NETHERLANDS · ONDERNEMINGSKAMERCourt order
Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber rejects shareholder inquiry into Philips sleep apnea recall, finding no reason to doubt its policy
The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal rejected a request by the VEB investors' association and institutional investors for an inquiry into Philips over its 2021 sleep apnea recall. It found no well-founded reasons to doubt Philips' policy: internal systems followed international standards, reliable foam-risk data emerged only in early 2021, the boards were not informed late, supervision was not shown lacking, earlier intervention at Respironics was not required, and disclosures were not misleading.
Order (De Rechtspraak) → · Reuters, De Telegraaf, TPO.nl
Key points
- The Enterprise Chamber held there were no well-founded reasons to doubt Philips' policy and refused to order an investigation into its handling of the recall.De RechtspraakReuters
- The court found reliable research data on health risks from the devices' PE-PUR foam emerged only in the first months of 2021.De RechtspraakTPO.nl
- It found no sign the boards received that information late and no reason Philips should have intervened earlier at its Respironics subsidiary.De RechtspraakReuters
- The court said former CEO Frans van Houten sometimes stressed the optimistic side but found his statements not shown to be misleading or incorrect.De TelegraafTPO.nl
- The ruling does not decide whether errors were made at Respironics or whether Philips is liable for investors' losses.De RechtspraakTPO.nl
- The VEB and a group of institutional investors brought the petition; the ruling, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:2900, was issued October 10, 2026.De RechtspraakDe Telegraaf