On September 30, 2026, in 3M Company v. Glenn M. Hammond et al, Judge Robert E. Wier of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky allowed 3M’s federal civil RICO claim to proceed to discovery while dismissing Kentucky state fraud and conspiracy claims. The defendants being sued by 3M are three lawyers—Glenn Hammond (of Kentucky), Michael Martin (of Texas), and Johnny Givens (of Mississippi)—who had filed 22 mass-tort product liability lawsuits in Kentucky against 3M on behalf of over 850 coal miners, who allege 3M’s dust mask respirators were defective, and thus caused them to contract black lung. 3M alleges that to obtain a massive settlement these lawyers cold-called “fraudulent claimants”, who they allege never wore 3M masks, never mined or had not been diagnosed with black lung.
On a first review, this seems to be a retaliatory suit filed by 3M to avoid paying the suing miners. This allegation was first raised suspiciously, on January 17, 2023, when one of these defendants, Martin, texted 3M’s counsel with the message that he “lamented that Defendant Hammond was ‘hurting our clients with real claims because so many are frivolous’”. It is incredible that Martin just happened to confess this to opposing counsel; he seems to have been intimidated or otherwise manipulated into writing this. The defendants seem to have been diligently weeding out unsubstantiated claims, as they had dismissed 16 claims beforehand between 2021-2, and then dismissed 43 other claims on January 27, 2023. But then 3M objected to these dismissals, so the defendants agreed to keep these claims.
While these additions and subtractions of claimants seem routine, the conclusion 3M’s counsel reaches is that this means the defendants “intended to deprive 3M of money through fraud, deceit, and artifice”.
The lawyers’ defense is logical: their standard legal actions of filing lawsuits and managing discovery cannot serve as “predicate acts” (i.e., mail and wire fraud) under federal racketeering (RICO) laws. A lawyer cannot worry of committing a federal crime every time they aggressively pursue a lawsuit. The judge countered this by arguing 3M’s accusations stretched beyond regular lawyerly conduct, as it was accusing them also of engaging in deception, fabrication of evidence and multi-state fraud. The Kentucky state fraud case was dismissed, while federal RICO conspiracy claims will proceed.
Judging who is in the right in this case is more difficult than the surface suggests. The tort lawsuits have been stalled since 3M filed this countersuit against the lawyers. The initial court filings accuse Hammond of having “forged intake records to conceal” misconduct. But then, when offering specifics on another case, it merely accuses Hammond of ignoring a client: a simple neglect for which he was oddly sanctioned by the Kentucky Supreme Court. And Martin was sued by one of the 3M clients who he dropped for $150,000 in damages. Givens also had a misconduct allegation made against him for merely misstating that one of his claimants had worked for a “parish” he had no in fact worked for. There is no rational evidence provided here that would prove anything but the mistakes likely to seep in when lawyers attempt to file cases on behalf of hundreds of clients. 3M is fighting against certain bankruptcy because only two miners previously secured a $67.5 million verdict. Paying all litigants such sums would bankrupt the world’s biggest companies.
The rational approach seems to be for 3M to argue that its labeling never promised black lung protection levels. They have argued this, as has federal safety regulations that state masks are insufficient for dust compliance safety. They should be accompanied with a ventilation system, water sprays, dust traps or other preventative measures. The reason the 2 miners won in 2018 was because they argued there were mask defects (that caused leaks in hot and sweaty mining conditions) that 3M knew about since the 1970s.
Is it logical to bankrupt a major mask manufacturer to help miners? 3M’s scientists have introduced very expensive redesigns that have solved the hot-sweating-leaks, but most mining companies tend to purchase the basic 3M models that have not changed since the 70s. While recommending not suint 3M so they can invest more into lowering the price of their innovatively protective products seems like a good idea, 3M has proven that they prefer to stick with what has been profitable. According to the Centers of Disease Control, around 1,000 miners die of black lung annually, and this number has been rising. And according to PBS, around 1 in 3 veteran underground miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia today test positive for black lung. 3M and Mine Safety Appliances have had a duopoly over mining respirators since 1970, when miners began wearing masks, while continuing to die of black lung. The rate of death seems to have been the same before and after 3M masks began to be used. While a mask might block 95% of particles, it is the remaining tiny particles that cause the mega damage. Perhaps if these lawsuits take 3M out of business, this industry will figure out how to create products that would not contribute to killing so many people that three cold-calling lawyers will find thousands of miners with claim-worthy accounts.
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