In November 2021, a jury found that CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens helped create a public nuisance in Lake and Trumbull counties in Ohio by over-supplying opioids, many of which entered the black market. On August 17, 2022, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ordered CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens to pay $650.6 million to the two Ohio counties. The defendants have vowed to appeal.
Judge Polster ordered that the sum be paid over 15 years, with the amount for the first two years ($86.7 million) to be paid immediately. He also ordered the companies to implement new procedures to combat illegal diversion of opioids.