Explorer gets court to serve interdict on Discovery Health
November 5, 2004
By Neesa Moodley
Durban - The country's largest medical scheme with more than 1.6 million members, Discovery Health, has been served an interdict by branded credit card company Explorer Corporation to stop the scheme rolling out its Discovery Health Visa credit card.
The interdict and application will be heard in the Johannesburg high court on Monday.
In a statement, Explorer accused Discovery Health of appropriating and using confidential information and intellectual capital supplied in good faith for the development of the dedicated and branded Discovery card.
The statement said the card launch was in clear contravention of certain confidentiality agreements previously entered into by the two companies.
Discovery's chief executive, Adrian Gore, said the company was proud of its track record of innovation. "We attach little relevance to the issues raised by Explorer Corporation and the matter will be dealt with by our attorneys."
Discovery will be represented by Knowles Husain Lindsay Attorneys, and Explorer will be represented by its former chief executive and current non-executive director, Aaron Stanger, who said he was retained because of his "intimate knowledge" of the company.
The Discovery credit card was launched at the company's annual results briefing two months ago, and works as a normal credit card backed by First National Bank.
However, users qualify for an automatic discount at stores such as Exclusive Books and Cape Union Mart, and also operates as a Discovery Health and Vitality membership card. The roll-out of the card started at the end of October.
Explorer Corporation was previously a subsidiary of the JSE-listed Explorer Holdings before unbundling and delisting last year.
It is no stranger to legal battles and threatened Mercantile Bank with legal action in 2001. Three years ago, Mercantile stopped issuing loyalty-linked Explorer credit cards, claiming it had not received any funds from Explorer Corporation.
Stanger, the chief executive at that time, was removed and made a non-executive director after Loita Capital Partners International purchased a 34.9 percent stake in Explorer Corporation.
Discovery gained 38c to close at R17. The insurance sector was up 0.71 percent.
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