PENSACOLA, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – Plaintiffs in the massive 3M ear plug litigation are asking for a Florida federal judge for backup as they fight the company’s plan to spin its liabilities onto a subsidiary.

Putting assets in Aearo will leave the company unable to pay to resolve the approximately 220,000 cases for an estimated $82 billion to $111 million, says a request for a permanent injunction filed in Pensacola, Fla., federal court by plaintiffs Richard Valle and Manuel Colon.

Days before the complaint, an Indiana federal judge rejected 3M’s request to pin the ear plug liability on Aearo.