A Florida federal judge has rejected a 3M request for a new trial in one of the bellwether cases in multidistrict litigation related to claims of faulty earplugs used by the military, finding the company is again unable to point to any errors in a trial that ended in a $1.7 million jury verdict.
U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodger said 3M’s motion for a new trial contained recycled arguments the court rebuffed in the pretrial phase. The decision lets stand a jury verdict which found 3M was 62% liable for the hearing loss suffered by Loyd Baker, a former infantryman and M240 machine-gun operator.
Judge Rodgers’ decision comes on the heels of her refusal to grant a new trial in a similar case involving three service members who were awarded $7.1 million.
So far, 3M has faced three trials. It came out on top in one when a jury found the company was not responsible for the hearing loss of one veteran.
LAW 360: https://www.law360.com/articles/1412065/3m-again-denied-new-trial-in-earplug-suit-after-1-7m-loss