Rental expense under operating leases was $300 million in 2012, $279 million in 2011 and $262 million in 2010. It is 3M's practice to secure renewal rights for leases, thereby giving 3M the right, but not the obligation, to maintain a presence in a leased facility. 3M has two primary capital leases. First, 3M has a capital lease, which became effective in April 2003, that involves a building in the United Kingdom (with a lease term of 22 years). During the second quarter of 2003, 3M recorded a capital lease asset and obligation of approximately 33.5 million British Pound (GBP), or approximately $54 million at December 31, 2012 exchange rates. Second, during the fourth quarter of 2009, 3M recorded a capital lease asset and obligation of approximately $50 million related to an IT investment with an amortization period of seven years.

Minimum lease payments under capital and operating leases with non-cancelable terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2012, were as follows:

		Capital Leases		Operating Leases
(Millions)		Capital Leases		Operating Leases
2013		$	22	$	194
2014			21		158
2015			8		119
2016			7		77
2017			4		68
After 2017			34		119
	Total	$	96	$	735
Less: Amounts representing interest			6
Present value of future minimum lease payments			90
Less: Current obligations under capital leases			19
Long-term obligations under capital leases		$	71

3M's accrued product warranty liabilities, recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as part of current and long-term liabilities, are estimated at approximately $28 million at both December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011. 3M does not consider this amount to be material. The fair value of 3M guarantees of loans with third parties and other guarantee arrangements are not material.

3M does not have any material related party activity that is not in the ordinary course of business.

The Company and some of its subsidiaries are involved in numerous claims and lawsuits, principally in the United States, and regulatory proceedings worldwide. These include various products liability (involving products that the Company now or formerly manufactured and sold), intellectual property, and commercial claims and lawsuits, including those brought under the antitrust laws, and environmental proceedings. Unless otherwise stated, the Company is vigorously defending all such litigation.

Process for Disclosure and Recording of Liabilities and Insurance Receivables Related to Legal Proceedings

Many lawsuits and claims involve highly complex issues relating to causation, scientific evidence, and whether there are actual damages and are otherwise subject to substantial uncertainties. Assessments of lawsuits and claims can involve a series of complex judgments about future events and can rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. The Company complies with the requirements of ASC Topic 450, Contingencies, and related guidance, and records liabilities for legal proceedings in those instances where it can reasonably estimate the amount of the loss and where liability is probable. Where the reasonable estimate of the probable loss is a range, the Company records the most likely estimate of the loss, or the low end of the range if there is no one best estimate. The Company either discloses the amount of a possible loss or range of loss in excess of established accruals if estimable, or states that such an estimate cannot be made. The Company discloses significant legal proceedings even where liability is not probable or the amount of the liability is not estimable, or both, if the Company believes there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred.

The Company estimates insurance receivables based on an analysis of its numerous policies, including their exclusions, pertinent case law interpreting comparable policies, its experience with similar claims, and assessment of the nature of the claim and remaining coverage, and records an amount it has concluded is likely to be recovered. For those insured matters where the Company has taken an accrual, the Company also records receivables for the amount of insurance that it expects to recover under the Company's insurance program. For those insured matters where the Company has not taken an accrual because the liability is not probable or the amount of the liability is not estimable, or both, but where the Company has incurred an expense in defending itself, the Company records receivables for the amount of insurance that it expects to recover for the expense incurred.

Because litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings or developments could occur, there can be no certainty that the Company may not ultimately incur charges in excess of presently recorded liabilities. A future adverse ruling, settlement, or unfavorable development could result in future charges that could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations or cash flows in the period in which they are recorded. The Company currently believes that such future charges, if any, would not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position of the Company. Based on experience and developments, the Company reexamines its estimates of probable liabilities and associated expenses and receivables each period, and whether it is able to estimate a liability previously determined to be not estimable and/or not probable. Where appropriate, the Company makes additions to or adjustments of its estimated liabilities. As a result, the current estimates of the potential impact on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the legal proceedings and claims pending against the Company could change in the future.

The following table shows the major categories of significant legal matters – respirator mask/asbestos litigation (including Aearo – described below), environmental remediation and other environmental liabilities -- for which the Company has been able to estimate its probable liability and for which the Company has taken accruals and the related insurance receivables:

Liability and Receivable Balances
At December 31
(Millions)	2012		2011		2010

Respirator mask/asbestos liabilities	$	154	$	130	$	126
Respirator mask/asbestos insurance receivables		87		121		122

Environmental remediation liabilities	$	29	$	28	$	24
Environmental remediation insurance receivables		11		15		15

Other environmental liabilities	$	57	$	75	$	90
Other environmental insurance receivables		15		―		―

As of December 31, 2012, the Company is a named defendant, with multiple co-defendants, in numerous lawsuits in various courts that purport to represent approximately 2,060 individual claimants compared to approximately 2,260 individual claimants with actions pending at December 31, 2011.

The vast majority of the lawsuits and claims resolved by and currently pending against the Company allege use of some of the Company's mask and respirator products and seek damages from the Company and other defendants for alleged personal injury from workplace exposures to asbestos, silica, coal mine dust or other occupational dusts found in products manufactured by other defendants or generally in the workplace. A minority of the lawsuits and claims resolved by and currently pending against the Company generally allege personal injury from occupational exposure to asbestos from products previously manufactured by the Company, which are often unspecified, as well as products manufactured by other defendants, or occasionally at Company premises.

The Company's current volume of new and pending matters is substantially lower than its historical experience. The Company expects that filing of claims by unimpaired claimants in the future will continue to be at much lower levels than in the past. Accordingly, the number of claims alleging more serious injuries, including mesothelioma and other malignancies, will represent a greater percentage of total claims than in the past. The Company has prevailed in all nine cases taken to trial, including seven of the eight cases tried to verdict (such trials occurred in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2007), and an appellate reversal in 2005 of the 2001 jury verdict adverse to the Company. The ninth case, tried in 2009, was dismissed by the Court at the close of plaintiff's evidence, based on the Court's legal finding that the plaintiff had not presented sufficient evidence to support a jury verdict. The plaintiffs appealed but in February 2012 the California Court of Appeals granted the plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of the appeal.

The Company has demonstrated in these past trial proceedings that its respiratory protection products are effective as claimed when used in the intended manner and in the intended circumstances. Consequently the Company believes that claimants are unable to establish that their medical conditions, even if significant, are attributable to the Company's respiratory protection products. Nonetheless the Company's litigation experience indicates that claims of persons with malignant conditions are costlier to resolve than the claims of unimpaired persons, and it therefore believes the average cost of resolving pending and future claims on a per-claim basis will continue to be higher than it experienced in prior periods when the vast majority of claims were asserted by the unimpaired.

As previously reported, the State of West Virginia, through its Attorney General, filed a complaint in 2003 against the Company and two other manufacturers of respiratory protection products in the Circuit Court of Lincoln County, West Virginia and amended its complaint in 2005. The amended complaint seeks substantial, but unspecified, compensatory damages primarily for reimbursement of the costs allegedly incurred by the State for worker's compensation and healthcare benefits provided to all workers with occupational pneumoconiosis and unspecified punitive damages. While the case has been inactive since the fourth quarter of 2007, the Court held a case management conference in March 2011, but no further activity has occurred in the case since that conference. No liability has been recorded for this matter because the Company believes that liability is not probable and estimable at this time. In addition, the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss given the minimal activity in this case and the fact that the complaint asserts claims against two other manufacturers where a defendant's share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability and by the amount of fault a jury allocates to each defendant if a case is ultimately tried.

Plaintiffs have asserted specific dollar claims for damages in approximately 40% of the 1,149 lawsuits that were pending against the Company at the end of 2012 in all jurisdictions. A majority of states restrict or prohibit specifying damages in tort cases such as these, and most of the remaining jurisdictions do not require such specification. In those cases in which plaintiffs choose to assert specific dollar amounts in their complaints, brought in states that permit such pleading, the amounts claimed are typically not meaningful as an indicator of the Company's potential liability. This is because (a) the amounts claimed typically bear no relation to the extent of the plaintiff's injury, if any; (b) the complaints nearly always assert claims against multiple defendants with the typical complaint asserting claims against as few as a dozen different defendants to upwards of 100 different defendants, the damages alleged are not attributed to individual defendants, and a defendant's share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability, which can vary by state, and by the amount of fault a jury allocates to each defendant if a case is ultimately tried before a jury; (c) many cases are filed against the Company even though the plaintiffs did not use any of the Company's products and, ultimately, are withdrawn or dismissed without any payment; and (d) many cases are brought on behalf of plaintiffs who have not suffered any medical injury, and, ultimately, are resolved without any payment or a payment that is a small fraction of the damages initially claimed. Of the 465 pending cases in which purported damage amounts are specified in the complaints, 281 cases involve claims of $100,000 or less (18 of which also allege punitive damages of $15,000, 13 of which also allege punitive damages of $10 million, and 3 of which also allege punitive damages of $20 million); 59 cases involve claims between $100,000 and $3 million (45 of which also allege punitive damages of $250,000, and 8 of which also allege punitive damages of $1 million); 7 cases involve claims between $3 million and $7.5 million (all of which also allege punitive damages of $5 million); 5 cases involve claims of $10 million (4 of which also allege punitive damages of $10 million); 72 cases involve claims of $10 million to $50 million (all of which also allege punitive damages of $13 million); 4 cases involve claims of $50 million (all of which also allege punitive damages of $50 million) and 37 cases involve claims of over $50 million (36 of which allege punitive damages of $100 million). Some complaints allege that the compensatory and punitive damages are at least the amounts specified. As previously stated, the Company's experience and the other reasons cited indicate that the damage amounts specified in complaints are not a meaningful factor in any assessment of the Company's potential liability.

Respirator Mask/Asbestos Liabilities and Insurance Receivables: The Company estimates its respirator mask/asbestos liabilities, including the cost to resolve the claims and defense costs, by examining: (i) the Company's experience in resolving claims, (ii) apparent trends, (iii) the apparent quality of claims (e.g., whether the claim has been asserted on behalf of asymptomatic claimants), (iv) changes in the nature and mix of claims (e.g., the proportion of claims asserting usage of the Company's mask or respirator products and alleging exposure to each of asbestos, silica, coal or other occupational dusts, and claims pleading use of asbestos-containing products allegedly manufactured by the Company), (v) the number of current claims and a projection of the number of future asbestos and other claims that may be filed against the Company, (vi) the cost to resolve recently settled claims, and (vii) an estimate of the cost to resolve and defend against current and future claims.

Developments may occur that could affect the Company's estimate of its liabilities. These developments include, but are not limited to, significant changes in (i) the number of future claims, (ii) the average cost of resolving claims, (iii) the legal costs of defending these claims and in maintaining trial readiness, (iv) changes in the mix and nature of claims received, (v) trial and appellate outcomes, (vi) changes in the law and procedure applicable to these claims, and (vii) the financial viability of other co-defendants and insurers.

As a result of the greater cost of resolving claims of persons with more serious injuries, including mesothelioma and other malignancies, the Company increased its accruals in 2012 for respirator mask/asbestos liabilities by $71 million. During 2012, the Company made payments for fees and settlements of $45 million related to the respirator mask/asbestos litigation. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had accruals for respirator mask/asbestos liabilities of $126 million (excluding Aearo accruals). The Company cannot estimate the amount or range of amounts by which the liability may exceed the accrual the Company has established because of the (i) inherent difficulty in projecting the number of claims that have not yet been asserted, particularly with respect to the Company's respiratory products that themselves did not contain any harmful materials, (ii) the complaints nearly always assert claims against multiple defendants where the damages alleged are typically not attributed to individual defendants so that a defendant's share of liability may turn on the law of joint and several liability, which can vary by state, (iii) the multiple factors described above that the Company considers in estimating its liabilities, and (iv) the several possible developments described above that may occur that could affect the Company's estimate of liabilities.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company's receivable for insurance recoveries related to the respirator mask/asbestos litigation was $87 million. In 2012, the Company increased its receivables for expected insurance recoveries by $39 million related to this litigation. The Company estimates insurance receivables based on an analysis of its numerous policies, including their exclusions, pertinent case law interpreting comparable policies, its experience with similar claims, and assessment of the nature of the claim and remaining coverage, and records an amount it has concluded is likely to be recovered.

Various factors could affect the timing and amount of recovery of this receivable, including (i) delays in or avoidance of payment by insurers; (ii) the extent to which insurers may become insolvent in the future, and (iii) the outcome of negotiations with insurers and legal proceedings with respect to respirator mask/asbestos liability insurance coverage. The difference between the accrued liability and insurance receivable represents in part the time delay between payment of claims on the one hand and receipt of insurance reimbursements on the other hand. Because of the lag time between settlement and payment of a claim, no meaningful conclusions may be drawn from quarterly or annual changes in the amount of receivables for expected insurance recoveries or changes in the number of claimants.

As previously reported, on January 5, 2007 the Company was served with a declaratory judgment action filed on behalf of two of its insurers (Continental Casualty and Continental Insurance Co. – both part of the Continental Casualty Group) disclaiming coverage for respirator mask/asbestos claims. The action, pending in the District Court in Ramsey County, Minnesota, seeks declaratory judgment regarding coverage provided by the policies and the allocation of covered costs among the policies issued by the various insurers. The action named, in addition to the Company, over 60 of the Company's insurers. This action is similar in nature to an action filed in 1994 with respect to breast implant coverage, which ultimately resulted in the Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling of 2003 that was largely in the Company's favor. The plaintiff insurers have served an amended complaint that names some additional insurers and deletes others. A significant number of the insurer defendants named in the amended complaint have been dismissed because of settlements they have reached with 3M regarding the matters at issue in the lawsuit. The case is currently in the discovery phase. Trial is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2013. During 2012, the Company reached settlements with several insurers, including Continental Casualty and Continental Insurance Co. mentioned above, that will result in payments totaling approximately $87 million ($72 million of which has been received in 2012) to the Company over the next year.

On April 1, 2008, a subsidiary of the Company purchased the stock of Aearo Holding Corp., the parent of Aearo Technologies (“Aearo”). Aearo manufactured and sold various products, including personal protection equipment, such as eye, ear, head, face, fall and certain respiratory protection products.

As of December 31, 2012, Aearo and/or other companies that previously owned and operated Aearo's respirator business (American Optical Corporation, Warner-Lambert LLC, AO Corp. and Cabot Corporation (“Cabot”)) are named defendants, with multiple co-defendants, including the Company, in numerous lawsuits in various courts in which plaintiffs allege use of mask and respirator products and seek damages from Aearo and other defendants for alleged personal injury from workplace exposures to asbestos, silica-related, or other occupational dusts found in products manufactured by other defendants or generally in the workplace.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company, through its Aearo subsidiary, has recorded $28 million as the best estimate of the probable liabilities for product liabilities and defense costs related to current and future Aearo-related asbestos and silica-related claims. Responsibility for legal costs, as well as for settlements and judgments, is currently shared in an informal arrangement among Aearo, Cabot, American Optical Corporation and a subsidiary of Warner Lambert and their insurers (the “Payor Group”). Liability is allocated among the parties based on the number of years each company sold respiratory products under the “AO Safety” brand and/or owned the AO Safety Division of American Optical Corporation and the alleged years of exposure of the individual plaintiff. Aearo's share of the contingent liability is further limited by an agreement entered into between Aearo and Cabot on July 11, 1995. This agreement provides that, so long as Aearo pays to Cabot an annual fee of $400,000, Cabot will retain responsibility and liability for, and indemnify Aearo against, asbestos and silica-related product liability claims for respirators manufactured prior to July 11, 1995. Because the date of manufacture for a particular respirator allegedly used in the past is often difficult to determine, Aearo and Cabot have applied the agreement to claims arising out of the alleged use of respirators while exposed to asbestos or silica or products containing asbestos or silica prior to January 1, 1997. With these arrangements in place, Aearo's potential liability is limited to exposures alleged to have arisen from the use of respirators involving exposure to asbestos, silica, or silica products on or after January 1, 1997. To date, Aearo has elected to pay the annual fee. Aearo could potentially be exposed to additional claims for some part of the pre-July 11, 1995 period covered by its agreement with Cabot if Aearo elects to discontinue its participation in this arrangement, or if Cabot is no longer able to meet its obligations in these matters.

In March 2012, Cabot CSC Corporation and Cabot Corporation filed a lawsuit against Aearo in the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts seeking declaratory relief as to the scope of Cabot's indemnity obligations under the July 11, 1995 agreement, including whether Cabot has retained liability for coal workers' pneumoconiosis claims, and seeking damages for breach of contract.

Developments may occur that could affect the estimate of Aearo's liabilities. These developments include, but are not limited to: (i) significant changes in the number of future claims, (ii) significant changes in the average cost of resolving claims, (iii) significant changes in the legal costs of defending these claims, (iv) significant changes in the mix and nature of claims received, (v) trial and appellate outcomes, (vi) significant changes in the law and procedure applicable to these claims, (vii) significant changes in the liability allocation among the co-defendants, (viii) the financial viability of members of the Payor Group including exhaustion of available coverage limits, (ix) the outcome of pending insurance coverage litigation among certain other members of the Payor Group and their respective insurers, and/or (x) a determination that the interpretation of the contractual obligations on which Aearo has estimated its share of liability is inaccurate. The Company cannot determine the impact of these potential developments on its current estimate of Aearo's share of liability for these existing and future claims. If any of the developments described above were to occur, the actual amount of these liabilities for existing and future claims could be significantly larger than the amount accrued.

Because of the inherent difficulty in projecting the number of claims that have not yet been asserted, the complexity of allocating responsibility for future claims among the Payor Group, and the several possible developments that may occur that could affect the estimate of Aearo's liabilities, the Company cannot estimate the amount or range of amounts by which Aearo's liability may exceed the accrual the Company has established.

The Company's operations are subject to environmental laws and regulations including those pertaining to air emissions, wastewater discharges, toxic substances, and the handling and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes enforceable by national, state, and local authorities around the world, and private parties in the United States and abroad. These laws and regulations provide, under certain circumstances, a basis for the remediation of contamination, for restoration of or compensation for damages to natural resources, and for personal injury and property damage claims. The Company has incurred, and will continue to incur, costs and capital expenditures in complying with these laws and regulations, defending personal injury and property damage claims, and modifying its business operations in light of its environmental responsibilities. In its effort to satisfy its environmental responsibilities and comply with environmental laws and regulations, the Company has established, and periodically updates, policies relating to environmental standards of performance for its operations worldwide.

Under certain environmental laws, including the United States Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 and similar state laws, the Company may be jointly and severally liable, typically with other companies, for the costs of remediation of environmental contamination at current or former facilities and at off-site locations. The Company has identified numerous locations, most of which are in the United States, at which it may have some liability. Please refer to the paragraph entitled “Environmental Liabilities and Insurance Receivables” that follows for information on the amount of the accrual.

As previously reported, the Company has been voluntarily cooperating with ongoing reviews by local, state, national (primarily the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)), and international agencies of possible environmental and health effects of various perfluorinated compounds (“PFCs”), including perfluorooctanyl compounds such as perfluorooctanoate (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (“PFOS”). As a result of its phase-out decision in May 2000, the Company no longer manufactures perfluorooctanyl compounds. The company ceased manufacturing and using the vast majority of these compounds within approximately two years of the phase-out announcement, and ceased all manufacturing and the last significant use of this chemistry by 2008. Through its ongoing life cycle management and its raw material composition identification processes associated with the Company's policies covering the use of all persistent and bio-accumulative materials, the Company has on occasion identified the presence of precursor chemicals in materials purchased from suppliers that may ultimately degrade to PFOA, PFOS or similar compounds. Upon such identification, the Company works to find alternatives for such chemicals.

Regulatory activities concerning PFOA and/or PFOS continue in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, and before certain international bodies. These activities include gathering of exposure and use information, risk assessment, and consideration of regulatory approaches. The EPA continues to develop Drinking Water Health Advisories for PFOS and PFOA, which are expected to be released in 2013. Those advisory levels will supersede the current provisional advisory levels. In an effort to move toward developing standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA published on May 2, 2012 a list of unregulated substances, including six PFCs, required to be monitored during the period 2013-2015 by public water system suppliers to determine the extent of their occurrence.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has completed a bio-monitoring study evaluating PFC blood levels in volunteers living near fields where wastewater treatment sludge was applied from the municipal wastewater treatment plant in Decatur, Alabama that received wastewater from numerous sources, including sanitary wastewater from 3M. The Company expects ATSDR to release its report in 2013.

3M continues its third and final phase of work pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding with the EPA regarding an environmental assessment program at the Company's Decatur manufacturing site. That work includes groundwater sampling off-site from the 3M Decatur facility as well as at three local landfills used by the facility. The Company shared results from this final phase of sampling work with the EPA in September, 2012.

The Company is continuing to make progress in its work, under the supervision of state regulators, to address its historic disposal of PFC-containing waste associated with manufacturing operations at the Cottage Grove, Minnesota and Decatur, Alabama plants.

As previously reported, the Company entered into a voluntary remedial action agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to address the presence of PFCs in the soil at the Company's manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama. For approximately twenty years, the Company incorporated its wastewater treatment plant sludge containing PFCs in fields at its Decatur facility pursuant to a permit issued by ADEM. After a review of the available options to address the presence of PFCs in the soil, ADEM agreed that the preferred remediation option is to use a multilayer cap over the former sludge incorporation areas on the manufacturing site with subsequent groundwater migration controls and treatment. Implementation of that option will continue throughout the balance of 2013 and is expected to be completed in 2016.

The Company continues to work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) pursuant to the terms of the previously disclosed May 2007 Settlement Agreement and Consent Order to address the presence of certain PFCs in the soil and groundwater at former disposal sites in Washington County, Minnesota (Oakdale and Woodbury) and at the Company's manufacturing facility at Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Under this agreement, the Company's principal obligations include (i) evaluating releases of certain PFCs from these sites and proposing response actions; (ii) providing treatment or alternative drinking water upon identifying any level exceeding a Health Based Value (“HBV”) or Health Risk Limit (“HRL”) (i.e., the amount of a chemical in drinking water determined by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to be safe for human consumption over a lifetime) for certain PFCs for which a HBV and/or HRL exists as a result of contamination from these sites; (iii) remediating identified sources of other PFCs at these sites that are not controlled by actions to remediate PFOA and PFOS; and (iv) sharing information with the MPCA about certain perfluorinated compounds. During 2008, the MPCA issued formal decisions adopting remedial options for the former disposal sites in Washington County, Minnesota (Oakdale and Woodbury). In August 2009, the MPCA issued a formal decision adopting remedial options for the Company's Cottage Grove manufacturing facility. During the spring and summer of 2010, 3M began implementing the agreed upon remedial options at the Cottage Grove and Woodbury sites. 3M commenced the remedial option at the Oakdale site in late 2010. At each location the remedial options were recommended by the Company and approved by the MPCA. Remediation work has been completed at the Oakdale site, and it is in an operational maintenance mode. Remediation will continue at the other two sites during 2013.

The Company cannot predict what additional regulatory actions arising from the foregoing proceedings and activities, if any, may be taken regarding such compounds or the consequences of any such actions.

As previously reported, a former employee filed a purported class action lawsuit in 2002 in the Circuit Court of Morgan County, Alabama seeking unstated damages and alleging that the plaintiffs suffered fear, increased risk, subclinical injuries, and property damage from exposure to certain perfluorochemicals at or near the Company's Decatur, Alabama, manufacturing facility. The Circuit Court in 2005 granted the Company's motion to dismiss the named plaintiff's personal injury-related claims on the basis that such claims are barred by the exclusivity provisions of the state's Workers Compensation Act. The plaintiffs' counsel filed an amended complaint in November 2006, limiting the case to property damage claims on behalf of a purported class of residents and property owners in the vicinity of the Decatur plant. Also, in 2005, the judge in a second purported class action lawsuit (filed by three residents of Morgan County, Alabama, seeking unstated compensatory and punitive damages involving alleged damage to their property from emissions of certain perfluorochemical compounds from the Company's Decatur, Alabama, manufacturing facility that formerly manufactured those compounds) granted the Company's motion to abate the case, effectively putting the case on hold pending the resolution of class certification issues in the first action described above filed in the same court in 2002. Despite the stay, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint seeking damages for alleged personal injuries and property damage on behalf of the named plaintiffs and the members of a purported class. No further action in the case is expected unless and until the stay is lifted.

In February 2009, a resident of Franklin County, Alabama, filed a purported class action lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Franklin County seeking compensatory damages and injunctive relief based on the application by the Decatur utility's wastewater treatment plant of wastewater treatment sludge to farmland and grasslands in the state that allegedly contain PFOA, PFOS and other perfluorochemicals. The named defendants in the case include 3M, its subsidiary Dyneon LLC, Daikin America, Inc., Synagro-WWT, Inc., Synagro South, LLC and Biological Processors of America. The named plaintiff seeks to represent a class of all persons within the State of Alabama who have had PFOA, PFOS and other perfluorochemicals released or deposited on their property. In March 2010, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the case transferred from Franklin County to Morgan County. In May, 2010, consistent with its handling of the other matters, the Morgan County Circuit Court abated this case, putting it on hold pending the resolution of the class certification issues in the first case filed there.

In December 2010, the State of Minnesota, by its Attorney General Lori Swanson, acting in its capacity as trustee of the natural resources of the State of Minnesota, filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court against 3M to recover damages (including unspecified assessment costs and reasonable attorney's fees) for alleged injury to, destruction of, and loss of use of certain of the State's natural resources under the Minnesota Environmental Response and Liability Act (MERLA) and the Minnesota Water Pollution Control Act (MWPCA), as well as statutory nuisance and common law claims of trespass, nuisance, and negligence with respect to the presence of PFCs in the groundwater, surface water, fish or other aquatic life and sediments. The State also seeks declarations under MERLA that 3M is responsible for all damages the State may suffer in the future for injuries to natural resources from releases of PFCs into the environment, and under MWPCA that 3M is responsible for compensation for future loss or destruction of fish, aquatic life and other damages.

In January 2011, the City of Lake Elmo filed a motion to intervene in the State of Minnesota lawsuit and seeks damages in excess of $50,000 and other legal and equitable relief, including reasonable attorneys' fees, for alleged contamination of city property, wells, groundwater and water contained in the wells with PFCs under several theories, including common law and statutory nuisance, strict liability, trespass, negligence, and conversion. The court granted the City of Lake Elmo's motion to intervene in this lawsuit.

In November 2011, the Metropolitan Council filed a motion to intervene and a complaint in the State of Minnesota lawsuit seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and other legal, declaratory and equitable relief, including reasonable attorneys' fees, for costs and fees that the Metropolitan Council alleges it will be required to assess at some time in the future if the MPCA imposes restrictions on Metropolitan Council's PFOS discharges to the Mississippi River. Metropolitan Council's intervention motion was based on several theories, including common law negligence, and statutory claims under MERLA for response costs and under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA) for declaratory and equitable relief against 3M for PFOS and other PFC pollution of the waters and sediments of the Mississippi River. 3M did not object to the motion to intervene. In January 2012, 3M answered the Metropolitan Council's complaint and filed a counterclaim alleging that the Metropolitan Council discharges PFCs to the Mississippi River and discharges PFC-containing sludge and biosolids from one or more of its wastewater treatment plants onto agricultural lands and local area landfills. Accordingly, 3M requested that if the Court finds that the State is entitled to any of the damages the State seeks, 3M seeks contribution and apportionment from the Metropolitan Council, including attorneys' fees, under MERLA, and contribution from and liability for the Metropolitan Council's proportional share of damages awarded to the State under the MWPCA, as well as under statutory nuisance and common law theories of trespass, nuisance and negligence. 3M also seeks declaratory relief under MERA.

In May 2012, 3M filed a motion to disqualify the State of Minnesota's counsel, Covington & Burling, LLP (Covington). In October 2012, the court granted 3M's motion to disqualify Covington as counsel to the State and stayed discovery in the natural resources damages case for up to 180 days to give the State time to secure new counsel. In October 2012, the State and Covington appealed the court's disqualification to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

In June 2009, the Company, along with more than 250 other companies, was served with a third-party complaint seeking contribution towards the cost of cleaning up a 17-mile stretch of the Passaic River in New Jersey. After commencing an enforcement action in 1990, the State of New Jersey filed suit against Maxus Energy, Tierra Solutions, Occidental Chemical and two other companies seeking cleanup and removal costs and other damages associated with the presence of dioxin and other hazardous substances in the sediment of the Passaic. The third-party complaint seeks to spread those costs among the third-party defendants, including 3M. Allegations asserted against 3M relate to its use of two commercial drum conditioning facilities in New Jersey. Currently, the State of New Jersey is actively negotiating with third-party defendants, including 3M, to settle pending claims related to the state's response costs. The potential scope of a state settlement remains uncertain and would not include release from potential federal claims, yet to be asserted, related to the final cleanup costs. Total costs for the remedy currently proposed by EPA could easily exceed $1 billion. While the Company does not yet have a basis for estimating its potential exposure in this case, or in the yet to be asserted EPA claim, the Company currently believes its allocable share of the possible loss, if any, is likely to be a fraction of one percent of the total costs because of the Company's limited potential involvement at this site.

For environmental litigation matters described in this section for which a liability, if any, has been recorded, the Company believes the amount recorded, as well as the possible loss or range of loss in excess of the established accrual is not material to the Company's consolidated results of operations or financial condition. For those matters for which a liability has not been recorded, the Company believes such liability is not probable and estimable and the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss at this time, with the exception of the Passaic River litigation, where the Company's potential exposure, if any, is likely to be a fraction of one percent of the total costs.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had recorded liabilities of $29 million for estimated “environmental remediation” costs based upon an evaluation of currently available facts with respect to each individual site and also recorded related insurance receivables of $11 million. The Company records liabilities for remediation costs on an undiscounted basis when they are probable and reasonably estimable, generally no later than the completion of feasibility studies or the Company's commitment to a plan of action. Liabilities for estimated costs of environmental remediation, depending on the site, are based primarily upon internal or third-party environmental studies, and estimates as to the number, participation level and financial viability of any other potentially responsible parties, the extent of the contamination and the nature of required remedial actions. The Company adjusts recorded liabilities as further information develops or circumstances change. The Company expects that it will pay the amounts recorded over the periods of remediation for the applicable sites, currently ranging up to 20 years.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had recorded liabilities of $57 million for “other environmental liabilities” based upon an evaluation of currently available facts to implement the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order with the MPCA, the remedial action agreement with ADEM, and to address trace amounts of perfluorinated compounds in drinking water sources in the City of Oakdale, Minnesota, as well as presence in the soil and groundwater at the Company's manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Alabama, and Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and at two former disposal sites in Washington County, Minnesota (Oakdale and Woodbury). The Company expects that most of the spending will occur over the next four years. In 2012, the Company recorded expected insurance recoveries of $15 million related to “other environmental liabilities.”

It is difficult to estimate the cost of environmental compliance and remediation given the uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of applicable environmental laws and regulations, the extent of environmental contamination and the existence of alternative cleanup methods. Developments may occur that could affect the Company's current assessment, including, but not limited to: (i) changes in the information available regarding the environmental impact of the Company's operations and products; (ii) changes in environmental regulations, changes in permissible levels of specific compounds in drinking water sources, or changes in enforcement theories and policies, including efforts to recover natural resource damages; (iii) new and evolving analytical and remediation techniques; (iv) success in allocating liability to other potentially responsible parties; and (v) the financial viability of other potentially responsible parties and third-party indemnitors. For sites included in both “environmental remediation liabilities” and “other environmental liabilities,” at which remediation activity is largely complete and remaining activity relates primarily to operation and maintenance of the remedy, including required post-remediation monitoring, the Company believes the exposure to loss in excess of the amount accrued would not be material to the Company's consolidated results of operations or financial condition. However, for locations at which remediation activity is largely ongoing, the Company cannot estimate a possible loss or range of loss in excess of the associated established accruals for the reasons described above.

In November 2009, the Company contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to voluntarily disclose that the Company was conducting an internal investigation as a result of reports it received about its subsidiary in Turkey, alleging bid rigging and bribery and other inappropriate conduct in connection with the supply of certain reflective and other materials and related services to Turkish government entities. The Company also contacted certain affected government agencies in Turkey. In September 2012, the Turkish Competition Authority issued its decision finding that there was insufficient evidence obtained in the investigation to find that 3M Turkey or the other companies investigated violated the Turkish competition law.

The Company retained outside counsel to conduct an assessment of its policies, practices, and controls and to evaluate its overall compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including a review of its practices in certain other countries and acquired entities. As part of its review, the Company has also reported to the DOJ and SEC issues arising from transactions in other countries. In January 2013, the DOJ and SEC each notified the Company that they are terminating their investigations into possible violations of the FCPA without taking any action or imposing any fines against the Company. Among the reasons cited by the DOJ for closing its investigation included the Company's voluntary disclosure and cooperation, the Company's thorough investigation, and the steps the Company has taken to enhance its anti-corruption compliance program.

In September 2010, various parties, on behalf of a purported class of shareholders of Cogent, Inc. (“Cogent”), commenced three lawsuits against the Company, Cogent, and its directors in the Delaware Court of Chancery. Plaintiffs allege that 3M, in connection with its tender offer for Cogent shares, aided and abetted the breach of fiduciary duties by Cogent directors and seek an unspecified amount of damages. The three cases were consolidated, expedited discovery was conducted, and Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the acquisition was denied on October 1, 2010. On November 15, 2010, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that added Cogent directors appointed by 3M, as named defendants, and asserted additional claims of breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the acquisition and a subsequent offering period. 3M completed its acquisition of Cogent in December 2010. In March 2012, all parties to the litigation agreed to settle this litigation for an amount that is not material to the Company. On August 30, 2012, the Court of Chancery approved the settlement and dismissed plaintiffs' claims.

Separately, several purported holders of Cogent shares, representing a total of approximately 5.8 million shares, have asserted appraisal rights under Delaware law. The Company has answered the appraisal petition and is defending this matter vigorously. Trial in Delaware occurred in November 2012; post-trial briefing is ongoing.

In October 2012, four plaintiffs filed purported class actions against Ceradyne, its directors, 3M and Cyborg Acquisition Corporation (a direct wholly owned subsidiary of 3M) in connection with 3M's proposed acquisition of Ceradyne. Two suits were filed in California Superior Court for Orange County and two were filed in the Delaware Chancery Court. The suits seek principally to enjoin the proposed acquisition of Ceradyne, and allege that the defendants breached and/or aided and abetted the breach of their fiduciary duties to Ceradyne by seeking to sell Ceradyne through an allegedly unfair process and for an unfair price and on unfair terms, and/or by allegedly failing to make adequate disclosures to Ceradyne stockholders regarding the proposed acquisition of Ceradyne. The California court consolidated the two California actions. In the Delaware cases, the plaintiffs' motions to expedite proceedings, which the defendants have opposed, was denied by the Delaware Chancery Court. The parties reached a settlement of those matters for an amount that is not material to the Company. The settlement papers are presently being drafted, and the settlement will be presented to the California court for preliminary and final approval.

Separately, one Ceradyne shareholder, who purports to hold 16,656 shares, filed a petition for appraisal rights under Delaware law.

3M filed suit against Avery Dennison Corporation in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota in June 2010, alleging that Avery's OmniCube™ full cube retroreflective sheeting products, which are used for highway signage, infringe a number of 3M patents. 3M's motion to preliminarily enjoin the sales of Avery's OmniCube retroreflective sheeting was denied in December 2010. 3M also sought a declaratory judgment from the District Court in Minnesota that 3M's Diamond Grade™ DG3 full cube retroreflective sheeting does not infringe two Avery patents. The District Court granted Avery's motion to dismiss 3M's declaratory judgment suit in March 2011. 3M appealed the dismissal of the declaratory judgment lawsuit, and in January 2012, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision reversing the district court and reinstating the declaratory judgment action. Avery did not appeal this decision, and that action, including Avery's counterclaims against 3M for infringement of the Avery patents, is proceeding in the District Court in Minnesota. In October 2010, Avery Dennison filed a lawsuit against the Company in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging that 3M monopolized or attempted to monopolize the markets for Type XI retroreflective sheeting and for broad high performance sheeting in violation of the Sherman Act, as well as other claims. Avery alleges that 3M manipulated the standards-setting process of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), a private organization responsible for creating standards for, among other things, retroreflective sheeting used for highway signage; entered into illegal and anticompetitive contracts; and engaged in other anticompetitive acts including false advertising and disparagement. 3M's motion to transfer the antitrust case to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota was granted in February 2011. 3M's patent infringement lawsuit against Avery, the declaratory judgment action against Avery (with Avery's patent infringement counterclaims), and Avery's antitrust suit against 3M are moving forward in the Minnesota Court.

In March 2012, the district court issued its claim construction ruling in the 3M patent case, finding in 3M's favor on 16 of the 19 disputed terms. Fact and expert discovery in that case have concluded and the parties are awaiting oral argument on pending motions for summary judgment on certain matters filed by both parties. Avery has sought reexamination of the five 3M patents in suit. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) granted reexamination and issued a first Office Action rejecting all claims for two of the patents in suit. The US PTO denied in whole Avery's request for reexamination of one of the patents in suit.

Fact discovery is also complete in the antitrust case and expert discovery is ongoing. Fact discovery is ongoing in the declaratory judgment case involving Avery's patents and the parties are beginning the claim construction process. Avery filed a motion to join all three cases for trial, a motion that the Court denied. Accordingly, the 3M patent infringement case is expected to go to trial late in 2013.

3M sued TransWeb Corporation in Minnesota in 2010 for infringement of several 3M patents covering fluorination and hydrocharging of filter media used in 3M's respirators and furnace filters. TransWeb does not make finished goods, but sells media to competitors of 3M's respirator and furnace filter businesses. TransWeb filed a declaratory judgment action in and successfully moved the litigation to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, seeking a declaration of invalidity and non-infringement of 3M's patents, and further alleging that 3M waited too long to enforce its rights. TransWeb also alleged 3M obtained the patents through inequitable conduct and that 3M's attempt to enforce the patents constitutes a violation of the antitrust laws. On November 30, 2012, the jury returned a verdict in favor of TransWeb on all but one count, including findings that 3M's patents were invalid and not infringed, and that 3M had committed an antitrust violation by seeking to enforce a patent it had obtained fraudulently. The jury also recommended that the court find 3M had committed inequitable conduct in obtaining the patents, and that the patents were therefore unenforceable. Since the vast majority of TransWeb's claim for treble antitrust damages is in the form of its attorneys' fees and expenses in connection with the defense of the patent case, the parties agreed that the measure of damages would not go to the jury, but rather would be submitted to a special master after the trial. It is expected this process will take several months, and the special master's recommendations would then be forwarded to the court for review and entry of a final judgment. 3M intends to appeal.

In December 2010, Meda AB, the Swedish-based acquirer of 3M's European pharmaceutical business, filed a lawsuit against 3M, 3M Innovative Properties Company, and Riker Laboratories, Inc. (collectively, "3M"). Meda initially asserted claims against 3M for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. In October 2011, Meda amended its pleading to assert a claim for fraud. All three claims are based on allegations that 3M did not inform Meda about certain information relating to the pricing of a particular drug in France prior to the acquisition. Meda seeks to recover compensatory damages in excess of $300 million (including prejudgment interest), punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. In September 2012, 3M filed a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Meda cannot establish a breach of any duty owed by 3M. A non-jury trial started in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in January 2013. The court is expected to issue its decision in the first quarter of 2013.

Shurtape Technologies, LLC sued 3M in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, alleging that 3M's ScotchBlue™ Painter's Masking Tape with Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector, which was introduced in late 2009, infringes Shurtape's U.S. patent describing masking tape having an absorbent coating applied to the edge of the tape and several of Shurtape's trademarks. 3M requested reexamination of the Shurtape patent, and in November 2012, the US PTO issued an office action adopting many of 3M's invalidity arguments and rejecting all claims in the Shurtape patent. 3M has also filed a motion with the district court asking that the litigation be stayed pending resolution of the reexamination. Shurtape has opposed that motion and the court has not yet ruled. Trial is anticipated in late 2013 or early 2014.

For commercial litigation matters described in this section for which a liability, if any, has been recorded, the Company believes the amount recorded, as well as the possible loss or range of loss in excess of the established accrual is not material to the Company's consolidated results of operations or financial condition. For those matters for which a liability has not been recorded, the Company believes that such liability is not probable and estimable and the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss at this time.

Électricité de France (EDF) filed a lawsuit against 3M France in the French courts in 2006 claiming commercial loss and property damage after experiencing electrical network failures which EDF alleges were caused by so-called defective 3M transition splices. The French Court of Appeals at Versailles affirmed the commercial trial court's decision that the transition splices conformed to contract specifications which were thoroughly analyzed and tested by EDF before purchase and installation. The Court of Appeals, however, ordered a court-appointed expert to study the problem and issue a technical opinion on the cause of the network failures. In spite of considerable testing of 3M's splices over several years, the court-appointed expert has been unable to identify a defect in the 3M splices and to determine the definitive cause of the network failures. The court-appointed expert is expected to submit his final report to the commercial court by June 30, 2013. Thereafter, the commercial court may take from six months to one year to render its decision.

One customer obtained an order in the French courts against 3M Purification SAS (a French subsidiary) in October 2011 appointing an expert to determine the amount of commercial loss and property damage allegedly caused by so-called defective 3M filters used in the customer's manufacturing process. An Austrian subsidiary of this same customer also filed a claim against 3M Austria GmbH (an Austrian subsidiary) and 3M Purification SAS in the Austrian courts in September 2012 seeking damages for the same issue. Another customer filed a lawsuit against 3M Deutschland GmbH (a German subsidiary) in the German courts in March 2012 seeking commercial loss and property damage allegedly caused by so-called defective 3M filters used in that customer's manufacturing process. The Company has resolved on an amicable basis claims of two other customers arising out of the same issue.

For product liability litigation matters described in this section for which a liability has been recorded, the Company believes the amount recorded is not material to the Company's consolidated results of operations or financial condition. In addition, the Company is not able to estimate a possible loss or range of loss in excess of the established accruals at this time.