A French appeals court has ruled that a German company does not have to compensate more than 1,000 women with leak-prone breast implants, overturning a lower court decision.

Thousands of women worldwide received implants made by French company PIP.

The implants were found to contain industrial-grade silicone instead of medical silicone and to be prone to leakage.

PIP’s owner was sentenced to prison, but his bankrupt company could not pay damages, so the women’s lawyers sought at least €50 million from German product-testing company TUV Rheinland and its French subsidiary.

A commercial court ordered TUV in 2013 to pay damages, ruling that it failed to properly check the implants. The appeals court in the south city of Aix-en-Provence has now overturned that decision.

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