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California has reached a $100 million settlement agreement with Kroger, the parent company of grocery chain and Ralphs, to resolve lawsuits over the company’s role in the opioid crisis and the way its pharmacies dispensed prescription painkillers to customers. He will receive $22 million.
The payment completes a deal the company entered into last year to resolve nearly all of the opioid-related claims filed against it. Kroger did not admit wrongdoing or liability in the settlement, but agreed to pay California and other plaintiffs nearly $1.4 billion over the next 11 years.
Kroger grocery stores operate in 35 states, and in addition to selling food and other products, they also provide pharmacy services to their customers. The settlement agreement calls for the company to pay approximately $177 million in attorney fees and court costs, as well as $1.2 billion in mitigation programs to state and local governments and $36 million to Native American tribes.
“The California Department of Justice is committed to holding companies like Kroger accountable for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic,” Atty said. Gen. Rob Bonta made the announcement in a news release Monday.
Thirty-three states are eligible to receive settlement payments, but the settlement must be submitted to and approved by a state court judge in each state.
Under the agreement, Kroger Pharmacy will monitor and report suspicious opioid prescribing activity.
A Kroger spokesperson said, “Kroger continues to fight opioid abuse and remains focused on providing fresh, affordable groceries to communities across the country.”
Oxycodone and other addictive prescription painkillers started the opioid epidemic in the United States, but synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are the drugs responsible for the most overdose deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has become.
Over the summer, the Supreme Court overturned a major settlement involving Purdue Pharma, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin. In a 5-4 vote, the justices ruled that a $10 billion settlement to victims was unworkable. That’s because the settlement would protect Purdue’s billionaire Sackler family from further liability. File for bankruptcy.
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