is the 3m earplug lawsuit worth it is the 3m earplug lawsuit worth it

Judge Rodgers stated that a perfectly solvent defendant such as 3M should not be entitled to bankruptcy protection simply because the MDL is not going the way it wants. It is incredible it does not feel like a lot anymore with all of the huge verdicts that we have had. After this trial, Judge Rodgers will send these lawsuits around the country to be tried in waves. A federal jury awarded $110 million to two U.S. Army veterans who said 3M earplugs caused them to suffer hearing damage. Hard to believe that would be a risk worth taking. U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs show that the vast majority of claimants in Combat Arms earplug litigation have normal hearing under medically accepted standards. All Rights Reserved. But if there is a settlement, it will be tough to find a lawyer after a settlement is reached. Judge Rodgers concluded by announcing that she will be issuing a show cause order and holding a hearing to determine whether 3M acted in bad faith by filing bankruptcy immediately after participating in a settlement mediation. Palanki was one of the bellwether cases selected by 3Ms defense team because they believed it presented favorable facts. The supplier warned the U.S. of the danger associated with the equipment that only the supplier knew of. October 14, 2022 Update: The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to an expedited review of 3Ms appeal seeking to reverse the bankruptcy court decision in Indiana. So the U.S Trustee, the DOJs bankruptcy watchdog, was forced to intervene. One encouraging thing our 3M earplug lawyers saw over the weekend was an article by NBC News on the 3M earplug lawsuit. On the 3rd day of trial, the plaintiffs presented the testimony of Elliott Berger. Consistently, it is making the same obvious point now to the bankruptcy court: this was not the congressional purpose of the Bankruptcy Code. The remainder of the day was spent on 3Ms final expert witness, Dr. James Crawford. In one of the largest U.S. mass torts, 3M faces over 200,000 lawsuits in U.S. District Court in northern Florida. 3M is most likely going to lose this appeal, and the sooner that happens, the sooner meaningful progress on a global settlement can occur. This works out to an average of $4.9 million per plaintiff. But the result was stunning: $7.5 in compensatory damages; $15 million in punitive damages. Based on prior verdicts and settlements in cases involving hearing loss, we expect the trial value of 3M earplug cases to be somewhere between $25,000 and $300,000 per person (notwithstanding the over $2 million per person the plaintiffs received in the first hearing protection trials). Why? The earplug litigation is by far the largest mass tort in history. Casali has testified in previous bellwether trials. But 3Ms lawyers are frustrated. "@type": "FAQPage", Our attorneys only get a fee if you get compensation. But what is striking is that 3M had the audacity to make this argument after the bankruptcy scheme was first concocted in the early spring of 2022. from around the world. The first defense witness was 3M scientist Dr. Eric Fallon, former chief Audiologist at Walter Reed Medical Center. The Justice Department said that 3M Co. unit Aearo Technologies LLC should be thrown out of bankruptcy court, citing the recent dismissal of a similar case involving a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.. Aearo's Chapter 11 case is an "abuse of the bankruptcy system" that was engineered to benefit its highly solvent corporate parent and avoid ongoing litigation stemming from allegedly faulty . But more saliently, the 3Ms maneuver to change the forum of litigation from civil trials to bankruptcy to avoid the wrath of juries raises the specter of abuse which must be guarded against to protect the integrity of the bankruptcy system the court highlighted in J&J talcum powder generated bankruptcy. 3M may use the appeal as settlement leverage to get a deal done sooner rather than later. The fear of this kind of damage averaging is larger claims will get settlement offers that undervalue their claims. Of course. For Camp Lejeune cases that get filed as civil lawsuits, the bill will cap attorney's fees at 33%. The 6th bellwether trial ended in a defense verdict in favor of 3M. October 2, 2022 Update: The next round of settlement talks will be tomorrow. Nearly one-quarter of plaintiffs whose hearing is impaired under AMA or WHO standards had those conditions before using 3M earplugs, the company added. Ive said over and over that I believe 3M is a good company that just refuses, for whatever reason, to take an honest look and the exposure it has in this litigation. March 29, 2022 Update: 3M earplug trials follow a typical pattern, and this new lawsuit to go to trial fits easily in that pattern. 3Ms Chief Legal Affairs Officer, Kevin Rhodes, claimed that the recent decision by the Bankruptcy Court rejecting 3Ms strategy was wrong and is being appealed directly to the Seventh Circuit. Veterans agree. The Order appoints Randi S. Ellis as the special master to oversee the negotiations and required that the mediation last a minimum of three days and be scheduled by July 15, 2022. 3M has not declared bankruptcy but it will try to piggyback on the Aearo bankruptcy to stop the litigation from moving forward, hoping to resolve the outstanding claims in bankruptcy court instead of having to face juries that believe their conduct was reprehensible. These 3M trials will have to be consolidated into groups of 50 soldiers to try at one time. Severe hearing damage lawsuits will be valued higher than tinnitus-only lawsuits. May 20, 2022: $77.5 Million Verdict! James M. Carr, be appointed as a second mediator in the MDL settlement mediation. (For context, this $33 billion also includes the PFAS lawsuits.) In her memorandum order, Judge Rodgers explained that Wilkerson was entitled to summary judgment on four out of the five affirmative defenses. 3M also presented the jury with video deposition testimony clips from a handful of fact witnesses, including Heather Beal, the plaintiffs wife. The response broke no new ground. Dr. Packer has been an effective witness in prior trials. One big issue no one can answer: how many truly viable 3M lawsuits are there? Most of the opening 2 days of the trial were devoted to the testimony of bioacoustics engineer Richard McKinley. Justice triumphs (this time). But this might get us closer to a global settlement of the earplug lawsuits. If the plaintiffs can consistently get juries to hit 3M with punitive damages in future bellwether trials it could be a major game-changer. Are 3M earplug lawsuit individual settlement amounts going to go as high as these verdicts? But she will allow an immediate appeal of her ruling. The approach applied by the plaintiffs results in a much smaller percentage of plaintiffs being excluded. This makes 3M liable for conduct both before and after 2008. Dr. Packer is an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis. Eventually, 3M agreed to pay a $9.1 million settlement to the DOJ to resolve lawsuit allegations that it supplied the Pentagon with defective equipment and for failing to disclose the design flaw. According to Judge Rodgers, both sides have dug in on their opposing data interpretations and the massive gap between the two results is what has prevented any meaningful settlement progress. So this is a roundabout way of saying I think the bulk of these suits will settle before the 11th Circuit rules later this year. Rhodes casually brushed off the ruling by the Bankruptcy Court denying, which rejected 3Ms bankruptcy strategy. But that same law firm represents 3M an apparent conflict. Retired judge Mark Falk and veteran settlement negotiator Ellen Reisman will assist Ms. Ellis. But if I was and I heard this presentation predicated on this delusional nonsense, I would short 3M stock like crazy. The plaintiffs scored victories in the other Rounds. Last week, however, a top JP Morgan cautioned that 3Ms litigation liabilities could exceed the $33 billion the investment bank says is already baked into the price of 3M stock. Plaintiffs have been saying all along they want a fair settlement. In that case, like this case, J&J was using Chapter 11 to end run facing judgment from juries. In response, lawyers for the earplug plaintiffs have stated that while they are not necessarily opposed to the appointment of Judge Carr, they want to make sure that it will not have any impact on the jurisdiction of the MDL court. That is $58 million in 3M verdicts this weekend. Jan. 28, 2022. The 7th bellwether trial was held simultaneously in Tallahassee in the case of Guillermo Camarillorazo v. 3M Company, et al. So here goes for old times sake. This ruling could knock the bankruptcy issue out of play. It means the appeal will be heard faster than it was sent through the usual channels. So they keep kicking the can down the road while hoping for a miracle from the 11th Circuit. This is the second bellwether trial that resulted in punitive damages. by Roy D. Oppenheim. Sloan is another Army vet who is alleging that the Combat Arms earplugs failed to protect him resulting in both hearing loss and tinnitus. Kelley will be the second female bellwether plaintiff. Beal was awarded $77.5 million! Plaintiffs attorneys pilloried Aearos analysis, calling it a sleight of hand.. $110 million. But we have also learned that 3Ms bad behavior will not give victims a pass past the burden of proof of showing that their hearing loss was caused by 3Ms negligence. The motion sought a stay on the enforcement of the Courts recently entered All Writs Act injunction, the ruling that 3M may not ask other courts to reconsider Judge Rodgers rulings in the 3M earplug class action lawsuit. The fact that 3M is trying to involve the bankruptcy judge in the mediation suggests that they have no genuine interest in negotiating a settlement right now. We never like to see plaintiffs have their cases dismissed. 3M chooses its own definitions and its own legal standards. That response came on Tuesday when Judge Rodgers issued an Order requiring 3M to participate in a new settlement mediation. The likelihood of 3M succeeding with the statute of limitations defense now or later down the line is almost zero, so this decision is almost a complete victory for Wilkerson. 3M has appealed Grahams decision, while plaintiffs have asked Graham to dismiss the Aearo bankruptcy. But none that matter. Judge Rodgers stated that a perfectly solvent defendant such as 3M should not be entitled to bankruptcy protection simply because the MDL is not going the way it wants. It is. 3M will try to convince the bankruptcy court in Indiana that the automatic stay triggered by Aearos bankruptcy should be extended to protect 3M as well, but this remains unresolved. But he noted that a conflict could arise in the future and that K&E was navigating a minefield.. So when will the 3M earplug lawsuit settle? See October 11, 2022 update below. July 11, 2022: The one thing we do not want to do in a 3M earplug settlement is minimize the differences between the strength of the claims in the final settlement amounts. Shortly before the Wilkerson trial, 3M filed a motion arguing (among other things) that Wilkersons claims should be dismissed under the judicial estoppel rule because he failed to list his lawsuit against 3M as an asset in his recent bankruptcy. But there is more reason for hope than after Judge Rodgers order on Wednesday. In addition to the caps on attorneys fees, the new law . Has Anyone Received a Settlement In the 3M Earplug Lawsuit? Each trial will involve large blocks of consolidated plaintiffs. Settling these cases is sure to be complex. (Anthony Souffle, Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS). These earplugs cost 85 cents to make. The executives at 3M that decided to buy Aearo Technologies need to accept this mistake and move on. Acting through its puppet subsidiary Aero Technologies, 3M has asked that the judge in Aeros chapter 11 bankruptcy, Hon. The hypocrisy is apparent but this affliction is seen with lawyers on our side of the aisle too, to be honest. February 6, 2023 Update: The Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Indiana will hold a Status Conference next week on the recent Motion to Dismiss filed by the 3M earplug plaintiffs. He also has a funny bit where he complains forgetting for a moment that we are in America that jury trials are not the appropriate way to handle this litigation. On Tuesday in the Sloan/Wayman bellwether, the day included some fact witnesses and a nearly full day of testimony from Dr. Mark Packer, a critical expert witness for the plaintiffs. June 28, 2022: On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal released a story entitled 3M Faces Billions in Liabilities Over $7.63 Earplugs. Judge Rodgers also issued a new Case Management Order identifying a third wave of 500 additional cases to be prepared for the next phase of trials. As for how many 3M trials are left the trials will go on and on until there is a global settlement deal. The battleground is the government contractor defense our earplug lawyers talked about from Day 1 of this litigation. Is that point already apparent to everyone? The 3M earplug claim is a class-action lawsuit in which more than 300,000 of veterans are suing 3M for defective earplugs. Why? February 22, 2023 Update: Judge Rodgers will hold a data day tomorrow in the 3M earplugs MDL at which the third-party claims administrator for the MDL (Brown Greer) will make a presentation summarizing the data collected about the hear-loss claims made by plaintiffs in the MDL. This ruling theoretically renders the Aearo bankruptcy appeal to the 3rd Circuit moot, as the MDL plaintiffs are now free to go after 3M separately. His reasons for the denial were articulated by the Judge from the bench during the trial. I also understand that Miller & Zois works with multiple law firms on these claims and that I may be contacted by an affiliated law firm working with Miller & Zois on these lawsuits. The problem with this? 3M put its Aearo Technologies subsidiary, where the earplug product originated, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as one effort to resolve Combat Arms claims. What is the status of the 3M lawsuit? Conversely, if this appeal fails as I strongly suspect that it will, 3Ms quiver is empty and settlements become that much harder. The overriding takeaway from the presentation was that 3M and the plaintiff leadership have adopted vastly different interpretations of the injury data based on various metrics. If you are 3M, you dont want to try that case. If the best cases do not receive settlement offers commensurate with the harm done to them, those plaintiffs will just reject the settlement amounts offered and opt to go to trial. Even soldier plaintiffs Ive talked to believe a percentage of the soldiers that applied administratively for the 3M lawsuit do not have legitimate claims. Berger was directly involved in the original product design and testing of the Combat Arms earplugs. April 7, 2022 Update: 3M presented two expert witnesses on Day 7: Jennifer LaBorde and Dr. John Casali. 3M still owes Judge Rodgers some financial information. We talked to many soldiers over the weekend about the 3M earplug lawsuit. But this will get the number of claims down. But the device did not go deeply into the ear. Aearo will ask the bankruptcy court to pause the litigation. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. These veterans can now sue 3M and demand financial compensation. The 3M earplug lawsuit will settle when 3M finally realizes that it cannot keep deferring the resolution of this litigation. Judge Rodgers granted the plaintiffs motions for judgment on several issues including mitigation, comparative fault, and 3Ms statute of limitations defense. The trial is scheduled to last two weeks and will be conducted before Judge Robin L. Rosenberg at the federal courthouse in Pensacola. Ron helped me find a clear path that ended with my foot healing and a settlement that was much more than I hope for. If 3M is allowed to move forward with the bankruptcy, the current earplug lawsuits will be automatically stayed and the current plaintiffs will become creditors. The bankruptcy court will appoint a plaintiffs lawyer committee to negotiate with 3M on a global settlement of all claims. Indeed, the expected average individual settlement amount is rising based on these three verdicts. But didnt that already happen this weekend? Scores of lawsuits filed by service members soon followed. This ruling means that this appeal could be decided in a few months instead of taking over a year. We still believe the majority of these lawsuits will settle in 2022. There have now been 7 rounds of bellwether trials involving 9 plaintiffs in the 3M earplugs litigation. Our lawyers have consistently said that the average settlement amount in the first round of settlement will average between $50,000 and $100,000. No question, McKinley is the most important expert witness for the plaintiffs. Fallon holds a doctorate in audiology and works for 3M as a Technical Senior Service Specialist. The 3M earplug claim is a class-action lawsuit in which more than 300,000 of veterans are suing 3M for defective earplugs. We want to eliminate the claims that are not meritorious because that will facilitate a 3M earplug settlement that makes sense for all parties. 3Ms stock lost billions of dollars when the bankruptcy effort failed because not a single financial analyst or lawyer in America is pricing $1 billion as the settlement value of the 3M lawsuits. The data was included in an estimation motion filed by Aearo Technologies, the 3M unit that made the earplugs, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis. August 1, 2022: The automatic stay granted to 3Ms subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, does not apply to 3M. The next bellwether trial begins today in the case of Denise Kelley. Using the Feres doctrine, the plan was to invoke the government contractor defense as a shield from state tort liability. Yesterday, however, Judge Graham pushed the hearing date back to April. Is The 3M Earplug Lawsuit Worth It? After the Bankruptcy Court rejected 3Ms effort to extend the automatic stay and force the earplug claims to be resolved in bankruptcy, everyone was waiting to see how MDL Judge Casey Rodgers would respond. But the MDL Judge flatly rejected the motion and criticized 3Ms lawyers for even bothering to file it. ST. PAUL, Minn., March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs show that the vast majority of claimants in Combat Arms earplug litigation have normal hearing under medically accepted standards. The denial of the bankruptcy plan has led to intense pressure from Wall Street to get the litigation settled. July 15, 2022: The 3M earplug settlement talks began today and will go through the weekend in Florida. 3Ms appeal will either go to the U.S. District Court for Indiana or the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel. On Day 4 of the trial, the plaintiff James Beal took the stand in the morning. That does not sound good, right? The final 3M earplug bellwether trial concluded this afternoon and the result was the most significant amount awarded to a single plaintiff. Sloans claims are governed by Kentucky law. Palanki claimed that he suffered hearing damage while using 3Ms combat arms earplugs while on active duty with the Army at a base in Texas. November 24, 2022 Update: 3M subsidiary Aearo Technologies was recently granted an extension of the deadline to file its appeal brief in the 7th Circuit. Published By Miller & Zois, Attorneys at Law, 3M Faces Billions in Liabilities Over $7.63 Earplugs, consolidated in the Northern District of Florida, You served in the military between 2003 to 2015, You wore military-issued earplugs during service, You were exposed to loud sounds during military service, You have been diagnosed with hearing loss/tinnitus. Call us at 800-553-8082 or get afree online consultation. 3M was counting on winning Wilkerson to keep afloat the idea that "they win some, we win some" and only the best 3M earplug lawsuits have real value. McKinley has testified in all the previous bellwether trials, although this is the longest time he has spent on the stand. January 20, 2023 Update: MDL Judge M. Casey Rodgers issued an Order formally terminating the court-sponsored settlement mediation. With a slight pause as we switch to the Group D set of trials, we will see if 3M sees the wisdom in stopping the bleeding and offers soldiers reasonable settlement amounts. There are two sides to this coin. So what exactly will this mean for 3M earplug plaintiffs? September 19, 2022 Update: There was no settlement from the settlement talks last week. 2023 Stars and Stripes. The settlement payouts will likely be less. Why the fraud committed by 3M constitutes a serious crime? It is scheduled for 2 weeks. There is also reason to be pessimistic. But right before round two of the settlement mediation ordered by MDL Judge Casey Rodgers, top executives at 3M were at a conference spewing nonsense to financial analysts that the company was still moving forward with its bankruptcy strategy. I dont think this is going to work for 3M. There is some interesting perspective in the comments below from soldiers plaintiffs in the 3M earplug lawsuits. This means that the proceedings in the earplug lawsuits can technically continue against 3M. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. How Much Longer Will 3M Earplug Lawsuit Take? Rhodes then paid lip service to the upcoming mediation session. And a global 3M earplug settlement is not out of reach. But new lawsuits are not. A consolidated trial involving 20 or 40 plaintiffs could last for months and would place 3M at a significant disadvantage, battling against that many soldiers and their families in a courtroom. January 7, 2023 Update: 3M reports spending $450 million in attorneys fees defending the 3M earplug lawsuit. Dr. Packers direct examination lasted almost 5 hours, followed by a 2-hour cross-exam. 3Ms lawyers know it will not be granted. February 4, 2023 Update: Plaintiffs lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the Aearo bankruptcy petition after an appellate court dismissed a similar bankruptcy involving Johnson & Johnson in the talc powder litigation. (3:19-cv-2324). The plan is for these 20,197 earplug lawsuits to go through pretrial discovery a daunting process with such a massive group of plaintiffs. Victories in both of these 3M earplug lawsuits may jump-start settlement talks and get reasonable settlement compensation payouts for victims from 3M. The jury still awarded $2.2 million. 3M was aware that the dual-ended Combat Arms earplugs were a defective product but failed to disclose this to the military. 3M (NYSE:MMM) on Thursday rose as much as 4.3% after a news report said the company claimed that U.S. Department of Defense records for more than 175,000 plaintiffs in the Combat Arms lawsuits . Plaintiff will have 35 hours to present their case with the remaining 29 hours going to the defense. This is not a deadline you can miss. The message is clear: if you do not want to offer reasonable settlement amounts, you better gear up for a massive wave of additional trials next year. This article will dive into several aspects of the 3M lawsuit. The 3M earplug lawsuit is a class action lawsuit filed against the company 3M. The filing this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court is the latest turn in the legal war between 3M and over 200,000 veterans and current service members over 3Ms Combat Arms CAEv2, which were once standard military issue. October 2021: More Good News/Bad News for 3M. 3Ms are going through the roof. You can reach our earplug lawyers at 800-553-8082 for a free consultation. A ruling on this key issue wont happen until at least August 18, 2022. When will the 3M earplug lawsuit settle? If nothing else, it is good momentum going into the 3M earplug settlement talks set to being on July 15, 2022. So the 16th and final bellwether trial concluded this afternoon with this massive $77.5 million verdict for the plaintiff, Army veteran James Beal. March 3, 2022 Update: We are now 11 days from the next trial on the Steve Wilkerson case, an Afghanistan veteran. May 4, 2022 Update: A new phase of the 3M earplug lawsuit is coming. They modified the design by shortening the earplugs. It is all upside for you. The claimants in this MDL are all veterans who have fought and sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country's honor. May 18, 2022: On Day 7 of the trial, 3Ms defense team presented testimony from Eric Fallon and Dr. James Crawford. { The $110 million verdict against 3M in the Sloan/Wayman bellwether trial is starting to draw the attention of people 3M cares about Wall Street analysts and investors. Your attorney should be in regular contact with you. " None of which have been granted. September 6, 2022: Just days after the Bankruptcy Court denied 3Ms motion to extend the automatic stay and effectively halt the 3M earplugs litigation, MDL Judge Casey Rodgers responded by issuing a new Order on Tuesday requiring 3M to take part in another settlement mediation. November 14, 2022 Update: The judge in the bankruptcy filed by 3M subsidiary Aero Technologies has ruled that 3Ms law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, can continue to represent Aero in the bankruptcy. Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. Dr. Casali is the director of the Auditory Systems Laboratory at Virginia Tech and an expert in hearing loss and protection. It is easy to forget that a sample size of one for an MDL class action of this size. The motion is an effort to block any remaining hope 3M may have of forcing the litigation into bankruptcy via its Aearo subsidiary. The Beal trial will be conducted by Judge Robin Rosenberg. The more I think about this bankruptcy, the more I think it is going to backfire on 3M. Is the 3M Earplug Lawsuit Worth It? March 25, 2022 Update:Yesterday, Judge Walker issued a 1-page order denying 3Ms Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law that was filed at the close of the plaintiffs case. Settlement talks are set for February 2023, as we explain in the January 20, 2023 update above. December 23, 2022 Update: MDL Judge Casey Rodgers brought down a mighty hammer on 3M yesterday afternoon. I want to predict a big verdict in Kelly as the death knell for 3M. Our lawyers looked at the applicable law and believed the plaintiffs would defeat this argument. A previous motion was filed in August which also sought to block 3Ms bankruptcy strategy, but the MDL denied that motion because it was essentially premature. Here is the money quote, quoting University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias: $466 million is a lot of money to spend on lawyers and defense costs, not to mention the reputation harm theyre doing to themselves with all these trial losses.. has not baked the cost of a 3M earplug settlement into 3Ms stock price. MDL Judge Casey Rogers has given 3M a deadline of December 5th to file a response. October 23, 2022 Update: 3M got some excellent news this week, albeit soft good news. The speculated cause is that news leaked that earplug litigation settlement talks were going poorly. December 1, 2022 Update: Ever since 3M had its subsidiary, Aearo Technologies, file bankruptcy, the proceedings in the 3M earplugs class action MDL have been frozen by an automatic stay. The United States military said the company knowingly sold it defective earplugs. Reach out to us at 800-553-8082 or connect with us online. Progress toward an earplug settlement is probably likely. Thousands of soldiers suffered complete or partial hearing loss and tinnitus because of faulty combat earplugs. "mainEntity": [ This is called an MDL, which is like a class action lawsuit for pre-trial discovery purposes. These kinds of cases can be quite complex. Will Filing a 3M Earplug Lawsuit Affect My Disability? A trial scheduled for next month was dismissed, because the veteran's injury was "unrelated to noise-induced. The Order states that this was made necessary due to recent developments, which is a clear reference to bankruptcy recently filed by 3Ms subsidiary unit Aearo Technologies. After 16 bellwether test trials, the plaintiffs ended up with a win-loss record of 10-6 with total damages of over $300 million. No serious lawyer agrees with that premise, including 3Ms lawyers. Yet, there was nary a whisper that Aearo, and not 3M, was the only proper target, or even a target at all. If 3M foolishly continues to try these cases, the compensation payouts in this litigation will likely soar. The primary theme of the presentation was that both sides have adopted different ways of interpreting the data regarding the hearing loss claims asserted by the plaintiffs.