A federal judge criticized 3M Co. ’s attempt to use the protections of chapter 11 to resolve mass injury claims by U.S. military veterans, but will allow a bankruptcy court to decide whether to shield the company from ongoing litigation.
Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Fla., declined on Sunday to prohibit 3M from contesting its full liability for injury claims alleging that earplugs manufactured by the company’s Aearo Technologies LLC unit were defective.