J&J/Boston Sci battle persists
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
A federal judge allows Johnson & Johnson to pursue a breach of contract claim against Boston Scientific alleging Guidant violated its 2004 merger deal with J&J when its shareholders decided to be acquired by Boston Scientific instead. In an Aug. 29 1ruling, Southern District of New York Judge Gerard Lynch denied Boston Scientific/Guidant's motion to dismiss the breach of contract claims initiated in October 2006 by J&J as part of a $5.5 billion suit. However, he did dismiss J&J's claims that Boston Scientific improperly interfered with J&J's efforts to buy Guidant and that Guidant breached its "implied duty of good faith and fair dealing" when it decided to accept Boston Scientific's merger offer (2"The Gray Sheet' Oct. 2, 2006, p. 6). The judge also dismissed all of J&J's claims against Abbott Laboratories, whose acquisition of Guidant's stent business helped fund Boston Scientific's Guidant purchase and made it easier for antitrust regulators to clear the deal...