Medtronic Class Action Filed on Behalf of Stock Purchasers
November 21st, 2007 amy
A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of purchasers of Medtronic’s common stock between June 25, 2007 and October 15, 2007. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges that the company and its senior management violated federal securities laws by issuing false material and misleading statements to inflate the market price of the company’s securities.
On October 15, Medtronic recalled its Sprint Fidelis leads after receiving reports of at least five deaths related to the fracturing of the lead wires. Medtronic spent many months prior denying that the leads were defective or dangerous, blaming physicians for implanting the devices incorrectly.
Despite the increasing number of complaints about the dangers of Medtronic’s Sprint Fidelis Leads from January 2007 until the October recall, Medtronic continued to dupe investors. Per the complaint filed in the class action, Medtronic falsely stated in its 10-K that the Fidelis lead had experienced “strong market acceptance” and “increasing clinical data that supports these devices.” By September 2007, Medtronic had received 1,661 reports of lead failures. Upon the release of the October recall, Medtronic’s stock dropped $6.33 per share, or 11.2 percent.
