3M Renews Fight for Combat Earplug Suit Immunity (Correct)

3M Co. is contending that four veterans’ combat earplug test cases shouldn’t have gone to trial because it has broad immunity from suit, a defense that could wipe out all the cases in the vast hearing-loss litigation where juries have already returned cumulative verdicts totaling more than $250 million.

The one-time Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co., which makes everything from Post-it brand notes to surgical supplies and the earplugs, also asserts that improperly admitted evidence and legal conclusions tainted those trials.

The company will make its case to the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday.

The ...