Walmart settles Department of Justice’s opioid lawsuit

( KNWA )

Walmart has settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging the retailer’s pharmacies may have played a role in the nationwide opioid crisis by unlawfully filling prescriptions.

Both the DOJ and Walmart confirmed the settlement on Friday in separate statements. No details were released on the terms of the settlement.

“The Department is pleased to have reached a settlement with Walmart resolving allegations that its pharmacies failed to comply with their obligations under the Controlled Substances Act in dispensing opioids and other controlled substances,” the DOJ statement said. “We will continue to hold accountable companies and individuals whose unlawful prescribing, marketing, dispensing or distributing practices contributed to the opioid crisis and put American communities at risk.”

It comes nearly six years after the DOJ accused the Bentonville-based retailer of repeatedly violating the federal Controlled Substances Act dating back to 2013.

In the complaint filed in December 2020, the DOJ alleged that Walmart failed to report suspicious prescriptions to the Drug Enforcement Administration, ignored warning signs tied to questionable prescriptions and knowingly dispensed invalid prescriptions.

“We are ​pleased to resolve this matter and will continue supporting the exceptional work our pharmacists do ​every day to provide outstanding patient care,” the retailer said in a statement to Reuters and CBS News on Friday.

This settlement comes almost four years after Walmart announced a $3.1 billion opioid settlement framework to resolve all lawsuits by state and local governments regarding prescription opioids sold at its pharmacies. Pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS had also reached multi-billion-dollar settlements over similar claims.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than 905,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2025.