SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: April 8, 1994
(Date of earliest event reported)
MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
File No. 1-3285
(Commission File Number)
Delaware 41-0417775
(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification Number)
3M Center 55144-1000
St. Paul, Minnesota (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)
(612) 733-1110
(Registrant's telephone,
including area code)
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Item 5. Other Events
MAMMARY IMPLANT LITIGATION
As of March 31, 1994, the company had been named as a
defendant, often with multiple co-defendants, in 4,077
claims and lawsuits in various courts, all seeking damages
for personal injuries from allegedly defective breast
implants. These claims and lawsuits purport to represent
10,832 individual claimants. These claims and lawsuits are
generally in very preliminary stages, and it is not yet
certain how many of these lawsuits and claims involve
products manufactured and sold by the company, as opposed to
other manufacturers. The company entered the business in
1977 by purchasing McGhan Medical and then sold that
business in 1984.
Discussions regarding a "global settlement" in the amount
of $4.75 billion have been ongoing during the last several
months, first with the facilitation of a panel of federal
judges acting as mediators and later directly with a
plaintiffs' negotiating committee. The company had been a
participant in the mediation efforts. On February 14, 1994,
Dow Corning, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Baxter Healthcare
Corp. announced an agreement with the plaintiffs'
negotiating committee on financial terms for their
participation in the global settlement. Since the February
announcement by the three settling defendants, discussions
have continued with regard to additional funding by other
defendants, including the company, for the $4.75 billion
global settlement.
On April 8, 1994, the company and other defendants
concluded their own provisional agreements with the
plaintiffs' negotiating committee regarding their
contributions to the settlement fund previously described.
The company has agreed that its maximum commitment of $325
million will be paid into a court-administered fund within 3
years from the date that the final order ratifying the
global settlement is entered and after appeals, if any, have
been exhausted. The company has the unilateral right to
withdraw from the agreement should there be an unacceptable
level of individual plaintiffs and claimants electing to
remove themselves from the settlement ("opt-outs"). The
global settlement is generally subject to a series of court
proceedings, including a court review of its fairness, and
the opportunity for individual opt-outs. The company will
not be required to make any payments until the opt-outs are
determined.
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The company in the first quarter of 1994 accrued a liability
having a net present value of $308 million to cover probable
liabilities and expenses and also recorded a receivable
having a nominal value of $273 million for probable
insurance recoveries. The result of these accounting entries
was a net pre-tax charge to first quarter 1994 earnings of
$35 million ($22 million after taxes). Based on the amounts
of and the timing of the payment obligations under the
settlement, its current estimates of potential liabilities
and expenses that may not be covered by the settlement, and
the amount and time of receipt of insurance proceeds, the
company believes that this accrual and recovery is the
probable and estimable impact of the mammary implant claims
and lawsuits. No insurers have denied coverage, and the
insurance recovery reflected here represents the amount that
the company considers appropriate to record as recoverable
at this time.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized on the date indicated.
MINNESOTA MINING AND
MANUFACTURING COMPANY
By /s/ Dwight A. Peterson
Dwight A. Peterson
Vice President
and Treasurer
Date April 8, 1994
