A global settlement of the massive 3M earplug litigation remains unlikely after a federal judge scrapped mediation talks and 16 plaintiffs firms opposed a request for more time to come up with a bankruptcy plan.

U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who ordered formal mediation discussions seven months ago to resolve an estimated 260,000 earplug claims, declared “an impasse” in the multidistrict litigation in Florida’s Northern District.