Contact Information: CONTACT: Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP New York, N.Y. Gerald H. Silk 212-554-1400 Noam Mandel 212-554-1400
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP Announces Filing of Securities Class Action Against Medtronic and Certain of Its Senior Officers and Directors
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - December 10, 2008) - Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
("BLB&G") today announced that it filed a class action lawsuit in the
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of its
client Minneapolis Firefighters' Relief Association ("Minneapolis
Firefighters") and similarly situated investors in the securities of
Medtronic, Inc. ("Medtronic" or the "Company") (NYSE : MDT ) during the
period from November 19, 2007 through November 17, 2008 (the "Class
Period"). The case is captioned Minneapolis Firefighters' Relief
Association v. Medtronic, Inc., et al., Case No. 08-CV-6324.
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Medtronic, its Chief
Executive Officer William A. Hawkins, III ("Hawkins") and Chief Financial
Officer Gary Elliss ("Elliss") violated the federal securities laws by
issuing false and misleading press releases, financial statements, filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and statements during investor
conference calls. The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period,
Medtronic -- a medical device manufacturer -- made repeated false
statements to the investing public concerning one of its flagship products,
the INFUSE Bone Graft ("INFUSE"), representing to investors that it was a
valuable and reliable source of revenues for the Company.
Specifically, Defendants' statements and their portrayal of INFUSE, a
surgically-implanted medical device containing a genetically engineered
protein designed to stimulate bone growth, were materially false and
misleading because Defendants concealed and failed to disclose material
facts known to or recklessly ignored by them about INFUSE that were
necessary to make their otherwise positive statements about the product and
the Company's financial condition accurate, truthful, and not misleading to
investors. In particular, Defendants did not disclose the extent to which
revenues from sales of INFUSE were dependent on applications of the product
not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), or
so-called "off-label" uses; did not disclose that a significant and
increasing number of patients subjected to such off-label uses of INFUSE
were suffering severe medical complications; and hid the fact that the
extensive off-label usage of INFUSE was the result of an unlawful campaign
by Defendants to market and encourage off-label use of the product.
Defendants' false and misleading statements concerning INFUSE and the
Company's financial condition artificially inflated the price of the
Company's publicly traded securities during the Class Period. Revelations
concerning Defendants' false and misleading statements during the Class
Period caused significant losses to investors as the prices of the
Company's securities experienced severe declines as a direct result of
these revelations, with the Company's stock price closing the day after the
end of the Class Period at $31.20 per share, down from a Class Period high
of $55.65 per share.
The Complaint alleges that the Defendants violated Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5
promulgated thereunder and that Defendants Hawkins and Elliss violated
Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court by February
9, 2009. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions
concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact
Plaintiff's counsel, Gerald H. Silk or Noam Mandel of BLB&G at
212-554-1400, or via e-mail at jerry@blbglaw.com or noam@blbglaw.com,
respectively. You can view a copy of the Complaint as filed and this
notice online at http://www.blbglaw.com. Any member of the class may move
the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or
may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class.
Plaintiff Minneapolis Firefighters is represented by BLB&G, a firm of 50
attorneys with offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey,
which has extensive expertise in prosecuting investor class actions
involving financial fraud. Since its founding in 1983, BLB&G has built an
international reputation for excellence and integrity. Specializing in
securities fraud, corporate governance, shareholders' rights, employment
discrimination and civil rights litigation, among other practice areas,
BLB&G prosecutes class and private actions on behalf of institutional and
individual clients worldwide. Unique among its peers, BLB&G has obtained
four of the ten largest and most significant securities recoveries in
history, recovering over $20 billion on behalf of defrauded investors.
More information about Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP can be
found online at www.blbglaw.com.