In a pretrial order issued on April 19, Judge Casey Rodgers, laid out the plaintiff leadership structure, asking product liability lawyers representing veterans in the 3M Earplug lawsuits to apply for various leadership roles in the recently formed multidistrict litigation (MDL).
The order calls for attorneys to apply for the position of lead counsel, liaison counsel, membership on an executive committee, steering committee, and a number of subcommittees. The attorneys appointed in these leadership roles will be responsible for certain actions during the trial proceedings that will be beneficial to all plaintiffs. These actions might include arguing motions before the court, taking depositions, reviewing discovery documents, among other actions. However, each veteran will still have their own attorney to represent the case-specific interests and assert claims that their hearing loss was caused due to faulty 3M Earplug. Any attorney who has his 3M Earplug case in the federal MDL will be allowed to apply for leadership roles, and the applications will be reviewed by May 3. Some attorneys will be called on May 20 and May 21, to make an oral presentation about their qualifications for the above-said positions.
The federal court system has more than 600 3M Earplug lawsuits with allegations that the device left veterans with tinnitus or hearing damage.
