- Washington AG Nick Brown announced a $900 million judgment against Albertsons after a King County Superior Court judge ruled that the company’s pharmacies failed to adequately prevent the misuse of prescription opioids. The judge ordered Albertsons to pay $900 million, plus fees and costs to resolve the actions consequences.
- The case centered on Albertsons alleged failure to identify, investigate, and resolve prescription warning signs, commonly known as “red flags of diversion”, that may indicate opioids are being misused or transferred to the illicit drug market. Between 2006 and 2022, Albertsons dispensed more than 641 million opioid pills through its Washington pharmacies. The state’s case established that the pharmacies filled prescriptions with warning signs more than 6.5 million times without adequately documenting efforts to verify their legitimacy. During the trial, the AG’s office presented evidence that Albertsons corporate policies discouraged pharmacists from flagging suspicious prescriptions, restricted information sharing between locations, and failed to adequately monitor controlled substance inventories.
- The judgment followed a lawsuit originally filed in 2022 against several major pharmacy chains. Albertsons was the remaining defendant after the companies resolved their claims through settlements or bankruptcy proceedings.