The Monsour Law Firm of Longview won a $22.5 million verdict in federal court in Florida for a U.S. Army veteran whose hearing was damaged by what he claimed were defective earplugs manufactured by 3M.
The Dec. 10 jury verdict in Tallahassee was the largest to date in a series of lawsuits alleging that 3M’s CAEv2 combat earplugs used by the American military failed to protect against tinnitus and hearing loss.
The plaintiff, Theodore Finley, served in the Army from 2006 to 2014 and was exposed to noise from mortars, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, ground vehicles and aircraft while using the 3M earplugs.
The verdict included compensatory damages of $7.5 million plus $15 million in punitive damages.
Douglas Monsour, Finley’s lead counsel in the case, said the jury’s decision affirmed that 3M was “wholly responsible for failing our men and women in uniform and putting profits over the safety of Americans in uniform.”
Lawyers for 3M in the case did not return calls seeking comment.
The case was the eighth related to 3M’s earplugs to go to trial and reach a verdict. Last month, a different federal jury in Florida awarded an Army sergeant $13 million as compensation for his hearing loss. Four other cases decided in favor of plaintiffs have resulted in a combined total of $29 million in damages; in three cases, juries sided with 3M.
The Monsour Firm has had a role in all of the cases that have gone to trial – not always as lead counsel – and, additionally, has other, pending cases against 3M.
“Jury after jury,” Monsour said, “is deciding that 3M provided faulty equipment to American soldiers, resulting in hearing loss and tinnitus. The justice system continues to show that 3M misled the federal government and the military to secure its contract on false grounds and this litigation is holding 3M accountable.”
In all 250,000 military personnel have sued, claiming the 3M’s CAEv2 earplugs were defective. The Minnesota-based contractor maintained that the product, which it stopped selling in 2015, was safe. Nonetheless, in 2018 3M agreed to pay the U.S. government $9.1 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold the CAEv2 to the military without disclosing serious design defects.
Other lawyers for Finley included Katy Krottinger of the Monsour Law Firm and Neil Overholtz and Jennifer Hoekstra of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz in Pensacola, Fla.
The defense team for 3M included lawyers from Dechert in Los Angeles; Moore Hill & Westmoreland in Pensacola; and a cadre of Kirkland & Ellis lawyers, including Diana Clough Benton from the firm’s Houston office.