Surgical devices maker ArthroCare (NSDQ:ARTC) this month agreed to extend for 1 more month the statute of limitations on a federal inquiry from the U.S. Dept. of Justice in to the company’s spinal business.
The Texas-based company agreed to extend the statute of limitations to March 1, 2013, in an investigation regarding its sales & marketing practices, pushing back the previous February 1 deadline.
ArthroCare president & CEO David Fitzgerald had told investors during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco earlier this month that the DOJ may make such a request, known as a tolling agreement.
"The DOJ criminal investigation that began in December of 2008 is ongoing and we continue to actively cooperate with the investigation," Fitzgerald said . "Although the DOJ has not committed to an end date and may request future tolling agreements, we think it’s possible that the DOJ investigation of the company may complete soon."
ArthroCare has had a spate of legal troubles in recent years, including an SEC investigation that closed in February 2011 and a derivatives matter that closed in December 2011. The company is also facing a federal probe, although few details are yet available in that matter.