Johnson and Johnson and 3M

Last week, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal dismissed J&J's Chapter 11 case. 3M tried this very same maneuver last year to shield itself from around 230,000 lawsuits brought by military veterans who said their hearing was damaged by faulty earplugs. Both companies are in the hot seat for trying to wriggle their way out from behind a mountain of lawsuits and allegations of paddling harmful products.