French court says German company does not have to compensate women with faulty breast implants

A French appeals court has ruled that a German product-testing 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 couldn't pay damages, so the women's lawyers sought at least 50 million euros ($67 million) from German 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 southern city of Aix-en-Provence overturned that Thursday.