Kroger Agrees to Settle West Virginia Opioids Case With $68M Payout

The Kroger Company will settle its opioids lawsuit in West Virginia by paying $68 million. In this case, the retailer was accused of contributing to the oversupply of the said drugs that are legally available with a prescription.

The state of West Virginia also alleged that Kroger failed to control the sale of opioids which is a type of drug that includes heroin which is illegal. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl and pain relievers are being sold to patients with prescriptions so they can be purchased in leading drug stores.

Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia Attorney General, confirmed on Thursday, May 3, that Kroger has settled the lawsuit. The Cincinnati, Ohio-headquartered retail chain is the last defendant in the case, which also involves other major drug stores in the United States, including Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart.

“Although the hundreds of millions of dollars we secured from these companies will not bring back the lives lost from the opioid menace, our hope is that the money would provide significant help to those affected the most by this crisis in the state,” the attorney general said in a statement.

On the other hand, Kroger’s spokesman also commented that while the company “continues to believe that the allegations made against Kroger in this and other opioid lawsuits are without merit, we have decided that a settlement is the best path forward to resolve this litigation.”

At any rate, CNN Business reported that despite the hefty payment to resolve the opioid suit, the financial impact on Kroger will remain minimal. This is because it reported $4.1 billion in earnings in 2022.

Walgreens also settled with the state of West Virginia in January this year and paid $83 million, while CVS and Walmart resolved the suit with settlements of $82.5 million and $65 million, respectively, in late 2022. In the case of Rite Aid, it paid up to $30 million in August of last year.

Photo by: Mike Kalasnik/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)