A Dutch court on Saturday dismissed demands by a large group of Philips shareholders for a judicial investigation into alleged misleading disclosures and management failures linked to the company’s recall of sleep-apnea devices. The shareholders had argued executives responded too late to the problems that forced the massive 2021 recall and failed to inform investors adequately.
The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal said it found no indication Philips had known about the foam defects long before issuing a warning, and saw no reason executives should have intervened earlier at the Respironics subsidiary that made the machines. The recall of about 15 million devices, after foam was found to risk releasing harmful substances, wiped out roughly two-thirds of Philips’ share value and led to a $1.1 billion U.S. personal-injury settlement in 2024. Philips denied the shareholders’ accusations and welcomed the decision; French prosecutors continue to investigate aggravated fraud and failure-to-report charges.