Upcoming 3M Test Cases Over Earplugs to Be Tried Together (1)

Three service members’ hearing-loss cases against 3M Co. and a subsidiary will be consolidated for trial because most of the evidence relating to the companies’ liability is the same across the whole mass earplug litigation, a federal court in Florida ruled.

The resulting efficiency outweighs any harm to 3M and Aearo Technologies LLC or risk of jury confusion, Judge M. Casey Rodgers said July 2 for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

The court can use jury instructions, verdict forms, and other methods to address differences in state law and in evidence about the alleged injuries’ ...