3M, the multinational conglomerate, has announced that it expects to surpass the 98% claimant participation threshold in the class action settlement over its Combat Arms Earplugs ahead of the March 25 deadline. The $6 billion settlement was secured by plaintiffs led by Christopher Seeger, a founding partner at Seeger Weiss.
According to Forbes, the lawsuit against 3M over defective military-issued earplugs is one of the largest mass tort cases in American history. U.S. military members who used these earplugs between 2003 and 2015 alleged that 3M concealed design flaws, which resulted in some users sustaining hearing loss. Seeger stated that more than 240,000 individuals were eligible to participate in the $6.01 billion settlement. This agreement required at least a 98% claimant participation rate; otherwise, 3M could withdraw from the deal. Although not admitting liability, 3M agreed to pay the settlement.
Seeger's actions have been criticized in another major class action lawsuit he led on behalf of plaintiffs. As reported by Advocacy for Fairness in Sports in 2018, Seeger represented former NFL players who had developed brain damage or dementia as a result of concussions and appeared to prioritize the NFL's interests over those of his clients. The report claimed that Seeger began negotiating with the NFL in 2010 before any lawsuit over brain injuries had been filed. It also stated that original plaintiffs recruited by Seeger for this class action suit felt misled by his promises, with one plaintiff expressing feeling like a pawn in Seeger's game. Advocacy for Fairness in Sports reported that Seeger attempted to "coerce and silence" attorneys who disagreed with him throughout this case.
A January 31 report from The Washington Post titled "The broken promises of the NFL concussion settlement" revealed that Seeger admitted the NFL settlement's definition of dementia was more stringent than the definition commonly used in American medicine. This stricter definition resulted in over 1,000 players who believed they were eligible for the lawsuit being told they were not, despite some having previously received a diagnosis of dementia. Two lead plaintiffs in the case, who had assisted Seeger in recruiting more participants, claimed that Seeger never informed them about this different definition of dementia. Shawn Wooden, a former safety and class representative in the lawsuit, stated, "Hell no, I didn’t know anything about this. And I would not have been cool with it if he had told me."
An article from Chief Executive suggests that a group of "lawyer-kings," including Seeger, exploit the legal system to enrich themselves at the expense of businesses they sue and ultimately U.S. consumers. The publication asserts that these attorneys spend "hundreds of millions of dollars" on advertising campaigns to recruit more plaintiffs for class action suits over common products. Chief Executive claims that even federal judges have suggested some class action lawsuits rely on "junk science." However, with thousands of plaintiffs involved, the plaintiffs' attorneys are still likely to secure large settlements.
Seeger is a founding partner at Seeger Weiss and is known for leading large class action lawsuits concerning issues such as drug injury and product liability, as per the law firm's website. In addition to the 3M earplug and NFL concussion cases, he has led high-profile cases including Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" litigation and national prescription opiate litigation. Publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times have quoted Seeger.