News June 19, 2020
3M Settles N95 Price Gouging Lawsuit
The parent company of Top 40 promo supplier 3M/Promotional Markets had accused TAC2 Global of price gouging in an April court filing.
3M, parent company of Top 40 supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240), has settled a lawsuit against a Florida company that the multinational corporation had accused of price gouging and other malfeasance in connection with 3M’s N95 masks.
On Thursday, June 18, 3M entered a filing in federal court that moved to dismiss its case against TAC2 Global, a Clearwater, FL-based firm that provides tactical gear, ballistic protection, apparel and services related to those products to law enforcement, military and others.
The dismissal papers were filed the same day that a settlement was entered into the court. Terms of the settlement were not public. A preliminary injunction hearing that had been scheduled for Friday, June 19 was canceled.
Filed in April, 3M’s lawsuit had accused TAC2 of trying to sell Florida’s State Emergency Operations Center 5 million to 10 million 3M N95 respirator masks and hand sanitizer at grossly inflated prices. 3M also alleged that TAC2 falsely claimed to be a 3M supplier.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, 3M has aggressively pursued legal action against alleged price gougers and fraudsters who have tried to cash in on the rampant demand for the company’s N95 masks by attempting to sell the respirators (or possible knockoffs) at inflated rates, while also, in instances, posing as authorized 3M dealers when, in fact, they’re not. As of early June, 3M had filed 14 such suits this year.
A recent example includes a Monday, June 9 filing against a California-based third-party seller on Amazon.com that allegedly used the 3M trademark to sell $350,000 worth of masks at up to 20 times list prices.
In a different lawsuit filed during the first week of June, 3M accused Ohio-based Preventative Wellness Consultants of lying about its connections to 3M in an attempt to get another company to act as its selling agent for 10 million 3M masks at exorbitant prices.
3M is also among the companies that has partnered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stem the flow of counterfeit face masks, coronavirus tests and other PPE equipment/medical supplies into the U.S.