Shares of 3M Co. MMM climbed 2.4% after the consumer, industrial and health care products company said the U.S. Department of Defense’s records show that the “vast majority” of claimants in Combat Arms earplug litigation have normal hearing under accepted standards. The DoD records are for more than 175,000 plaintiffs. The records show that under American Medical Association (AMA) standards, almost 90% of plaintiffs have no hearing impairment, and under World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institute of Health standards, more than 85% of plaintiffs have normal hearing. The company said that nearly 25% of the plaintiffs with hearing impairment under AMA or WHO standards reported their condition in hearing tests before using Combat Arms earplugs. 3M, which makes Post-it Notes, N95 masks and Scotch-brand adhesives, has been facing litigation related to the Combat Arms earplugs for the past year, resulting from allegations of “fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment,” with some on Wall Street estimating potential liabilities of about $14 billion. The stock, which closed at a 5-month low on Tuesday, has tumbled 25.6% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA has slipped 1.9%.
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