A class action has been filed against Guidant Corporation (GDT), certain of its officers and directors by stockholders who purchased the company's common stock between December 15, 2004 and November 3, 2005. The action claims that the defendants violated federal securities laws by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market over this time period, thereby artificially inflating the price of the company's securities. The stockholders seek to recover compensatory damages for the loss of value of their stock.

According to a press release dated November 4, 2005, the complaint alleges that Guidant and certain of its officers and directors violated provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, causing the Company's stock price to become artificially inflated. On December 15, 2004, Guidant entered into a $24.5 billion merger deal with Johnson & Johnson . According to the complaint, while the Company pointed to its defibrillator business as a key component of that deal, it concealed from investors significant unaddressed product defect and liability issues of the Company's implantable defibrillator product lines.

On June 17, 2005, the FDA issued a nationwide recall notification impacting Guidant's implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. Within that notification, the FDA advised the public that the malfunction of Guidant's devices could lead to a serious, life- threatening event for a patient. On July 18, 2005, the FDA published a "Recall - Firm Press Release" on its website, that now revealed the Company's knowledge of pacemaker-related defects. In the recall publication, Guidant warned physicians and patients to seek replacement of at least nine different cardiac pacemaker models and product lines.

The complaint further alleges that Johnson & Johnson representatives subsequently revealed to the investment community that, as of October 18, 2005, it was seeking alternatives to the merger deal in earnest, as a direct result of the "developments" at Guidant. On November 2, 2005, Johnson & Johnson warned that it might withdraw from the merger deal due to broad product recalls and a regulatory agency investigation. Finally, on November 3, 2005, the Attorney General of the State of New York filed a complaint, alleging "repeated and persistent fraud" by the Company in connection with its defibrillator sales. As investors learned the truth about the allegations of fraud made by the State of New York, the Company's shares tumbled from $60.40 on November 2, 2005, to as low as $57.05 per share in heavy trading.

If you bought Guidant Corporation securities between December 15, 2004 and November 3, 2005, inclusive, and would like to obtain information about the Guidant Corporation lawsuit, then you are invited to call (866) 467-1400 to speak with an attorney.