The plaintiffs in the Combat Arms Earplugs litigation allege that the defendants were aware that the performance criteria representations that they made to the government were false and that they knew the Combat Arms Earplugs were defective as early as 2000 when the product failed in-house Noise Reduction Rating (“ NRR ”) testing — three years prior to the time when it was first provided to the U . S . military . According to the plaintiffs , Aearo manipulated not only test protocol , but also the fitting instructions for the Combat Arms Earplugs in order to compensate for the design defect , so it could achieve a satisfactory NRR score .
Due to the imperceptibility of flaws in the design to wearers , the defect in the product went undetected for more than a decade . Injuries relating to usage of the Combat Arms Earplugs have become one of the largest ongoing medical costs incurred by the military each year . According to the claims , the Veterans Administration spends around $ 1 billion per year treating hearing damage in more than 800,000 servicemembers .
On July 25 , 2018 , 3M agreed to settle similar claims asserted in a qui tam action , in U . S . ex rel . Moldex-Metric Inc . v . 3M Co ., Case No . 3:16-cv-1533 , for $ 9.1 million . In the suit , the relator argued that 3M made false statements to the U . S . Government regarding its “ dangerously defective ” dualended Combat Arms Earplugs which it sold to the U . S . military for more than ten years without disclosing the defective design . The relator further argued that the Combat Arms Earplugs were not long enough to permit adequate insertion into the ear . The faulty design prevented the Combat Arms Earplugs from maintaining a tight fit and thus the earplugs would subtly dislodge , leaving servicemembers unaware that they had little or no hearing protection .
With respect to the MDL , the first bellwether trials began in 2021 . As of February 4 , 2022 , eleven bellwether trials reached their conclusion . Plaintiffs have won six of the bellwether trials . The jury verdicts have resulted in the following awards : $ 110 million ; $ 22 million ; $ 13 million ; $ 8.2 million ; $ 7.1 million and ; $ 1.7 million . 3M has claimed five defense verdicts in the bellwether trials . Five more are set for 2022 .
3 ) ZANTAC
The Zantac litigation was consolidated into an MDL one month before the pandemic began . Despite that timing , the litigation has been on a fast track . 2021 saw significant discovery along with a proposed trial plan .
In February of 2020 , the JPML consolidated the litigation in the Southern District of Florida to U . S . District Judge Robin L . Rosenberg , In re : Zantac ( Ranitidine ) Products Liability Litigation , MDL No . 2924 . There are also state court consolidated proceedings in California and other venues across the country .
Zantac is a popular over-the-counter (“ OTC ”) heartburn medication that is widely used and has become a part of daily life for many Americans because it can be used to treat a variety of conditions . It was recalled because it was discovered that the active ingredient in Zantac turns into NDMA , a carcinogen , when metabolized in the body . Zantac was initially linked to 10 types of cancers , however the court recently ruled that only five of those cancers will be identified as designated cancers eligible for the case .
The FDA began preliminary investigations into NDMA levels in Zantac in September 2019 . Shortly thereafter , several manufacturers voluntarily stopped distribution of the product . Ultimately , in October of 2019 , the FDA mandated that all manufacturers of ranitidine ( the active ingredient in Zantac ) conduct testing for NDMA in their products , which uncovered that the amounts exceeded the safe levels set by the FDA for human consumption .
Currently , approximately 1,800 lawsuits are pending in the MDL . Earlier in the year , generic manufacturers and distributors / retailers were dismissed as preempted ; however , the Court held that claims against the branded manufacturers could stand .
The litigation is well into discovery and on October 25 , 2021 , parties participated in a court conference via Zoom to present to Judge Robin L . Rosenberg a proposed joint plan for selection of bellwether cases in the Zantac litigation . The plan targets the first trial beginning July 17th , 2023 .
4 ) PARAQUAT
Paraquat was in the fast lane in 2021 from the formation of an MDL to selection of leadership .
Over 480 claims involving Paraquat , herbicide manufactured by Syngenta , are pending in a federal MDL , In re : Paraquat Products Liability Litigation , MDL No . 3004 . Additionally , other cases concerning the product have
38 x The Trial Lawyer