The 12th bellwether test trial in the continuing 3M earplugs litigation gets underway today in the case of Wilkerson v. 3M Co. (7:20-cv-00035).
The results in the first 11 test trials, which featured the claims of 14 individual plaintiffs, have been decidedly mixed, but the most recent trial grabbed national attention when a pair of plaintiffs were awarded $110 million.
The trial in the Wilkerson case that begins today marks the first case in “Trial Group D,” which will include 4 additional trials through the end of May. Trial Group D will end the opening phase of the earplug bellwether trials, after which things will get a lot more intense and complicated.