PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A Pike County lawyer is one of three nationwide being accused in a lawsuit of filing fraudulent and frivolous product liability cases against the 3M Company on behalf of coal miners afflicted by black lung.

Glenn Martin Hammond, of Pikeville; Michael B. Martin, of Houston, Texas; and Johnny Givens, of Ridgeland, Miss., were named in a RICO lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Pikeville.

The company claims the three attorneys worked together and with others to “form an unlawful enterprise to cheat 3M, exploit coal miners and burden the courts with cases that should have never been filed in the first place.”

The complaint alleges the attorneys coached coal miners to lie about using respirators manufactured by 3M, commonly known as “dust masks.” Those masks were then blamed for failing and causing the miners to contract black lung in product liability lawsuits, even though the company claims “very few coal workers ever wore dust masks while working in the mines.”

Specifically, the complaint says the scheme “solicited and conducted ‘intake’ of potential claimants in a manner designed to encourage the filing of false claims; instructed and encouraged claimants to lie; knowingly filed and prosecuted fraudulent claims; submitted knowingly false discovery responses; and made false statements to courts, 3M and their own clients in furtherance of the scheme.”

The company says efforts to influence miners to blame 3M for their conditions went as far as Hammond keeping a 3M mask on his desk, and the complaint includes a photo showing a mask on Hammond’s desk.

3M claims it has become a lucrative target for personal injury attorneys who were not having success in prosecuting black lung claims against others.

“With avenues for seeking compensation from mine operators largely drying up and unsuccessful, in the last two decades, personal injury lawyers have attempted to reinvent these claims and find active pockets to compensate coal workers for their injuries,” the complaint says. “These lawyers began filing lawsuits against companies like 3M that manufactured, sold or distributed dust masks based on a theory that the dust masks failed to protect workers from inhalation of coal dust which caused coal workers’ black lung disease injuries.”

The complaint says the attorneys were incentivized to pursue frivolous claims because a large number of cases would often result in a more lucrative settlement.

“Defendants’ goal in bringing and prosecuting these fraudulent claims was twofold,” the complaint says. “(1) If the fraud went undetected, defendants stood to recoup a percentage of the settlements or court awards for the fraudulent cases; and (2) they could use the fraudulent claims as ‘bargaining chips’ to be dismissed or resolved in settlement negotiations with 3M.”

3M also accused the attorneys of strategically having some claims dismissed to avoid having the scheme detected.

The three attorneys were responsible for filing more than 850 claims against the company.

The company says the scheme came to light when Martin accidentally sent a text message to a 3M attorney, complaining that Hammond was “hurting … clients with real claims because so many are frivolous.”

On Monday, Hammond released the following statement denying the allegations.

“Glenn Martin Hammond Law Office strongly denies the baseless and retaliatory allegations made by 3M in a recently filed lawsuit against the firm. 3M and other corporations have had lawsuits filed against whom relating to faulty and inadequate dusk masks since the 1980 and 1990s. 3M has made BILLIONS of dollars preying on the helpless and unsuspecting men and women who have used these masks across the United States. These faulty masks misrepresented the safety to our coal miners and have caused quality of life issues, pulmonary and cardiac issues, and death. 3M has paid out HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars over the years on these cases. 3M and their attorneys have suppressed documents that clearly show their knowledge of problems with the faulty masks and continues to keep this information from the public and coal miners and other afflicted individuals. 3M has continually placed profits above the safety, health and well-being of their intended users, in dust mask as well as other products.  

“This action, which attempts to invoke the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, is a transparent and desperate attempt to intimidate our firm and silence legitimate legal advocacy on behalf of individuals harmed by 3M’s conduct.

“Our firm has always operated with the highest ethical standards, and we remain committed to seeking justice for those who have been wronged—especially by powerful corporations seeking to avoid accountability and intimidate these miners who have been harmed. We believe this lawsuit is without merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded claims.

“This latest tactic by 3M will not deter us from continuing to represent our clients with integrity, diligence, and the full force of the law.

“We have full confidence that the facts and the law will prevail.”

The company is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, restitution, treble damages and any other relief the court finds appropriate.

A full copy of the complaint is reprinted below: