DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
201635P.pdf 10/20/2021 Christopher Graves v. 3M Company
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 20-1635
and No: 20-2545
and No: 20-2546
and No: 20-2547
and No: 20-2548
and No: 20-2550
and No: 20-2556
and No: 20-3108
and No: 20-3607
and No: 20-3613
and No: 20-3614
and No: 20-3616
and No: 20-3617
and No: 20-3620
and No: 20-3627
and No: 20-3634
and No: 20-3636
and No: 20-3642
and No: 20-3643
and No: 20-3644
and No: 20-3645
and No: 20-3647
and No: 20-3648
and No: 20-3649
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
[PUBLISHED] Loken, Author, with Kelly and Erickson, Circuit Judges Civil
Case - Federal Jurisdiction. A separate group of employees employed by
civilian and military contractors who used the Combat Arms Version 2
(CAEv2) earplugs, filed suit in state court asserting failure-to-warn
claims against manufacturer 3M. 3M removed the action to federal court,
asserting federal officer defenses under 28 U.S.C. sec. 1442(a)(1). 3M
appeals the district court's remand orders. 3M failed to establish it was
"acting under" a federal officer or agency in developing and disseminating
warnings and instructions for its commercial CAEv2 earplugs, and thus
remand of the claims of employees who acquired earplugs in the commercial
marketplace is affirmed. As for the plaintiffs that worked for defense
contractors and received earplugs from the military, 3M made a requisite
showing of a colorable federal contractor defense showing that 3M complied
with the government's direction to provide earplugs to the military in
bulk without instructions, as the military would produce its own
instructions. The order remanding the claims brought by those who acquired
them through the military is reversed.