3M Liability as Earplug Maker’s Successor Takes Center Stage

A new issue in hearing-loss litigation against 3M Co. and a subsidiary that allegedly designed and manufactured ineffective combat earplugs should be resolved before thousands more cases move towards trial, the federal court overseeing the cases said.

Whether 3M is liable for the conduct of Aearo Technolgies LLC and related companies as a successor to them is a question that has “broad import” across the multidistrict litigation, Judge M. Casey Rodgers said Thursday for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The Aearo companies are in bankruptcy proceedings.

Rodgers said she will soon rule on the successor ...