SEATTLE – Albertsons Cos. has been ordered to pay $900 million after a Washington state judge found that the grocery retailer’s pharmacy operations contributed to the opioid epidemic through inadequate oversight of prescription dispensing and distribution.
In a ruling issued November 5, King County Superior Court Judge Janet M. Helson concluded that Albertsons and its Safeway subsidiary substantially contributed to a public nuisance and violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
The judgment includes $800 million to fund efforts to address the opioid crisis and $100 million in civil penalties. Albertsons was also ordered to pay the state’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.
The decision follows a nine-week trial with 45 witnesses and more than 600 exhibits. The court found that Albertsons failed to implement adequate safeguards against opioid diversion, inadequately staffed and trained its pharmacies, and failed to properly investigate suspicious prescriptions and controlled-substance orders.
According to the ruling, Albertsons dispensed more than 641 million opioid pills in Washington during the period under review. The court also identified millions of prescriptions with warning signs of potential diversion that were not adequately investigated or documented.
The judge found that the company’s focus on profitability, combined with insufficient staffing and compliance resources, contributed to improper dispensing practices. However, the court did not conclude that individual pharmacists intentionally filled inappropriate prescriptions to increase their compensation.
Albertsons operated approximately 227 pharmacies in Washington under its Albertsons, Safeway, and Haggen banners at the time of the December 2022 lawsuit.
The ruling also requires the company to strengthen its controlled-substance dispensing procedures, including prescription monitoring, staffing, compliance audits, and annual reporting to the state attorney general.
The judgment is separate from Albertsons’ previously announced national opioid settlement framework. Washington pursued its claims independently.
The decision could have significant financial implications for Albertsons, which operates one of the nation’s largest supermarket pharmacy networks, and underscores the legal exposure faced by food retailers with pharmacy operations.
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