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The Court of Appeal has reserved its decision on an appeal by Labtests New Zealand against a High Court ruling annulling its $560 million contract for Auckland pathology services.
In March, the High Court overturned the decision by Auckland, Waitemata and Counties-Manukau DHBs to reassign pathology services from Diagnostic Medlab (DML) to Labtests on July 1.
Justice Raynor Asher ruled that by accepting a proposal from Labtests, which included former Auckland DHB member Dr Tony Bierre, there was a conflict of interest and the DHBs failed to ensure that the tendering process was conducted fairly.
Labtests appealed, saying Justice Asher erred in several areas including his statements about conflict of interest, misuse of confidential information, errors of fact and over consultation.
- NZPA
