Philips wins court battle over devices recall

Shareholders allege misleading disclosures, management failures

AMSTERDAM:

A Dutch court on Saturday dismissed demands by shareholders of health technology company Philips for an investigation into allegations of misleading disclosures and management failures linked to the company's recall of sleep apnea devices.

A large group of shareholders had demanded a court inquiry, as they said Philips executives had responded too late to the problems that led to the massive recall and had failed to adequately inform investors.

Philips' shares lost about two-thirds of their value when the company recalled around 15 million sleep apnea devices in 2021, after discovering that the foam in the machines could release harmful substances and might pose health risks.

The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in its ruling said it had found no indication that Philips had known about the problems long before it issued any warning.

It also said there was no reason to assume executives should have intervened earlier at the Respironics subsidiary that made the devices. Philips had denied the accusations made by the shareholders and said it welcomed the court's decision.