplug lawsuits in the federal district court.

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