Walmart Inc. v. DEA-DOJ

Walmart Inc. v. DEA-DOJ was a settlement involving the complaints and lawsuits of Walmart pharmacy, and other large pharmaceutical companies. The lawsuits were made after an official complaint issued by the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration, after Walmart was accused of illegally selling opioids to their customers, despite prior laws prohibiting such actions.

The complaint

On December 22, 2020, the United States Department of Justice filed an official complaint directed towards the Walmart pharmacy for continuing to sell codeine and other opioids to customers, despite passed laws prohibiting the act.^[1][2]

Criticism towards Walmart

After the complaint was released to the public, multiple large news sources released articles regarding the issue. Large news organizations, such as NPR, CNBC and CNN reported on the topic.^[3][4][5]

The lawsuit

Under the presiding of former attorney general William Barr, Walmart and the United States Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration went to court in attempt to resolve the issue.^[6][7] Other pharmacies were also pulled into this legal case for similarly defying the Controlled Substances Act and contributing to the Opioid epidemic in the United States. Many large pharmaceutical companies, such as Walgreens, Sam's Club and CVS Pharmacy were included in this case.^[3]

Within the lawsuit, the Department of Justice argued that Walmart pressured pharmacists to refill as many prescriptions as fast as possible. They also argued that the all pharmacies in the United States have to comply with federal law before refilling a prescription.^[1][8] Walmart counter-argued that every individual pharmacist must make the decision to refill a prescription or not.^[9]

After five and a half days of deliberation, the jury sided with the Department of Justice.^[10] All companies involved were forced to pay a total of 10 billion dollars in restitution and damages, and were banned from dispensing opioids to consumers. Walgreens and CVS agreed to pay 6 billion dollars between the two companies over a five-year period.^[11][12]

See also

• Criticism of Walmart
• Federal drug policy of the United States

References

1. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE". www.justice.gov. December 20, 2020.
2. Walmart Inc. v. Us Dept. of Justice, vol. 21, December 22, 2021, p. 300, retrieved May 27, 2023
3. Nottingham, Shawn (November 2, 2022). "CVS and Walgreens agree to $10 billion in tentative deals on opioid cases. Walmart will also reportedly settle". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
4. Mann, Brian (January 3, 2021). "Former Walmart Pharmacists Say Company Ignored Red Flags As Opioid Sales Boomed". www.nps.org.
5. "Jury holds CVS, Walgreens and Walmart responsible for role in opioid crisis". CNBC. November 23, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
6. Benner, Katie (December 22, 2020). "Justice Department sues Walmart, saying it fueled the nation's opioid crisis". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
7. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS|WALMART INC. (Plaintiff) V. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, et al. (Defendants) -- CIVIL ACTION: COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF". corporate.walmart.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
8. "Rules of Department of Commerce and Insurance" (PDF). www.sos.mo.gov. October 31, 2022.
9. Walmart Inc. v. Us Dept. of Justice, vol. 517, February 4, 2021, p. 637, retrieved May 27, 2023
10. Hoffman, Jan (November 23, 2021). "CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Fueled Opioid Crisis, Jury Finds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
11. "Walmart offers to pay US$3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits". CTVNews. November 15, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
12. Hoffman, Jan (November 15, 2022). "Walmart Agrees to Pay $3.1 Billion to Settle Opioid Lawsuits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 24, 2023.