3M announced that the parties and the courts involved in the Combat Arms Earplug settlement agreement have reached the next milestone set forth in the agreement toward full implementation of the settlement.

Among the milestones met is a payment of $250 million to the Qualified Settlement Fund to compensate claimants seeking expedited payments under the settlement agreement. The payment was made on December 26, and it is anticipated that with this payment, between 25,000-30,000 claimants will dismiss any associated litigation.

In addition, the court has dismissed more than 22,000 claims from the docket for failure to comply with the court's orders as the parties work to resolve the pool of identified claimants.

3M stated that the company and Aearo will continue to work with all parties and the courts toward full implementation of the settlement agreement. The company will provide updates as additional milestones are reached.

To learn more, visit www.3m.com.