Federal Judge Approves 3M Earplugs Single Track Litigation

Federal Judge Approves 3M Earplugs Single Track Litigation

Introduction

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers rejected the two-track litigation proposal, allowing all class action lawsuits and individual personal injury claims involving the 3M Earplugs to proceed on a single litigation track.

A motion was filed by class action lawyers for two-track litigation in May, arguing that a separate plaintiffs’ leadership structure was necessary considering the significant differences between the individual military earplugs lawsuits and class action cases.

According to an order issued on September 3, judge Rodgers stated the proposal to be premature at this time, however, did not rule out establishing a two-track proceeding in the future. The order further states that, "Once the first phase of discovery is complete, the Court will entertain dispositive motions on the federal defenses, if any. If the litigation survives summary judgment on the federal defenses, it may then become appropriate to consider establishing a separate class action track. At this stage, however, the interests of the individual and putative class claimants are the same."

All 3M Earplugs injury lawsuits are filed under MDL No. 2885 (In Re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation) in the Northern District of Florida against Minnesota-based 3M.

According to a court report dated June 19, there are nearly 1,000 product liability lawsuits filed over hearing loss from 3M earplugs.

The complaints raise similar allegations, claiming that 3M company knew that the U.S. military dual-ended earplugs were defective and failed to provide adequate hearing protection. It was a standard military issue for all service members who served between 2003 and 2015. The lawsuits are expected to rise in numbers due to the increasing reports of hearing loss, tinnitus and other hearing damage following the usage of earplugs.

A “Science Day” has been scheduled for late August by the presiding judge, as part of the coordinated pretrial proceedings. Parties will make non-adversarial presentations to educate the court about the link between 3M earplugs and hearing loss on the science day. 3M reached a $9.1 million settlement with the Department of Justice, resolving claims that it defrauded the government by knowingly selling defective earplugs in July 2018.

U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers is presiding over all injury lawsuits filed under MDL No. 2885 (In Re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation) in the Northern District of Florida against Minnesota-based 3M.