According to Reuters,

“On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, 3M announced that it will seek to resolve the earplug claims in bankruptcy court.”

Aero Technologies, a subsidiary of 3M and the company that made the earplugs, filed a Petition for Relief under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Indiana. They are asking the Court to allow them to create a trust fund to settle the 230,000 earplug claims pending against them in the MDL. 3M has stated that the bankruptcy will enable them to settle the earplug lawsuits more efficiently, but we do not agree with this assertion and will be challenging the legality of the bankruptcy.

The Bankruptcy Court has agreed to a 3 week halt on all of the MDL litigation while things get sorted out and Judge Rodgers, who oversees the cases filed in the MDL, has already raised questions as to whether the bankruptcy was filed in good faith.

The problem with the bankruptcy, if approved, is that it will slow down the settlement process and the amounts of the settlement payouts will typically be less than if they were negotiated during litigation. Before filing the bankruptcy 3M was facing enormous pressure from the possibility of defending hundreds of trials next year.

If the bankruptcy moves forward, then that pressure will be relieved, and it will give 3M more leverage in the negotiations. 3M has agreed to set aside $1.2 billion to fund the proposed bankruptcy trust to settle the earplug claims, but $240 million of that is earmarked for the expenses or costs of the bankruptcy. 

This amount is an insult to the Plaintiffs in the 3M MDL as it would only net each of the 230,000 plaintiffs less than $5,000.

This will take considerable negotiation and will have to be approved by a 75% vote of all of the creditors before it is approved by the Court.

 

We will pass along more information as it becomes available. Please contact Murphy Law Firm if you are in need of a Personal Injury Attorney in Baton Rouge.

The lawsuit alleged that Aero knew about the defective design, as early as 2000, and that they manipulated testing results in order to procure the military contract. The defective earplugs were standard issue for certain branches of the military from 2003 to 2015.

This issue has been found to be the cause of major ear problems with veterans. Long-term effects include tinnitus (ringing in the ears), hearing loss, and balance loss.

If you used these earplugs and you are suffering from hearing loss or worse, contact our dedicated team of personal injury lawyers at Murphy Law Firm. We will evaluate your claim, and work to get you the recovery compensation you so desperately deserve.