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The battle for Auckland's $560 million community laboratory contract has taken another turn, with the ousted operator planning to ask the Supreme Court to rule on who should have it.
Diagnostic Medlab (DML) won a High Court ruling last year after it lost the tendering process for the eight-year contract, but that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal last month when it returned the contract to Labtests, now owned by Healthscope.
Yesterday, DML chief executive Arthur Morris confirmed the company would seek a further appeal.
DML has another month to file formal submissions and does not expect to learn until late December or January whether the court will take the case.
This week Labtests met Auckland region district health boards in the wake of its Court of Appeal victory. In a joint statement the DHBs and Healthscope said the process of supplying services under the contract for the remainder of the term was under way.
The process was expected to be completed within the next nine months irrespective of DML's seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
DML claimed, and the High Court agreed, that there was an improper use of insider information by former Labtests boss Tony Bierre before he resigned from the Auckland DHB.
The High Court also ruled the three Auckland health boards did not consult widely enough. But the Appeal Court overturned all that last month, saying the boards did consult properly and Dr Bierre acted appropriately once his conflict of interest arose.
- NZPA
