Dutch Court Dismisses Shareholder Investigation into Philips Over Sleep Apnea Device Recall

A Dutch court dismissed demands from a large group of shareholders for an inquiry into Philips over alleged management failures and misleading disclosures tied to its sleep apnea device recall. The Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal stated it found no indication that Philips knew about the defects long before issuing warnings, nor any reason executives should have intervened earlier at the Respironics subsidiary. Philips recalled approximately 15 million sleep apnea devices in 2021 after discovering the foam used could release harmful substances, a crisis that erased roughly two-thirds of the company's stock value. While this ruling resolves the domestic shareholder inquiry push, Philips still faces ongoing probes in multiple countries, including an active aggravated fraud investigation by French prosecutors. The company previously agreed in 2024 to pay $1.1 billion to settle all US-based personal injury claims related to the devices.