Government May Withhold Earplug Witness From 3M, Judge Says

The Department of Defense gave adequate reasons to keep an Army officer from sitting for a deposition by 3M Co. in suits over allegedly defective military earplugs, a federal magistrate judge in Florida said.

3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies LLC are locked in massive litigation with current and former service members who allege they developed tinnitus and hearing loss because Aearo Combat Arms version 2 earplugs failed to protect them. The companies want Lt. Col. Martin Robinette to shed light on the military’s participation in the design of the earplugs, his email correspondence with a military audiologist, and testing ...