Aearo, in a filing this week, said an analysis of Defense Department audiometric data shows the vast majority of earplug plaintiffs did not suffer hearing loss under the standards of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The trial resumed on Tuesday. K&E has been the primary defense firm in the earplug MDL, which prompted lawyers for the MDL plaintiffs to argue that K&E could not simultaneously represent Aero in its bankruptcy because it presented a conflict of interest. U.S. service members are often exposed to loud noises from aircraft, artillery, guns, and explosives. The response broke no new ground. December 1, 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. That is $58 million in 3M verdicts this weekend. 3M is most likely going to lose this appeal, and the sooner that happens, the sooner meaningful progress on a global settlement can occur. This is the second time the earplug plaintiffs have asked the MDL Judge for a ruling that would preempt 3Ms bankruptcy strategy. Friday morning (January 14, 2022) was Day 5. 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. Both trials are scheduled to last two weeks and then more 3M earplug lawsuits are set to go to trial in April and May. Judge Rodgers correctly pointed out that Wilkersons bankruptcy was a Chp. So what exactly will this mean for 3M earplug plaintiffs? }} September 20, 2022 Update: The settlement news yesterday was good. October 4, 2022 Update: Judge Rodgers pushed back the David George trial set for October 24, 2022, to February 13, 2023, in an order signed yesterday. Initially, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Graham was going to hear arguments on the motion this week. This prompted lawyers for the MDL plaintiffs to argue that K&E could not simultaneously represent Aearo in its bankruptcy because it presented a conflict of interest. But lets be real: if the answers were helpful to 3M, they would have gleefully trotted that information out today. What does this mean? 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. So the U.S Trustee, the DOJs bankruptcy watchdog, was forced to intervene. Plaintiff James Beal, an Army veteran, began his 3M earplug trial against 3M yesterday in Pensacola, Florida, the epicenter of this litigation so far. This latest admonishment came after 3Ms lawyers sought to defy long-standing procedural rules regarding deposition designations. January 8, 2023 Update: Bloomberg reports 3M has spent over $450 million in defense costs in the earplug litigation. Conversely, if this appeal fails as I strongly suspect that it will, 3Ms quiver is empty and settlements become that much harder. But if I was and I heard this presentation predicated on this delusional nonsense, I would short 3M stock like crazy. See October 11, 2022 update below. This is a huge deal because it means that the pending appeal in the Aearo bankruptcy is basically meaningless. February 23, 2023 Update: The 3M data day presentation took place this morning as scheduled. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Blog Home. This is the second bellwether trial that resulted in punitive damages. March 24, 2022 Update: In the Vilsmeyer trial in Pensacola, the Defendants expert, Dr. Stan Phillips, testified that the cumulative trauma of the plaintiffs shoulder and neck injuries somehow contributed to his tinnitus. 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. Our lawyers and many soldiers we have talked to agree with 3M on this point. At some point, someone will notice that the most significant mass tort in American history is averaging millions per verdict while 3Ms stock price trudges along.). 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). Rhodes labeled the decision as wrong and noted that 3Ms appeal has been sent directly to the 7th Circuit. More delay unless there is a settlement. Sloan filed a motion asking for prejudgment interest on the $15 million in compensatory damages. K&E has been the primary defense firm in the earplug MDL. Time will tell. August 25, 2022 Update: Today, Judge Rodgers ruled on a 3M Emergency Motion for a Stay Pending Appeal. I dont think 3M wants to try another case and would like to find a way to settle these claims. There is often turmoil on losing teams. Im not sure that many understand the successor liability issue and how it may impede 3Ms efforts to hide behind bankruptcy laws to shield itself from liability no matter how the 7th Circuit rules. We summarize where we today in this litigation overview of the 3M litigation. Severe hearing damage lawsuits will be valued higher than tinnitus-only lawsuits. The 3M earplugs MDL is the biggest consolidated mass tort in history, but until now it has been off the radar. This is the first step in the hopes of a favorable global military hearing protection settlement with 3M that would give most victims a reasonable amount of money without ever having to go to court. The more I think about this bankruptcy, the more I think it is going to backfire on 3M. 3M Earplug Lawsuit Surpasses Asbestos As One of The Largest Multi-District Litigation Cases in History. May 18, 2022: On Day 7 of the trial, 3Ms defense team presented testimony from Eric Fallon and Dr. James Crawford. We think this was the wrong call. In her memorandum order, Judge Rodgers explained that Wilkerson was entitled to summary judgment on four out of the five affirmative defenses. October 3, 2022 Update: 3M spokesman Sean Lynch: 3M hopes that the parties and their attorneys will come together to negotiate a prompt resolution to this matter so that those veterans with eligible claims can be compensated sooner.. Is that a lot of money? 3Ms appeal will either go to the U.S. District Court for Indiana or the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. 3M has been saying all along that these claims should be resolved in bankruptcy court. The fear is how long it will take for it to pay that price. October 23, 2022 Update: 3M got some excellent news this week, albeit soft good news. More than pressure from judges or veterans, that is what will get the 3M earplug lawsuits settled. October 11, 2022 Update: The plaintiffs in the 3M earplugs MDL filed a motion seeking summary judgment on the issue of whether 3M is fully and independently liable for all injuries related to the earplugs. They were sold to the military for $7.63. In 2018, 3M settled the whistleblower lawsuit for $9.1 million. Under the approach favored by the plaintiffs, a much smaller percentage of plaintiffs would be excluded. So they didnt buy Aearo planning to one day flip it into bankruptcy. The transcript passed on to us by a veteran represented by another law firm is depressing. 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. Because if it loses and the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to take the case, 3M will have fired the last arrow in its quiver. This is encouraging news. Our lawyers are handling these cases. Both Fallon and Crawford also spent over 20 years in the Army. 866.434.0014 SNEED|MITCHELL THE INJURY TEAM LOCATIONS START MY CASE IN THE NEWS THE INJURY TEAM TEXAS TO NATIONAL PERSONAL INJURY ASSISTANCE Something Isn't Working Refresh the page to try again. (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. July 16, 2022 Update: Should you be optimistic or pessimistic going into the settlement talks heading into Day 2 today? October 2021: More Good News/Bad News for 3M. Why? The jury awarded total damages of $13,062,320 to Camarillorazo. Aearo also is named as a defendant in the earplug suits against 3M. Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets It is. The settlement payouts will likely be less. Personal Injury Leaders start your consultation NO FEE UNTIL WE WIN! There have now been 7 rounds of bellwether trials involving 9 plaintiffs in the 3M earplugs litigation. One big issue no one can answer: how many truly viable 3M lawsuits are there? All Rights Reserved. Judge Rodgers ruled that 3M government contractor defense, which protects some defendants from liability when building products to the governments specifications, does not apply in this case. October 14, 2022 Update: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to an expedited review of 3Ms appeal seeking to reverse the bankruptcy court decision in Indiana. Sloan was then cross-examined by 3Ms lawyers for about 90 minutes. 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. "@context": "https://schema.org", He spoke to the jury about the hearing injuries suffered. has not baked the cost of a 3M earplug settlement into 3Ms stock price. We need to prove the basic elements of the claim and being in the military is one of those basic elements. But didnt that already happen this weekend? Those deliberations have now extended into the afternoon. So failing to list the 3M lawsuit as an asset made zero difference. 3M has already set aside $1.2 billion to fund the proposed bankruptcy trust for the settlement of the earplug claims. "@type": "Question", 3Ms ostrich approach will cost them. Dr. Crawford is an ENT doctor specializing in hearing protection. That is, unfortunately, not how typical mass tort settlements work. 3M had an exclusive contract with the U.S. military via the U.S. Department of Defense. Rodgers dismissed 3Ms claim that bogus plaintiffs are not being vetted, pointing out that 80,000 claimants have already been dismissed. Day 6 of the trial featured a series of short video deposition clips and testimony from the plaintiffs wife, Heather Beal, and several other fact witnesses, including friends or family members of Mr. Beal. If you miss the statute of limitations, you will not be able to get a settlement for the harm that has been done to you. Now is the moment for 3M to step up and offer veterans reasonable 3M earplug settlement amounts. This case lays out a three-part test that provides a claim is pre-empted if: 3Ms preemption arguments failed. How do you efficiently sort out 300,000 claims to figure it out? The appeal challenges the bankruptcy court decision in Indiana, which derailed 3Ms effort to force the earplug cases into bankruptcy court. 3Ms are going through the roof. Ultimately, the earplug plaintiffs will get a global settlement one way or the other. I want to predict a big verdict in Kelly as the death knell for 3M. "@type": "Question", Berger, as every reader of these updates knows, is a former 3M audiology scientist and head of the 3M Personal Safety Division. The questions we got most are. Nearly one-quarter of plaintiffs whose hearing is impaired under AMA or WHO standards had those conditions before using 3M earplugs, the company added. If you have thoughts about the 3m earplug lawsuit, let us know in the comments below. At 3:00 the jury submitted a question to the judge. There will soon be 300,000 lawsuits filed. "@type": "Question", 3M has not declared bankruptcy but it will try to piggyback on the Aearo bankruptcy to stop the litigation from moving forward, hoping to resolve the outstanding claims in bankruptcy court instead of having to face juries that believe their conduct was reprehensible. I think this will happen, but this prediction would defy history. When will the 3M earplug lawsuit settle? January 20, 2023 Update: On Wednesday, the Judge in the 3M earplugs MDL canceled the court-sponsored earplug settlement mediation that had continued intermittently for the last year and a half. Palanki was a 50-year-old Tennessee resident and veteran of both the U.S. Army and National Guard. This was comparable to the compensatory damage awards in prior bellwether cases. How much money veterans will ultimately be getting will depend on the severity of the hearing loss. Judge Rodgers is helping their efforts. The motion sought a stay on the enforcement of the Courts recently entered All Writs Act injunction, the ruling that 3M may not ask other courts to reconsider Judge Rodgers rulings in the 3M earplug class action lawsuit. Our lawyers are handling 3M earplug lawsuits in all 50 states. If we track wins and losses by individual plaintiffs, we get a more accurate picture of where things stand. March 30, 2022 Update: Day 2 of the Denise Kelley trial featured 7 hours of testimony from Elliott Berger. Does that mean the cases that deserve higher settlement compensation will get less? Settling these cases is sure to be complex. It would be nice to close out Trial #16 with a win. 3M will try to convince the bankruptcy court in Indiana that the automatic stay triggered by Aearos bankruptcy should be extended to protect 3M as well, but this remains unresolved. A federal judge has declared 3M earplug lawsuit settlement efforts to be at an impasse after the manufacturer pulled out of negotiations to resolve hundreds of thousands of hearing loss claims. by Roy D. Oppenheim. The speculated cause is that news leaked that earplug litigation settlement talks were going poorly. But a mass tort of this size has never had to face the logistical challenges that come with this many victims. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. This ruling theoretically renders the Aearo bankruptcy appeal to the 3rd Circuit moot, as the MDL plaintiffs are now free to go after 3M separately. The 6 plaintiffs who won their cases have been awarded damages totaling $29,429,925. August 1, 2022 Update: Only Aearo Technologies (3Ms subsidiary) is protected by the automatic bankruptcy stay right now. 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. The WSJ article could prove to be a turning point in the litigation because it is the first time the 3M earplug lawsuits have received top-level attention from a major media outlet. Beals testimony was followed in the afternoon by the plaintiffs expert Dr. Christopher Spankovich, a clinical audiologist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. "name": "What Have We Learned from the 3M Lawsuits That Have Gone to Trial? The judge found that Aearos bankruptcy restructuring could proceed along with the continuation of the 3M earplug lawsuits. Day 7-9 has been a parade of experts and fact witnesses for the plaintiff. August 29, 2022: This Fortune article has a quote that is on point: Like most things that sound too good to be true, [the bankruptcy option] was. 3M now has to offer reasonable settlement amounts to veterans or face scores of jury trials in 2023 that could put the company on the path to real bankruptcy. There are no guarantees of success. The next bellwether trial begins today in the case of Denise Kelley. We will review your claim and advise you on your best legal options.
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