Johnson & Johnson Provides Notice Of Proposed Settlement Of Shareholder Derivative Actions, Final Settlement Hearing, And Right To Appear

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ):

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF
JOHNSON & JOHNSON SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE ACTIONS,
FINAL SETTLEMENT HEARING, AND RIGHT TO APPEAR

TO:  ALL CURRENT RECORD HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF COMMON STOCK OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON ("J&J") ("CURRENT J&J SHAREHOLDERS")

THIS SUMMARY NOTICE RELATES TO A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL OF THE DERIVATIVE ACTIONS CAPTIONED IN RE JOHNSON & JOHNSON DERIVATIVE LITIGATION (CASE NO. 10-2033), IN RE JOHNSON & JOHNSON FCPA SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE LITIGATION (CASE NO. 11-2511), AND COPELAND v. PRINCE, ET AL. (CASE NO. 11-4993), ALL OF WHICH ARE PENDING IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY (THE "ACTIONS").

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that the parties to the Actions have entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement setting forth the terms of the proposed settlement (the "Settlement") that will resolve the issues raised in the Actions.

PLEASE BE FURTHER ADVISED that pursuant to an Order of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, a hearing will be held before the Honorable Freda L. Wolfson on September 28, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (the "Settlement Hearing") in Courtroom 5E of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Clarkson S. Fisher Building & U.S. Courthouse, 402 East State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08608, to determine whether:  (1) the terms of the Settlement are fair, reasonable, and adequate and thus should be finally approved and the Actions should be dismissed with prejudice, and (2) the award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses sought by Plaintiffs' Counsel in connection with the Settlement should be approved. 

If you are a Current J&J Shareholder, your rights may be affected by the Settlement.  You may obtain a copy of the full printed Notice of Proposed Settlement of Derivative Actions, Final Settlement Hearing, and Right to Appear (the "Notice") at http://www.investor.jnj.com/investor-relations.cfm, along with a copy of the Stipulation of Settlement and Exhibits A and B thereto, which set forth the corporate governance reforms implemented as consideration for the Settlement or in part in response to the prosecution of the Actions.  You also may obtain copies of the documents by writing to Kristen Seeger, Sidley Austin LLP, 1 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL  60603. 

Any objections to the proposed Settlement or Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses must be filed with the Court and delivered to Plaintiffs' Counsel and counsel for the Defendants such that they are received no later than September 14, 2012, in accordance with the instructions and at the addresses set forth in the Notice.  Any Current J&J Shareholder who fails to object or otherwise request to be heard in the manner prescribed in the Notice will be deemed to have waived such objection and shall forever be foreclosed from: (i) making any objections to the fairness, adequacy or reasonableness of the Settlement, or (ii) making any objections to the fairness and reasonableness of the Plaintiffs' Counsel's request for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses, and shall be bound by the Settlement, the Final Order and Judgment, and the releases provided thereunder.

You may obtain further information regarding the Settlement, including downloadable copies of the papers to be submitted in support of final approval of the Settlement and the application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses by writing either:  Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C., Attn:  James E. Cecchi, 5 Becker Farm Road, Roseland, NJ  07068, or Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C., Attn: Gary Graifman, 210 Summit Avenue, Montvale, NJ  07645.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL, WRITE, OR OTHERWISE DIRECT QUESTIONS TO EITHER THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

BY ORDER OF THE COURT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  July 16, 2012

SOURCE Johnson & Johnson