Commitments and contingencies | Note 11. Commitments and contingencies The Company is involved in legal proceedings arising in the normal course of its business, including litigation, arbitration and other claims, and investigations, inspections, subpoenas, audits, claims, inquiries and similar actions by governmental authorities in pharmacy, healthcare, tax and other areas. Some of these proceedings may be class actions, and some involve claims for large or indeterminate amounts, including punitive or exemplary damages, and they may remain unresolved for several years. Legal proceedings in general, and securities, class action and multi-district litigation, in particular, can be expensive and disruptive. From time to time, the Company is also involved in legal proceedings as a plaintiff involving antitrust, tax, contract, intellectual property and other matters. Gain contingencies, if any, are recognized when they are realized. The Company is subject to extensive regulation by national, state and local government agencies in the U.S. and other countries in which it operates. The Company’s business, compliance and reporting practices are subject to intensive scrutiny under applicable regulation, including review or audit by regulatory authorities. As a result, the Company regularly is the subject of government actions of the types described herein. The Company also may be named from time to time in qui tam actions initiated by private parties. In such an action, a private party purports to act on behalf of federal or state governments, alleges that false claims have been submitted for payment by the government and may receive an award if its claims are successful. After a private party has filed a qui tam action, the government must investigate the private party's claim and determine whether to intervene in and take control over the litigation. These actions may remain under seal while the government makes this determination. If the government declines to intervene, the private party may nonetheless continue to pursue the litigation on its own purporting to act on behalf of the government. The results of legal proceedings, including government investigations, are often uncertain and difficult to predict, and the costs incurred in these matters can be substantial, regardless of the outcome. In addition, as a result of governmental investigations or proceedings, the Company may be subject to damages, civil or criminal fines or penalties, or other sanctions, including the possible suspension or loss of licensure and suspension or exclusion from participation in government programs. We describe below certain proceedings against the Company in which the amount of loss could be material. We accrue for legal claims when, and to the extent that, the amount or range of probable loss can be reasonably estimated. We believe we have meritorious defenses in each of these proceedings, and we intend to defend each case vigorously, but there can be no assurance as to the ultimate outcome. With respect to litigation and other legal proceedings where the Company has determined a material loss is reasonably possible, except as otherwise disclosed, we are not able to make a reasonable estimate of the amount or range of loss that is reasonably possible above any accrued amounts in these proceedings, due to various reasons, including: we have factual and legal arguments that, if successful, will eliminate or sharply reduce the possibility of loss; we do not have sufficient information about the arguments and the evidence plaintiffs will advance with respect to their damages; some of the cases have been stayed; certain proceedings present novel and complex questions of public policy; legal and factual determinations and judicial and governmental procedure; the large number of parties involved; and the inherent uncertainties related to such litigations. Litigation Relating to 2016 Goals On December 29, 2014, a putative shareholder filed a derivative action in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against certain current and former directors and officers of Walgreen Co. and Walgreen Co., as a nominal defendant, arising out of certain public statements the Company made regarding its former fiscal 2016 goals. ( Cutler v. Wasson et al. , No. 1:14-cv-10408 (N.D. Ill.)) The action asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty, waste and unjust enrichment. On May 18, 2015, the case was stayed in light of a securities class action that was filed on April 10, 2015, described below. On November 3, 2016, the Court entered a stipulation and order extending the stay until the resolution of the securities class action. On April 10, 2015, a putative shareholder filed a securities class action in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois against Walgreen Co. and certain former officers of Walgreen Co. ( Washtenaw County Employees’ Retirement System v. Walgreen Co. et al. , No. 1:15-cv-3187 (N.D. Ill.)) The action asserts claims for violation of the federal securities laws arising out of certain public statements the Company made regarding its former fiscal 2016 goals. The Company’s motion to dismiss the consolidated class action complaint filed on August 17, 2015 was granted in part and denied in part on September 30, 2016. The court granted plaintiff’s motion for class certification on March 29, 2018, and plaintiff filed a first amended complaint on December 19, 2018. A motion to dismiss the first amended complaint was granted in part and denied in part on September 23, 2019. Fact discovery and expert discovery have concluded. On November 2, 2021, the Court denied plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granted in part and denied in part defendants’ cross motion. On March 2, 2022 the Court granted the Company’s motion to reconsider a portion of that ruling. On June 29, 2022 the Court granted preliminary approval of a settlement in the amount of $105 million which was fully accrued at May 31, 2022. Securities Claims Relating to Rite-Aid Merger On December 11, 2017, purported Rite Aid shareholders filed an amended complaint in a putative class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (the “M.D. Pa. class action”) arising out of transactions contemplated by the merger agreement between the Company and Rite Aid. The amended complaint alleges that the Company and certain of its officers made false or misleading statements regarding the transactions. The Court denied the Company’s motion to dismiss the amended complaint on April 15, 2019. The Company filed an answer and affirmative defenses, and the Court granted plaintiffs' motion for class certification. Fact and expert discovery have concluded and summary judgement briefing is complete. In October and December 2020, two separate purported Rite Aid Shareholders filed actions in the same court opting out of the class in the M.D. Pa. class action and making nearly identical allegations as those in the M.D. Pa. class action (the “Opt-out Actions”). The Opt-out Actions have been stayed until the earlier of (a) 30 days after the entry of an order resolving any pre-trial dispositive motions in the M.D. Pa. class action, or (b) 30 days after the entry of an order of final approval of any settlement of the M.D. Pa. class action. Claims Relating to Opioid Abuse The Company is among an array of defendants in multiple actions in federal courts alleging claims generally concerning the impacts of widespread opioid abuse, which have been commenced by various plaintiffs such as counties, cities, hospitals, Indian tribes, and others. In December 2017, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated many of these cases in a consolidated multidistrict litigation, captioned In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation (MDL No. 2804, Case No. 17-md-2804), which is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (“N.D. Ohio”). The Company is a defendant in the following multidistrict litigation (MDL) bellwether cases: • One case remanded to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ( City and Cnty. of San Francisco, et al. v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 3:18-cv-07591-CRB), originally scheduled for trial in October 2021, is currently ongoing. • Two cases in N.D. Ohio ( Cnty. of Lake, Ohio v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45032; Cnty. of Trumbull, Ohio v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45079). In November 2021, the jury in that case returned a verdict after trial in favor of the plaintiffs as to liability, and the second trial regarding remedies took place in May 2022. The court has yet to determine how much each defendant will pay in damages. The Company is unable to predict the outcome relative to remedies or apportionment and believes it has very strong grounds for appeal. • One case remanded to the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma ( The Cherokee Nation v. McKesson Corp., et al. , Case No. 18-CV-00056-RAW-SPS), which has since been remanded to the District Court of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma (a decision that is on appeal). • Five additional bellwether cases designated in April 2021: (1) Cobb Cnty. v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45817; (2) Durham Cnty. v. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., et al. , Case No. 19-op-45346; (3) Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commrs., et al. v. Cardinal Health, Inc., et al. , Case No. 18-op-46326; (4) Board of Cnty. Commrs. of the Cnty. of Santa Fe v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45776; and (5) Cnty. of Tarrant v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45274. • Two consolidated cases in N.D. Ohio ( Cnty. of Summit, Ohio, et al v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. 18-op-45090; Cnty. of Cuyahoga, Ohio, et al. v. Purdue Pharma L.P. , Case No. 18-op-45004), previously scheduled for trial in November 2020 but postponed indefinitely. The Company also has been named as a defendant in numerous actions brought in state courts relating to opioid matters. Trial dates have been set in cases pending in state courts in the following states: • New Mexico ( State of New Mexico, ex rel. Hector Balderas, Attorney General v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Case No. D-101-cv-2017-02541, First Judicial District Court, Santa Fe County, New Mexico - September 2022). • West Virginia ( State of West Virginia, ex rel. Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., et al., Civil Action No.20-C-82 PNM, Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, - September 2022). • Michigan ( State of Michigan, ex rel. Dana Nessel, Attorney General v. Cardinal Health, Inc. , et al., Case No. 19-016896-NZ, Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan - February 2023). • Alabama ( Mobile County Board of Health, et al. v. Fisher, et al. , Case No. CV-2019-902806.00, Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama - scheduled for trial in January 2023, but currently stayed pending a petition to the Alabama Supreme Court); ( The DCH Health Care Authority, et al. v. Purdue Pharma LP, et al. , Case No. CV-2019-000007.00, Circuit Court of Conecuh County, Alabama - March 2023). • Nevada ( State of Nevada v. McKesson Corporation, et al. , Case No. A-19-796755-B, Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County, Nevada - April 2023). • Missouri ( Jefferson County, Missouri v. Dannie E. Williams, M.D., et al. , Case No. 20JE-CC00029, Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit, Jefferson County, Missouri - July 2023). Two consolidated cases in New York state court ( County of Suffolk v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al. , Index No. 400001/2017; County of Nassau v. Purdu e Pharma L.P., et al., Index No. 400008/2017, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Suffolk County, New York) were resolved as to the Company in June 2021. The relief sought by various plaintiffs in these matters includes compensatory, abatement, restitution and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief. In connection with these matters, the Company has engaged an expanded number of parties regarding possible resolution. Significant uncertainties remain. Additionally, the Company has received from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorneys General of numerous states subpoenas, civil investigative demands, and other requests concerning opioid-related matters. The Company continues to communicate with the Department of Justice with respect to purported violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act and the federal False Claims Act in dispensing opioid prescriptions at certain Walgreens locations. On May 5, 2022, the Company announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with the State of Florida to resolve all claims related to the distribution and dispensing of prescription opioid medications across the Company’s pharmacies in the State of Florida. This settlement agreement is not an admission of liability or wrong-doing and would resolve opioid lawsuits filed and future claims by the state and government subdivisions in the State of Florida. The estimated settlement amount of $683 million includes $620 million in remediation payments, which will be paid to the State of Florida in equal installments over 18 years, and applied by it to opioid remediation, as well as a one-time payment of $63 million for attorneys’ fees. The Company made the first annual settlement payment of $97.4 million into escrow on June 17, 2022. During the three months ended May 31, 2022, the Company recorded a $683 million liability associated with this settlement. The settlement accrual is reflected in the unaudited Consolidated Condensed Statement of Earnings within Selling, general and administrative expenses as part of the United States segment. The Company recorded $97.4 million and $585.6 million of the estimated settlement liability in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities, and Other non-current liabilities, respectively, in our Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet. |