SAN ANTONIO (Legal Newsline) – The federal government doesn’t want 3M to be able to question a Department of Defense employee as the company defends itself from thousands of lawsuits alleging the ear plugs it supplied to the military were defective.
On Oct. 7 in San Antonio federal court, the U.S. filed a motion to quash a subpoena delivered to Lt. Col. Theresa Schulz. 3M apparently wants to depose Schulz to bolster its defense in the multidistrict litigation in Florida over its ear plugs.
3M wants to talk to Schulz’s about the military’s role in the design and development of the Combat Arms Earplugs.
But the DOD says personnel are not allowed to testify without prior written approval and that it can refuse to grant permission on at least six grounds, including whether it would compromise ongoing enforcement proceedings or constitutional rights or disclose trade secrets.
In this case, Schulz’s testimony would be irrelevant in light of the MDL judge deciding 3M could not use a government contractor defense, the U.S. says. It also says Schulz has limited relevant knowledge.
“Communications with LTC Schulz demonstrated that she lacked relevant knowledge of the information requested or that the limited information she could provide is cumulative of information provided by various other witnesses, who were previously deposed,” the motion to quash says.
3M is currently fighting the rejection of another of its demands for information, as it seeks answers from a website that places readers and potential plaintiffs in contact with law firms that handle ear plug cases.
3M has received pushback from Top Class Actions and the mass tort lawyers leading the MDL, where 200,000 cases are consolidated. Lawsuits allege a design defect in the earplugs led to hearing loss.