NEW YORK– Walmart said Friday it has reached a proposed settlement regarding three lawsuits filed by shareholders on the company’s behalf over its handling of prescription opioids.
According to the terms of the settlement disclosed in a regulatory filing, insurance companies will pay Walmart $123 million, excluding any attorneys’ fees and expenses awarded by the court to plaintiffs’ counsel. Walmart would also maintain certain corporate governance practices for at least five years, according to the filing.
The settlement does not include any admission of liability by Walmart. It is subject to court approval.
Three Walmart shareholders have filed lawsuits in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging that current and former directors and officers breached their fiduciary duties by failing to adequately oversee the company’s distribution and dispensing of prescription opioids.
In 2022 Walmart agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the impact of prescriptions, its pharmacies filled powerful prescription opioid painkillers.