3M May Peek at Earplug User Data Collected on Pre-Suit Web Form

Hearing-loss information that current and former service members provided on a legal clearinghouse’s web form isn’t protected by the attorney-client privilege and must be disclosed to 3M Co. in litigation alleging its combat earplugs were defective, a federal court in Florida ruled.

And communications between the website operator, Top Class Actions LLC, and the law firms that gathered plaintiff leads through its site aren’t protected legal work product, Magistrate Gary R. Jones said March 12 for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

The court is overseeing consolidated litigation over 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies LLC’s Combat Arms ...