NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolf Popper LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Medtronic, Inc. ("Medtronic") and certain of its officers and directors in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, on behalf of investors who purchased Medtronic common stock on the open market from June 25, 2007 through October 15, 2007 (the "Class Period"). This is the first action filed against Medtronic and alleges claims for securities fraud. The case has been assigned Civil Action No. 07-4564 (DSD/JJG).
The complaint charges that during the Class Period Medtronic misrepresented the true facts concerning the Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads, and that those true facts were only disseminated to investors on October 15, 2007 when the Company disclosed that it would voluntarily suspend distribution of these defibrillator leads. The Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads were introduced to the market in September 2004 and, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal on October 30, 2007, by early 2007 "about 90% of new Medtronic defibrillators used Fidelis leads."
By January 2007 Medtronic had received 679 reports of injuries caused by fractures in the Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads. In a meeting with Dr. Robert G. Hauser, of the Minneapolis Heart Institute in February 2007, Medtronic was informed specifically that the Minneapolis Heart Institute would cease using the Fidelis leads in operations and would use Medtronic's earlier generation Sprint Quattro leads. The reports of lead failures led Medtronic to send a letter dated March 21, 2007 to physicians treating patients with the Sprint Fidelis leads describing the nature of the lead failures and attributing the failures to physician error, or "variables within the implant procedure." Medtronic continued receiving further reports of lead failure subsequent to March 21, 2007. In fact the number of lead failures grew from a total of 795 injuries reported by April 30, 2007 to a total of 1,053 injuries reported by June 30, 2007.
Notwithstanding this increased evidence of severe problems with the leads, Medtronic stated (falsely) in its Form 10-K for fiscal year end April 27, 2007 (filed with the SEC on June 25, 2007) that the Sprint Fidelis lead had experienced "strong market acceptance" and "increasing clinical data that supports these devices" since its introduction to the market in September 2004. From July 2007 through September 2007, Medtronic continued to receive increasingly frequent reports of lead failures, with the number of reported failures reaching 1,661 by September 30, 2007.
Finally, on October 15, 2007, Medtronic belatedly acknowledged that the increasingly frequent adverse reports were the result of manufacturing defects and suspended distribution of the Sprint Fidelis defibrillation leads because of the high incidence of lead fractures. The Company further admitted that it had "identified five patient deaths in which a Sprint Fidelis lead fracture may have been a possible or likely contributing factor." Upon the release of this information into the market, Medtronic's stock dropped $6.33 per share or 11.2% on volume of approximately 62.9 million shares.
If you purchased or acquired Medtronic common stock during the Class Period, you may move the court no later than January 7, 2008, and request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. To be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must decide that your claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that you will adequately represent the class. Your share in any recovery will not be enhanced or diminished by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
Wolf Popper LLP has extensive experience representing shareholders in class actions and has successfully recovered billions of dollars for defrauded investors and shareholders. The reputation and expertise of the firm in shareholder and other class action litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed the firm to major positions in complex multi-district and consolidated litigations.
For more information or to pursue your right to be appointed lead plaintiff, please contact:
Wolf Popper LLP
E. Elizabeth Ferguson, Esq.
845 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022
Tel.: 212.759.4600 or 877.370.7703 (toll free)
Fax: 212.486.2093 or 877.370.7704 (toll free)
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