Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Johnson & Johnson by the Law Firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP

RADNOR, Pa., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP:

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) ("JNJ" or the "Company"), who purchased or otherwise acquired Johnson & Johnson's securities between October 14, 2008 and July 21, 2010, inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or D. Seamus Kaskela, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at [email protected].

The Complaint charges JNJ and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  JNJ is a healthcare company that sells, among other things, over-the-counter ("OTC") drugs to consumers. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1)  Starting in April of 2008, defendants received numerous consumer complaints that Tylenol products made at a manufacturing facility in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico exhibited a "musty" odor.  Despite being aware of these complaints, defendants failed to conduct an adequate investigation and failed to notify the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") as required; (2)  Defendants failed to take corrective action when foreign materials and contamination were found in a manufacturing facility in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania from May 2009 to April 2010.   Similarly, defendants ignored 46 separate complaints of foreign materials in products made at that facility from June 2009 to April 2010; and (3) in late 2008, defendants learned of potential problems with one of its Motrin products.  Rather than issue a public recall, defendants sent contractors out to stores to buy the product back and told the contractors not to mention any recall.  After the FDA learned of this "phantom recall," it pressured defendants to publicly recall the products.

As a result of the blatant, systemic, and repeated failure of defendants to maintain proper manufacturing practices at their facilities, defendants have been forced to issue over eight separate recalls including dozens of products and hundreds of millions of individual packages.  Further, defendants are now under investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and multiple state Attorneys General offices.  As a result of the gradual disclosure of defendants' conduct, the price of JNJ stock has declined significantly, causing damages to Plaintiff and the Class.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country.  Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered billions of dollars on behalf of institutional and individual investors from the United States and around the world.

For more information about Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, or for additional information about participating in this action, please visit www.btkmc.com.

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than November 22, 2010, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose.  A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.  In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class.  Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.  Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.  

SOURCE Barroway Topaz Kessler Meltzer & Check, LLP