Philips Wins Dutch Court Battle With Shareholders Over Sleep Apnea Recall
A Dutch court on Saturday, October 10, dismissed demands by Philips shareholders 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, saying Philips executives responded too late to the problems that led to the massive recall and failed to adequately inform investors. Philips recalled around 15 million sleep apnea devices in 2021 after discovering foam in the machines could release harmful substances; its shares lost about two-thirds of their value.
The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal said it found no indication Philips had known about the problems long before issuing any warning, and no reason to assume executives should have intervened earlier at the Respironics subsidiary that made the devices.
Philips denied the shareholders' accusations and welcomed the decision. The recall has led to probes in multiple countries, including France, where prosecutors are still investigating aggravated fraud and failure-to-report charges.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：HeadPhilips.jpg，作者：No machine-readable author provided. Migdejong assumed (base，授权：Public domain，来源：Wikimedia Commons
