Judge Rodgers
PENSACOLA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) - Plaintiff lawyers tout litigation against 3M over its Combat Arms 2 military earplugs as “the biggest MDL class action in American history,” with a “mind-blowing” 230,000 claimants.
The reality is less dramatic. So far, 3M has been served with several thousand lawsuits on behalf of around 13,000 plaintiffs, nearly all of them concentrated in multidistrict proceedings before U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers in Pensacola. Judge Rogers created an “administrative docket” so her court could obtain the military records of potential claimants.
The administrative docket is little more than a list of names of military veterans, however, useful as a bargaining chip in settlement negotiations but devoid of details such as where the veterans served, whether they’ve been diagnosed with hearing loss and whether they ever actually used 3M’s products.
Jury Awards Veteran With Hearing Loss $1.7 Million in Third Bellwether Trial
A Florida jury’s $1.7 million judgment in favor of the plaintiff on June 18, 2021, handed The 3M Company its second defeat in bellwether trials over hearing loss alleged to have resulted from the company’s earplugs.
That’s more bad news for 3M, which won the second bellwether trial, according to
Bloomberg Industry Group, but was on the losing side of a $7.1 million verdict in the first trial, the
However, it’s good news for the 240,000 plaintiffs current and former U.S. service members who suffered hearing loss and tinnitus whose 3M earplug lawsuits are still in progress. The case has now become the largest mass tort matter in the United States.
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