CVS to pay Marin, Solano, other California counties $7.5M over expired products
Marin County will receive nearly $600,000 as part of a settlement with CVS Pharmacy Inc. over allegations it sold expired medications and baby food.
The funds are part of a $7.5 million settlement secured by prosecutors in Marin and 11 other counties in the state.
The prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit against CVS in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. They alleged that CVS and two affiliated defendants — Longs Drug Stores California LLC and Garfield Beach CVS LLC — violated state law by selling products beyond their expiration date or "use by" date.
The alleged violations involved over-the-counter drugs, baby food and infant formula, according to the lawsuit.
After learning of the lapses, CVS checked for expired goods at its stores in California and retrained employees about rotating outdated products, the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office said. Investigators found no evidence of harm to consumers from expired merchandise.
Under the settlement, a judge ordered CVS to pay $6.5 million in civil penalties and investigative costs. Penalties ranging from $12,500 to $475,000 will be sent to the district attorney's offices in 27 counties, most of which were not plaintiffs in the suit.
The judge also ordered CVS to pay $1 million in restitution. Because of the "infeasibility" of identifying customers throughout the state who bought expired goods, the payments will go to nonprofit organizations, the settlement says. The organizations include a public health nonprofit in Oakland, a homelessness nonprofit in Santa Monica and food banks in Fresno and Stockton.
The Marin County District Attorney's Office was allotted $475,000 in civil penalties and $110,000 in prosecution costs. CVS Pharmacy has stores in Greenbrae, Marin City, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael and Tiburon.
"We are pleased that as a result of this case CVS has instituted additional compliance measures that will further safeguard consumers," said Deputy District Attorney Andres Perez, a consumer protection prosecutor in Marin.
The other plaintiffs in the case are Contra Costa, Fresno, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano and Yolo counties.
CVS, in a statement released to City News Service in Southern California, said its leaders are "pleased to have come to an agreement in California and are making key enhancements and investments in technology, audits and colleague education."
"CVS Pharmacy has a clear product removal policy in place to help ensure that items are pulled from shelves before reaching their expiration dates," the statement said. "Any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to our attention are quickly rectified."
