The Litigation Counsellor®

On Monday, November 7, 2022, a claim against Mars Inc., the manufacturer of Skittles, was withdrawn in the United States District Court Northern District of California. The plaintiff had initially claimed Skittles was unfit for human consumption.

In the complaint, named plaintiff Jenile Thames alleged that the product, Skittles, contained Titanium Dioxide (“TiO2”) a chemical known by the defendant to be harmful. Plaintiff claims that in 2016 Defendant promised to phase out its use of the chemical. 

On Friday, October 21, 2022, a claim was filed in the United Stated District Court, Northern District of Illinois against L’Oreal and additional defendants (collectively, “Defendants”). The plaintiff claims her uterine cancer is a result of using Defendants’ haircare products.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (“JPML”), consolidated suits related to Acetaminophen. There are currently 65 actions pending in eight districts nationwide alleging a link between the development of either autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (“ADHD”) and prenatal exposure to acetaminophen.

On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, in the Takata Airbag Product Liability Litigation, U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida issued an order granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss.

The judge denied Defendants’ motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction with respect to the Florida Consumer Plaintiffs. The judge did grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction with respect to the non-Florida direct-file Consumer Plaintiffs.

On August 26, 2022, Judge Jeffrey Graham, United State Bankruptcy Judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana denied Aearo Technologies’ (“Aearo”) request for a preliminary injunction for a non-debtor party, its parent company, 3M.

On July 26, 2022, Aearo Technologies (“Aearo”), a subsidiary of 3M, filed bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Aearo originally manufactured the earplugs that are at the core of the 3M Earplug MDL currently pending in the U.S. District Court, Northern District Florida. The MDL is overseen by U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers. The bankruptcy filing came on the heels of a court ordered mediation between the parties.

On Friday, June 10, 2022, United States District Judge Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division, ordered parties in the 3M earplug litigation to attend mediation. Claims against 3M are consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation (“MDL”) and are overseen by Judge Rodgers. Plaintiffs, veterans and US servicemembers, claim that 3M’s earplugs were defectively designed. They allege that the defective design prevented the earplugs from providing protection to servicemembers and that this failure led to tinnitus and/or hearing loss.

On Friday, April 29, 2022, a federal jury found for the plaintiff in a suit against 3M alleging defective design of earplugs. The plaintiff, Jonathon Vaughan, is a veteran of the Army who served from 2006 to 2010. The suit alleged 3M’s Combat Arms CAEv2 earplugs led to plaintiff’s hearing loss and tinnitus.

On April, 15 2022, a jury found for a plaintiff in a case against C.R. Bard surrounding its Hernia Mesh product. The trial took place in federal court in Columbus, Ohio against Becton, Dickinson and Co. which acquired C.R. Bard Inc. in 2017.

On Friday, April 8, 2022, a federal jury found for 3M in a suit against the company alleging defective design of earplugs. The plaintiff, Denise Kelley, is a veteran of the Army who served in Kuwait and Iraq. She claimed the defective design led to her hearing loss and tinnitus.

On Friday, March 25, 2022, federal juries awarded $58 million to two army veterans holding 3M liable for hearing loss from defective earplugs used in training and combat. In Pensacola, FL, U.S. Army veteran Luke Vilsmeyer was awarded $50 million. Several hours later, in Tallahassee, FL, U.S. Army National Guard veteran Steven Wilkerson was awarded $8 million in compensatory damages.

On Tuesday, February, 15, 2022, in the CPAP MDL, U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti of the Western District of Pennsylvania issued Pre-trial Order #8 naming the plaintiffs’ leadership.

The court reviewed and interviewed each of the 75 applications that were submitted for either co-lead counsel, Plaintiff’s Steering Committee (“PSC”) or liaison counsel. The following four attorneys were appointed to serve as plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel: Sandra Duggan from Levin, Sedran and Berman, Christopher A. Seeger from Seeger Weiss LLP, Kelly K. Iverson from Lynch Carpenter LLP, and Steven A. Schwartz from Chimicles & Tikellis. Judge Conti’s orders specifically laid out their duties and responsibilities.

On Thursday, January 27, 2022 a federal jury awarded $110 million to two army veterans, holding 3M liable for hearing loss caused by defective earplugs used in combat. U.S. Army Soldiers Ronald Sloan and William Wayman were each awarded $15 million in compensatory damages and $40 million each in punitive damages.

In the past week, 3M has declared two victories in the Earplug Litigation. The first came on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 when a Pensacola jury decided that the defendant’s earplugs were not defectively designed or unreasonably dangerous. The plaintiff was former U.S. Army soldier Carlos Montero, who served in the military for 23 years from 1995-2018 and alleged hearing loss and bilateral tinnitus.