Mealey's ( April 14, 2025, 9:30 AM EDT) -- RICHMOND, Va. — The 3M Co. has filed a response brief in the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that there is no reason for the court to grant rehearing en banc in response to a petition by Maryland and South Carolina, which are asking the full court to reconsider a divided panel’s decision that determined that two lower courts wrongly remanded two lawsuits related to injuries from exposure to the firefighting agent aqueous film forming foam XE "aqueous film forming foam" (AFFF). 3M says the split decision “correctly concluded that 3M plausibly alleged a sufficient nexus between the conduct charged in these suits and 3M’s federal government-contractor defense for purposes of the federal-officer removal statute.”...