All Military Combat Arms Earplug cases against 3M remain stayed until the Court of Eleventh Appeals Circuit rules on an appeal made by Defendant 3M. Our clients will be the very first to know when the stay is lifted and when the parties are able to proceed with litigating these cases. Settlement talks are ongoing—however, no cases have been settled at this time.
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We will continue to keep you updated about the Military Combat Arms Earplug cases against 3M. Be sure to follow us on social @MostynLaw, or subscribe to our law firm newsletter, The Mostyn Monitor, to get updates delivered right to your inbox. As always, feel free to contact your case manager at 713-714-0000 or 800-400-4000 for specific questions about your case.
What are the 3M Earplug Lawsuits?
The Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2) were designed for military use and used extensively by millions of servicemen and servicewomen. Unfortunately, many who were serving in the U.S. and abroad may have encountered damaging sound levels after receiving defective and dangerous earplugs. The catastrophe has caused hearing damage and tinnitus for more than 250,000 veterans who served from 2003 to 2015.
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As a result, many now await the latest 3M earplug lawsuit updates. The bellwether trials represent a test round of litigation where preliminary cases were made against 3M. The verdicts of the trials will set the tone for the remaining hundreds of thousands of cases pending trial.
Mostyn Law is at the forefront of the 3M earplug lawsuit, with boots on the ground in front of the multidistrict litigation court in Pensacola and a dedicated team of Houston lawyers and paralegals working diligently on your 3M cases. We are active on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, and Attorney Mike Burns was hand-picked by the Court to act as the Plaintiffs’ Co-Liaison Council.
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Check out what’s happening in these cases below. For more frequent 3M earplug lawsuit updates, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media @MostynLaw.
The harmful effects of defective earplugs
3M’s defective earplugs failed at protecting soldiers from the most damaging sounds of military combat, including gunfire, machinery, and aircraft. ​Due to the design flaw, thousands of veterans have suffered during training and combat. For many, it impedes their ability to work and live a healthy life, and while some receive treatment, many suffer in silence. Dangerous sound levels can have permanent effects, including the following ailments.
Hearing damage (partial or total loss)
Have you noticed the signs of hearing loss? You could be experiencing difficulty understanding when people talk, hear muffled sounds, withdraw from the conversation, or ask people to speak up.
Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
Tinnitus is also known as a ringing in the ears, and it can grow louder with time. To cope, many people listen to white noise when sleeping, and some even listen to it constantly.
Sleep deprivation
Hearing loss can lead to sleep deprivation and vice versa. When you lose sleep, your brain works harder to process sound, and hearing loss can directly cause the inability to get restful sleep.
Concentration/ Irritability
With several types of hearing damage comes mental and emotional duress that can impede your daily life. You may notice that you become slightly more irritable and struggle to stay focused on tasks.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Hearing damage is linked to worsening PTSD, a condition that veterans all too often face. Tinnitus or deafness can make it even more difficult to manage the condition, and the symptoms may trigger traumatic experiences.
3M Earplug Lawsuit Update FAQs
3M Earplug Lawsuit Updates
3m agrees to pay $6 billion in United States Military historic earplug lawsuit settlement
August 2023
August 29, 2023, a global settlement agreement was signed with 3M to settle all pending 3M Combat Arms Earplug claims and lawsuits. The judge overseeing the 3M Combat Arms Earplug MDL ordered the negotiating attorneys to keep the settlement and all settlement negotiations completely confidential, so we are just learning the details of the settlement. We are currently reviewing and processing the lengthy settlement agreement and will have many more details to provide to you very soon regarding this historic settlement and what it means for your 3M earplug claim. Please stay tuned.
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To be considered for this settlement, you MUST have sent us proof of service and proof of your tinnitus or hearing loss. If you have not done so, you must do this immediately, or you cannot be part of this historic settlement.
Judge denies bankruptcy protection for 3M subsidiary, and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals hears 3M arguments
June 2023
Early in June, Reuters reports Judge Jeffrey Graham of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis dismissed the Chapter 11 case of 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies, siding with plaintiffs' lawyers who argued that 3M doesn’t face the necessary level of financial distress required to qualify for court protection.
While this is great news for our clients, all cases are still on hold because of an appeal filed by 3M on one of Judge Rodgers' orders on successor liability. However, Judge Rodgers informed the parties that she will move forward with ruling on various other motions currently pending before her so that the cases will be ready to move forward as soon as the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals rules on the appeal. In the interim, the Court strongly encouraged the parties to continue negotiations.
On June 27, Bloomberg Law reports that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals started the process of hearing verbal arguments about the bankruptcy sanctions related to Aearo, which 3M claimed were improper.
That same month, The New York Times reports that 3M reached a separate $10.3 billion settlement with U.S. cities and towns nationwide in response to approximately 4,000 lawsuits that claim the chemical manufacturing leader contaminated drinking water with perfluoroalkyl/polyfluoroalkyl, known as ‘forever chemicals.’
Settlement Talks Resume and 3M Faces Florida PFAS Damage Claims
May 2023
Pause on 3M negotiations officially ended on May 1. Bloomberg Law reports that the 11th Circuit’s U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from both plaintiffs and 3M, hoping to challenge verdicts totaling $8.2 million in damages against the earplug company. The following day, Judge M. Casey Rodgers issued a mediation order for both parties to resume mediation sessions for settlement talks and negotiations in good faith. Further, Reuters reports that Florida Judge Rodgers has specified in his ruling that 3M CEO Michael Roman must attend mediation talks to accelerate the massive litigation, featuring 260,000 active lawsuits against the earplug company.
3M stated earlier this year that it would stop producing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by the end of 2025. However, Bloomberg Law reports that 3M will remain on trial for damage claims originating from Stuart, Florida, where the company’s PFAS-based specialized firefighting foam contaminated the Florida city’s waterways. As the city seeks more than $100 million in damages for cleaning its water system, the jury will determine if remedial damages will be added to the charges.
3M has spent $4.7 million per week in 3M earplug lawsuit
January 2023
Bloomberg reports that 3M has spent “more than $450 million in legal costs,” or $4.7 million weekly. However, Bloomberg’s analysis does not include $366 million in unpaid damages that courts have already ordered 3M to pay, including damages still outstanding and those that are still pending appeal.
Judge holds 3M liable for faulty earplug
December 2022
An MDL judge blocked 3M from shifting liability to the company it acquired, Aearo, which was now bankrupt. Reuters reported that multidistrict litigation (MDL) Judge Rodgers saw 3M’s move as an attempt to “rewrite the history of the CAEv2” earplugs and said the company deserves the “harshest penalty.”
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As a result, 3M remains liable for knowingly providing defective earplugs to military personnel, a decision that the company has now appealed. The court has expedited that appeal, and all lawsuits are temporarily halted until the court resolves 3M's request for review in the coming months.
3M stock fell 54% since 2018
October 2022
MarketWatch reports that 3M stock fell to its lowest point since 2018 and was “trading roughly 33% lower” than one year before. However, Bloomberg reports that 3M gained permission from the Eleventh Circuit Court to “resume arguing certain combat earplug issues,” including mentioning their subsidiary’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, without the judge holding them in contempt.
3M forced into a settlement mediation
September 2022
Bloomberg reports that 3M was forced into settlement mediation by Judge Rodgers after he rejected the company's bankruptcy litigation strategy, which he said was an attempt to “undermine the biggest multidistrict litigation (MDL) in US history.” 3M reached no global settlement in the mediations that would proceed, and the settlement talks continued in the months ahead.
Judge denies 3M from obtaining bankruptcy protection
August 2022
Wall Street Journal reports that Judge Graham denied “3M’s bankruptcy shield,” meaning that the company could not forgo settlements through automatic bankruptcy as its subsidiary company Aearo had done. Aearo continued its bankruptcy restructuring process and 3M’s defective earplug lawsuit trials commenced.
3M argues its bankruptcy strategy in court
July 2022
ALM reports that Judge Rodgers told 3M “to pay all the expenses” in response to the company’s bankruptcy strategy. 3M claimed that the court was not vetting the cases of plaintiffs, which was easily disproved by the 80,000 cases that had already been dismissed.
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In the wake of the first mediation round, lawyers of the plaintiffs in the 3M earplug lawsuit pushed forward several cases for trial during 2023. Attorneys also filed an 84-page motion to limit 3M’s expert witness testimony and to preserve prior Daubert rulings by Judge Rodgers.
3M stands to owe billions over defective earplugs
June 2022
Wall Street Journal reported that 3M stood to owe “billions in liabilities over $7.63 earplugs.” The looming mediation gave massive visibility to an otherwise ignored litigation struggle, which also happens to be the most significant consolidated mass tort ever.
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Judge Rodgers ordered the settlement mediation conference, with Randi Ellis, a federally and state-appointed mediator overseeing the three-day negotiations. Ideally, the mediation would have saved the federal courts exponentially in costs, pushing the remaining 233,000 cases in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) back to their respective home districts in chunks of 500 lawsuits at once.
Final bellwether verdict is reached
April 2022
Overseen by Judge Robin Rosenberg, the army veteran James Beal was the last bellwether plaintiff to come out on top after two weeks of litigation, winning $77.5 million against 3M. Reuters reports that, after hearing the 16th and final bellwether verdict, 3M expressed that they were “disappointed.” Out of 16 bellwether verdicts, the company lost ten and won six. The average payout for the bellwether winners was $30 million.
3M loses a $2.2 million verdict
May 2022
Bloomberg Law reports that army veteran Jonathan Vaughn won $2.2 million in Florida after 3M’s legal defense proved “unconvincing and without merit.” But while Vaughn overcame in the courts, Reuters reports that 3M won its defense verdict against Denise Kelley, making one of six wins against the plaintiffs in a “massive multidistrict litigation.”
3M loses $58 million in one weekend
March 2022
3M lost two more bellwether verdicts, this time against winning plaintiffs Steve Wilkerson and Luke Vilsmeyer. Reuters reports that the verdict “was the second largest in the litigation” and “made up entirely of compensatory damages.” Wilkerson was awarded $8 million, while Vilsmeyer received $50 million, making for a combined $58 million over a single weekend.
3M loses $110 million verdict
February 2022
Bloomberg Law reports that 3M “plans to appeal” the $110 million Ronald Sloan/Williams Wayman verdict, the last case in the bellwether’s C group and the first bellwether trial of 2022. The final bellwether cases between 3M and a handful of plaintiffs are scheduled for the coming months.
3M scores mixed verdicts in trials six through nine
December 2021
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Bloomberg Law reports that bellwether trials six and seven took place with “trials split on liability.” For the 6th bellwether case, Joseph Palanki lost to 3M, making it the second victory for the earplug manufacturer. The following bellwether trial awarded plaintiff Guillermo Camarillorazo with $13.1 million in damages.
Reuters reports that 3M lost “the biggest verdict yet” in the eighth bellwether trial, where Joseph Finley received a $22.5 settlement in a victory against 3M. However, a week later, in the ninth bellwether case, The Star Tribune reports that 3M won against Carlos Montero “days after” the company took a “big loss.”
Fourth and fifth bellwether trials ended with mixed results
October 2021
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The company lost an $8.2 million verdict in the fourth bellwether trial, Reuters reports, after litigation that primarily focused on the plaintiff’s tinnitus. Reuters also reports that 3M was “cleared of fault” after a victory against the plaintiff in the following fifth bellwether trial.
3M loses third bellwether trial
June 2021
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Reuters reports that 3M lost the third bellwether trial in a “huge mass tort” against the company. The verdict called for a $1.7 million settlement awarded to the plaintiff, with the judge ruling that 3M failed to issue “adequate safety warnings” with the faulty earplugs.
3M wins second bellwether trial
April 2021
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ALM reports that a $7.1 million verdict was reached for three plaintiffs in the first bellwether trial, with 3M held “100% at fault.” The settlement includes $2.1 million in punitive damages for each of the plaintiffs’ cases.
Full 3M Earplug Lawsuit Update Timeline
2000: Aearo started manufacturing defective earplugs
Aearo Technologies, Inc was likely aware of the earplug defects as early as 2000, many years before 3M became the exclusive provider of selective attenuation earplugs to the military. The United States alleged that 3M and Aearo knew the Combat Arms™ Earplugs Version 2 model was too short for proper insertion into soldiers’ ears and could loosen imperceptibly, potentially resulting in permanent hearing damage for the user.
2008: 3M acquires Aearo Technologies
The earplug design defect, which prevented the earplug from staying put inside the ears of soldiers, was known to 3M, but the company did not disclose it to the Department of Defense. 3M may have manipulated test results to make it appear that the earplugs met government standards.
2018: The US holds 3M liable for selling defective earplugs
In July 2018, the United States Department of Justice announced that 3M had agreed to pay $9.1 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly sold the Dual-Ended Combat Arms™ Earplugs, Version 2 to the U.S. military without disclosing defects that hampered the effectiveness of the hearing protection device.
2021: 3M bellwether trials start
On May 21, the first bellwether trial kicked off, and the courts began to hear arguments from both plaintiffs and the 3M company. The term “bellwether” describes a beginning phase in which the multidistrict litigation court tries a select handful of cases. After determining the bellwether cases, the court will decide how to address the 100,000 remaining 3M verdicts.
Mostyn Law is Leading the Way
Our firm sets itself apart from other law firms and hundreds of attorneys participating or seeking to participate in the 3M lawsuits because we have exclusive access to the trials. As one of the only firms chosen for the Liaison Council, Mostyn is paving the way for 3M plaintiffs to achieve a just outcome.
Did you serve in the military between 2003-2015? If you have hearing loss, you may be entitled to compensation for your injury.
