BOCA RATON, Fla. –

Vitacost.com, an online vitamin and health supplement retailer, said on Tuesday that a Florida judge has approved the settlement of a shareholder lawsuit alleging top company officials made false and misleading statements in connection with an initial public offering in 2009.

A judge for the state’s 15th circuit in West Palm Beach approved the settlement after granting preliminary clearance in April.

The July 2010 lawsuit alleged that certain Vitacost officers and directors made overly optimistic statements about the company’s business and failed to disclose problems before and after its September 2009 IPO. The complaint also accused certain officials of unjustly enriching themselves, and alleged a breach of fiduciary duties in the company’s election of board members and in its issuance of stock and options.

Under the settlement, the company’s board agreed to adopt a series of corporate governance “best practices” addressing the allegations. Those include a new insider trading policy covering stock personally held by officers and directors.

Under the settlement, the defendants denied breaching any fiduciary duties and maintained that no purchaser of its products was harmed as a result of the conduct alleged in the lawsuit.

Trading of the company’s shares was halted on Dec. 7, 2010, and the Nasdaq Stock Market said the next day that it would not allow trading to resume until Vitacost supplied additional information about its finances.

The Boca Raton, Fla., company also said at that time that it was postponing its annual meeting, and disclosed that an internal investigation found financial statements dating back 16 years to be unreliable.

On Tuesday, the company said it will hold its annual shareholders meeting on July 11. Also, another special meeting is planned on July 22, when shareholders will be asked to vote on amendments to the company’s bylaws and its certificate of incorporation. Vitacost said the votes are intended to ensure “that any potential defects in the company’s organization documents are unquestionably cured.”

Vitacost also said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday that it believes it will be able to become current in its filing obligations and meet other requirements for continued listing on Nasdaq on or before June 20. However, the company also said that it could give no assurances that it will be able to comply with listing requirements.

Vitacost showed signs of instability even before it made its December revelation about its financial statements. In August, the company’s chief executive officer, Ira Kerker, left the company and was replaced on an interim basis by Jeffrey Horowitz, the founder of Vitamin Shoppe Inc. That same day, the company reported a second-quarter loss, declined to issue guidance for the remainder of the year and said that its board had terminated its deal with Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. to evaluate various strategic options.

The FDA prompted an immediate recall of Bard Composix® Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch on December 22, 2005 and updated the list of affected products on the recall once again on January 10, 2007.

It should be noted that the “memory recoil ring” that is the device that opens the Composix Kugel Mesh Patch insertion into the intra-abdominal area may break. The result of a breakage can result in bowel perforations and/or chronic intestinal fistulae (abnormal connections or passageways between the intestines and other organs). This is why Kugel Mesh Patch for Hernia has been recalled.

The FDA has strongly given the advice to patients who have had this device inserted during hernia surgery seek the attention of a physician if abdomen pain, fever, sensitivity at the implant site or other unusual symptoms are occurring.

Instructions from the FDA to doctors medical facilities have been given to cease using the Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch and has comply with the Kugel Mesh recall and return the recalled patches and any other unused patches to the manufacturer.

Since the Kugel Mesh for Hernia has been recalled, the Shaked Law Firm is evaluating claims for all patients who have used this patch in compliance with the Kugel Mesh Recall.

If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by our lawyers at no cost or obligation, please click the link below.  Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm.

If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by our lawyers at no cost or obligation, please click the link below.  Contact Our Personal Injury Law Firm.

The drug, made by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has been blamed for causing at least 50 deaths in the United States between 2004 and 2008 as well as many injuries and the lawsuits filed on behalf of women who claim they were injured or died as a result of taking Yaz keep coming.

Yaz was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006. A lower-dose version of the same drug, called Yasmin, was approved in 2001. Yaz uses a different kind of hormone, DRSP (drospirenone), than other birth-control pills. DRSP may increase potassium in the body, raising the risk of severe health complications for women with kidney (renal) disease and cardiovascular conditions.

If you have taken Yaz, you may be at increased risk of suffering life-threatening heart damage and other complications. You may have legal rights to financial compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages. If a loved one has died after taking Yaz or Yasmin, you and your family may be eligible to receive financial compensation for your devastating loss.

Contact the Shaked Law Firm, P.A. for a free consultation and review of your possible Yaz or Yasmin injury case. You can reach us by calling 1-877-LAW-0080 (877-529-0080) or completing the case inquiry form on our website.