BREAKING: (PAY AGAIN) by 3M, Settlement US$6 billion, Last June US$12.5 billion. 4th and 5th Biggest Settlement in U.S.

DC 9.40pm

3M’s board approved a US$6 billion settlement to resolve claims that its earplugs caused hearing loss among veterans, to be 5th biggest settlement in U.S. history.

Last June, 3M Co. struck a tentative settlement of at least $10 billion over water pollution claims tied to “forever chemicals,” according to people familiar with the proposed accord, the largest PFAS pact in the US and one of the biggest mass tort deals ever. According to Abel & Annes PC, 3M payment US$12.5 billion, will be 4th biggest settlement in the US ([1] The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement settlement paid by Altria Group, Inc — previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. worth US$206 billion; [2] BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill — $20 Billion; [3] Volkswagen Emissions Scandal — $14.7 Billion — and 3M settlement US$12.5 billion bigger than 5th biggest settlement - General Motors Auto Defect Case — $4.9 Billion).

3M sadly to be company with 4th and 5th biggest settlement.

3M, the No. 1 maker of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is weighing the deal to head off its first federal trial over the waterproofing agent, June 5th in Charleston, South Carolina, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing the matter because it is private. The judge in Charleston is overseeing the consolidation of about 4,000 PFAS-linked lawsuits.

The lawsuits focus on claims of hearing loss by veterans who used Combat Arms earplugs that, plaintiffs allege, were made too short to fit properly after a product redesign in 2000. 3M has maintained that the products are safe when used properly, but it's lost 10 of the 16 bellwether trials so far, with damages totaling $265 million for plaintiffs. And there are thousands of trials still to go.

3M last year put Aearo Technologies, the subsidiary that made the earplugs, into voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a move that could have shielded 3M from legal liability. But courts blocked the move, meaning 3M was facing a legal fight that could stretch on for years, or even decades.

If the $6 billion figure proves accurate, that'd be far more than the $2 billion 3M previously set aside for the cases — part of its Aearo Chapter 11 plan — but far less than the $10 billion to $15 billion total costs that some analysts had suggested.

It's clearly a better outcome than some investors had feared. 3M shares are up sharply in premarket trading on Monday, Barron's reports.

An earplug deal would the second multibillion-dollar legal case that 3M has resolved just this summer. In June the company announced a settlement with hundreds of cities that blamed the Minnesota manufacturer for contaminating local water supplies with so-called "forever chemicals" in firefighting foam.

3M will pay out as much as $12.5 billion to cities over the coming years in that settlement — though a court still needs to sign off on the deal, and Minnesota and some other states have challenged its terms.