3M Combat Arms Earplug

The 3M Combat Arms Earplug docket was, by filed-action count, the largest products-liability MDL in federal history, consolidating claims from current and former military service members that a dual-ended hearing-protection device was defectively designed and caused hearing loss and tinnitus. That scale is now historical rather than active: following the bankruptcy of 3M's former subsidiary Aearo Technologies, 3M agreed in August 2023 to a global settlement of approximately $6 billion covering close to 260,000 claims, and the docket's tiny remaining pending-action count today reflects a litigation substantially in claims-administration and payment rather than active bellwether trial practice.

For funders and firms still active in this docket, the relevant question has shifted from litigation-outcome risk to administration and payment-timing risk: claimants and firms with claims moving through an established, court-supervised settlement program generally have far more visibility into expected recovery and timing than they would in an actively litigated mass tort, which supports different funding structures — advances against a known or reasonably estimable settlement allocation rather than against contested liability exposure.

Any firm still holding a meaningful volume of Combat Arms claims moving through settlement administration is a reasonable candidate for structured capital sized against program mechanics and payment tiers rather than against litigation risk, and Criterica Capital's mass tort finance product can be structured around that payment-timing profile specifically. Medical-lien exposure in hearing-loss and tinnitus claims is generally lower than in a surgical-injury or cancer docket, since treatment is more often audiological monitoring and hearing-aid provision than hospitalization, which simplifies net-recovery modeling for claims still working through the program and for any residual claims still proceeding in active litigation.

A structural summary of how this litigation moved from mass filing to global resolution is available from Criterica Intelligence, and can help frame timing expectations for any claim still in the settlement pipeline.

3M's former subsidiary Aearo Technologies filed for bankruptcy during the litigation, a proceeding that preceded and shaped the 2023 global settlement.

Pre-settlement funding is a non-recourse purchase of a portion of the proceeds of a pending legal claim — not a loan. If the case does not result in a recovery, nothing is owed. Rates, fees, and repayment terms are disclosed in full in the funding agreement, which the applicant’s attorney reviews before signing. Availability and terms vary by state.