Over 150 customers engage law firm, seek legal advice in Cordlife case
The group has hired Peter Low Chambers, which will render written legal opinion before reopening sign-ups
A GROUP of Cordlife customers have engaged law firm Peter Low Chambers to advise them in a case against the embattled private cord-blood bank.
The group of 157 people consists of parents whose children’s cord blood were affected by the temperature excursions in Cordlife’s storage tanks and a dry-shipper, as well as parents who were informed that the stored cord blood was of “low risk” or unaffected.
In a media statement on Monday (May 20), the group, which is coordinated by a nine-member team of parent volunteers, said the law firm will be providing a written legal opinion, based on an agreed-upon scope of queries and concerns raised by parents.
The nine-member volunteer group had solicited concerns and queries from parents who were verified Cordlife customers, as well as gathered various iterations of contracts that Cordlife customers had entered into.
After it was engaged, Peter Low Chambers screened contracts and onboarded customers over a two-week period, starting in mid-April.
The volunteer group noted that registration for the first stage, encompassing the onboarding and rendering of legal opinion, was closed on May 10 “in the interest of expediency”. Sign-ups for customers will reopen after the legal opinion has been rendered, subject to conditions including payment of fees.
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Peter Low Chambers is led by managing director Peter Low. Other lawyers involved in the case are associate director Elaine Low and director Christine Low.
To recap, seven of Cordlife’s 22 storage tanks were exposed to temperatures above acceptable limits at different periods since November 2020. The lapses were uncovered by the Ministry of Health (MOH), which suspended the cord-blood bank from collecting or processing new cord blood for six months.
Thus far, MOH’s expert panel has found that around 7,500 cord-blood units stored by Cordlife in two tanks and a dry shipper have been damaged or deemed at “high risk of being adversely affected by the temperature excursions”.
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The Business Times previously reported that the lapses in tank temperature warrant compensation, but a class action-type suit would be difficult to mount in Singapore as it is logistically complex to organise.
BT understands that this group of parents is separate from the group that had signed up with Withers KhattarWong.
Withers partners previously said that a representative action suit – similar to a class action suit – against Cordlife could take at least two years to conclude, but stressed that it is not recommending that customers take up such a representative action at this juncture.
A spokesperson for Cordlife previously told BT that the company is aware that a number of affected clients are looking into legal options related to the issue.
“We respect that clients may want to consider all possible options in order to decide on a resolution that best suits them, and we understand that such endeavours would include exploring whether they have any legal rights for recourse,” the spokesperson said.
“Cordlife has engaged a team of external legal advisers that have been advising the company on various issues, including its responsibilities and obligations with respect to all of the company’s stakeholders.”
Separately, a group of parents sent a letter to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on May 6, requesting that MOH intervene to “establish stringent oversight and regulation of cord-blood storage facilities” to prevent lapses from occurring in the future.
The letter, which was seen by BT and signed by more than 200 parents, also asked MOH to ensure that Cordlife does not “destroy any of the cord blood without it undergoing rigorous testing to determine its viability”.
MOH’s e-mail reply, which was seen by BT, noted that the ministry is “closely supervising Cordlife’s rectification of the lapses”, ensuring proper maintenance and monitoring of the tanks’ temperatures during Cordlife’s ongoing suspension.
It added that Cordlife will not dispose of any cord-blood units belonging to their clients while they work towards a resolution.
The group of parents also queried MOH about the cord-blood units of children who have turned 21 or are about to turn 21 that are deemed to be at “high risk” of being adversely affected.
Cordlife’s contracts with parents end once the child turns 21, and the child will have the option to take on ownership of their cord blood.
The group feared that Cordlife may dispose of “high risk” cord-blood units once the initial contract has ended, in the event that a new contract is not signed.
In an e-mail response, MOH noted: “Please be assured that Cordlife will not be disposing any cord-blood units belonging to active clients whose service agreements are nearing maturity while they work towards resolution.”
MOH added that Cordlife will inform clients of the testing outcomes once it is ready, and will engage clients about the continued storage of their cord-blood units.
Shares of Cordlife closed 1.3 per cent or S$0.002 lower at S$0.148 on Monday.
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