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: December 22, 1995
(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 of incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
3M Center 55144-1000
St. Paul, Minnesota (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant's telephone, including area code:(612) 733-1110
Item 5. Other Events.
On December 22, 1995, the U.S. District Court, Northern
District of Alabama (the "Court"), approved a revised class
action settlement program for resolution of claims seeking
damages for personal injuries from allegedly defective
breast implants (the "Revised Settlement Program"). The
Revised Settlement Program is a revision of a previous
settlement pursuant to a Breast Implant Litigation
Settlement Agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") reached on
April 8, 1994, and approved by the Court on September 1,
1994.
The Revised Settlement Program includes only domestic class
members, and only class members with implants manufactured
by certain manufacturer defendants, including the company
and McGhan Medical Corporation. The company's obligations
under the Revised Settlement Program are limited to eligible
claimants with implants manufactured by the company or its
predecessors ("3M implants") or manufactured by McGhan
Medical Corporation after its divestiture from the company
on August 3, 1984 ("Post-8/84 McGhan implants"). With
respect to claimants with only Post-8/84 McGhan implants (or
only Post 8/84 McGhan implants plus certain other
manufacturers' implants), the benefits may be more limited
than for claimants with 3M implants. Such benefits are
payable by the company, Union Carbide Corporation and McGhan
Medical Corporation.
In general, the amounts payable to individual current
claimants (as defined in the Court's order) under the
Revised Settlement Program, and the company's obligations to
make those payments, will not be affected by the number of
class members electing to opt-out from the Revised
Settlement Program or the number of class members making
claims under the Revised Settlement Program. The Revised
Settlement Program provides for two compensation options, in
addition to certain miscellaneous benefits, for current
claimants with 3M implants.
Under the first option, denominated as Fixed Amount
Benefits, current claimants with 3M implants who satisfy
disease criteria established in the prior Settlement
Agreement will receive amounts ranging from $5,000 to
$100,000, depending on disease severity or disability level,
whether the claimant can establish that her implants have
ruptured, and whether the claimant also has had implants
manufactured by Dow Corning. Under the second option,
denominated as Long-Term Benefits, current claimants with 3M
implants who satisfy more restrictive disease and severity
criteria specified under the Revised Settlement Program can
receive benefits ranging from $37,500 to $250,000.
In addition, current claimants with 3M implants are eligible
for (a) a one-time payment of $3,000 upon removal of 3M
implants during the course of the class settlement, and (b)
an advance payment of $5,000 upon proof of having 3M
implants and upon waiving or not timely exercising the right
to opt-out from the Revised Settlement Program. Current
claimants with only Post-8/84 McGhan implants (or only Post-
8/84 McGhan implants plus certain other manufacturers'
implants) are eligible only for benefits ranging from
$10,000 to $50,000.
Eligible participants with 3M implants, who did not file
current claims but are able to satisfy the more restrictive
disease and severity criteria during an ongoing period of 15
years, will be eligible for the Long-Term Benefits, subject
to certain funding limitations. Such participants also will
be eligible for an advance payment of $1,000 upon proof of
having 3M implants and upon waiving or not timely exercising
the right to opt-out from the Revised Settlement Program.
Benefit levels for eligible participants, who are not
current claimants, with only Post-8/84 McGhan implants (or
only Post-8/84 McGhan implants plus certain other
manufacturers' implants) again will range from $10,000 to
$50,000.
The company's obligations to fund Long-Term benefits for
eligible claimants with 3M implants, and its obligations to
fund any benefits for claimants with only Post-8/84 McGhan
implants, are suspended if certain provisions of the Revised
Settlement Program are challenged on appeal and will be
canceled if any of those provisions are disapproved on
appeal. In that event, the other benefits provided under
the Revised Settlement Program would still be payable to any
claimant with 3M implants who elected to participate in the
program.
Because it is uncertain how many plaintiffs will choose to
participate in the Revised Settlement Program, or what
disease criteria they will satisfy and what options they
will choose, the total amount and timing of the company's
prospective payments under the Revised Settlement Program
cannot be determined with precision at this time. The
company, however, anticipates increasing its estimate of the
minimum probable liabilities and associated expenses as well
as increasing the receivables for the probable amount of
insurance recoveries in the fourth quarter of 1995. As new
developments occur, the estimates may be revised, or
additional charges may be necessary to reflect the impact of
these developments on the costs to the company of resolving
breast implant litigation and claims. While such revisions
or additional future charges could have a material adverse
impact on the company's net income in the period in which
they are recorded, the company believes that such revisions
or additional charges, if any, will not have a material
adverse effect on the consolidated financial position of the
company.
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 thereunto duly
authorized on the date indicated.
MINNESOTA MINING AND
MANUFACTURING COMPANY
By: /s/ Janet L. Yeomans
Janet L. Yeomans,
Treasurer
Dated: January 9, 1996
