3M faces further legal battles after earplugs, PFAS settlements

By Seana Smith and Luke Carberry Mogan | Yahoo!Finance | September 5, 2023

Read the full article by Seana Smith and Luke Carberry Mogan (Yahoo!Finance)

"3M Company (MMM) settled a lawsuit over faulty earplugs sold to the U.S. military for $6 billion, but that still may not be the end of the company's legal troubles. Yahoo Finance Legal Reporter Alexis Keenan breaks down the other ongoing legal battles 3M is facing, including those over its respirators and health risks tied to exposure to chemicals like PFAS.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Let's take a look at 3M, because shares getting a lift after the company reaching a $6 billion legal settlement. 3M looking to settle nearly 260,000 lawsuits from military service members over its earplugs. Now, Alexis Keenan here with the latest details on that. And Alexis, what could the road ahead look like then?

ALEXIS KEENAN: Yeah. So I put a piece out today. And it's really kind of looking forward trying to find out, OK, well, what is the coming litigation for 3M? Yes, they reached the $6 billion settlement. And by the way, part of this settlement does have to get court approval still. That's $1 billion chunk. And this will be paid out over five years. So it's not all hitting the company at one time. And that's on the earplugs alone."