State settles with Kroger — Albuquerque Journal

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On Thursday, New Mexico officials announced that The Kroger Co. announced a settlement with a grocer and drug retailer that will provide $60 million in funding to the state Attorney General’s Office’s projected opioid reduction efforts.

Kroger, the parent company of Smith’s Food and Drug Administration in Ohio, was one of three pharmaceutical chains sued this year in a lawsuit accusing the state’s drugstore chains of profiting heavily from selling addictive drugs to New Mexicans.

Attorneys for the pharmacy vendors argued that opioid prescriptions would not be issued without a legitimate medical purpose determined by licensed medical providers.

Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office alleges in a filing that Walgreens, Walmart and Kroger pharmacies across the state failed to investigate suspicious opioid orders when they sold large quantities of opioids.

When the lawsuit ended Oct. 18, Kroger and Walmart reached a settlement agreement with the state, leaving Walgreens as the final defendant.

The case will be decided by First Judicial District Judge Francis Matthews, not by a jury.

“We achieved a great result for New Mexico by suing Kroger, and this settlement sends a clear message that pharmacies operating in New Mexico must take an active role in protecting the communities they serve,” Balderas said in a statement.

According to the statement, Balderas plans to announce other settlements with Albertsons, CVS and Walmart in the coming weeks as details are finalized.

Albuquerque attorney Luis Robles, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said the parties could finalize settlement agreements by the end of the year.

Another jury trial is scheduled to begin March 20 in a lawsuit against several of the state’s opioid manufacturers, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Allergan and Anda Inc., Robles said.

Three other defendants in the lawsuit, including Purdue Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Mallinckrodt, have filed for bankruptcy, and any money the state receives from those companies will have to be determined by a bankruptcy judge, he said.

The Kroger settlement splits the funds between state and local governments and requires that all funds be used to address the state’s opioid crisis.

The settlement will provide funds to the state and local communities within 90 days, the report said. The AG’s office “will coordinate a statewide effort to get local governments to sign the agreement over the next three months,” the statement said.