Albertsons is on the defensive in King County Superior Court, where a high-stakes state lawsuit accusing the grocery giant of helping fuel Washington’s opioid epidemic opened Monday. Attorney General Nick Brown’s team told Judge Janet Helson that Albertsons pharmacies repeatedly filled opioid prescriptions that showed obvious warning signs. The bench trial, which is expected to run into September, will test whether the chain’s policies illegally helped drive diversion and addiction across communities statewide.
State lawyers say Albertsons pharmacies dispensed more than 641 million opioid pills in Washington between 2006 and 2022 and that the company repeatedly filled suspicious prescriptions without doing enough to investigate. Prosecutors argue those practices shifted massive costs onto local governments, which have had to fund treatment, prevention and law enforcement efforts to try to clean up the damage. This is according to the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
Back in April, Albertsons announced a $774 million settlement framework intended to resolve most opioid-related claims across the country, while stressing that the deal was not an admission of wrongdoing. That plan is described in Albertsons Companies filings with federal regulators. Washington is pressing ahead with its own King County case, seeking abatement funds and damages under state law.
What state lawyers say
In opening statements, prosecutors zeroed in on the human cost and tried to make the scale of the pills tangible. One lawyer poured thousands of tablets into a container in the courtroom to dramatize what the state says Albertsons shipped into Washington communities. They pointed to specific examples, including a Kent pharmacy that allegedly dispensed more than 5,000 opioid pills to a single customer in one month, and argued that pharmacists were often discouraged from flagging or refusing questionable prescriptions. Those courtroom details were reported by Washington State Standard.
Albertsons' response
Albertsons rejects the idea that it unlawfully sold or distributed opioids, insisting that it has long supplied pharmacists with monitoring tools and guidance on handling controlled substances. The company has also told investors that the $774 million settlement framework reflects a business decision to resolve many claims, not a concession that it is legally liable, as laid out in disclosures from Albertsons Companies.
What's at stake
The state is asking the court to order abatement funding that would underwrite addiction treatment, prevention programs and law enforcement efforts in communities battered by opioids. Attorney General Brown’s office has said more than 26,000 people in Washington have died from opioid overdoses and that recent years have continued to bring heavy losses. Those figures and the office’s legal goals were detailed in local coverage by KIRO 7.
Legal context
The King County case unfolds against the backdrop of a sprawling, yearslong wave of opioid litigation that pulled together thousands of lawsuits against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies in a federal multidistrict litigation process. That consolidation has produced major settlements and judgments, with public trackers estimating tens of billions of dollars in total nationwide commitments. If finalized, Albertsons’ $774 million framework would sit among the larger pharmacy settlements. For an overview of how the national cases have evolved, see KPBS and the Opioid Settlement Tracker.
Next steps
State attorneys say they plan to call dozens of witnesses and introduce internal corporate records over the coming weeks. The bench trial is scheduled to run into early September. Expect plenty of legal sparring over which documents come into evidence and what they show about corporate decision making, as prosecutors try to link pharmacy policies to on-the-ground harms in Washington communities, according to reporting from KIRO 7.
Legal implications
Plaintiffs are seeking abatement remedies and damages under Washington’s consumer protection laws. If the court orders abatement, the money would be earmarked for treatment, prevention and enforcement efforts in communities across the state. The Attorney General’s Office has framed those remedies as critical to easing pressure on local budgets and helping prevent future overdoses, according to the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
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