CVS settles opioid crisis lawsuit with Cherokee Nation

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

CVS, Cherokee Nation settlement overview: 

• Who: The Cherokee Nation reached a settlement with CVS Pharmacy to resolve opioid crisis claims.
• Why: The Cherokee Nation accused CVS of contributing to opioid addiction on its Oklahoma reservation.
• Where: The settlement will be decided in an Oklahoma state court.

The Cherokee Nation reached a settlement with CVS to settle claims the pharmacy contributed to widespread prescription opioid abuse on its Oklahoma reservation.

A U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) quarterly filing announced the settlement Sept. 30. 

Lawyer William S. Ohlemeyer, who represents the Cherokee Nation, said details of the CVS settlement agreement are confidential but will be made public soon, according to Law360.

Cherokee officials continue to litigate their opioid claims against Walgreens, with a trial scheduled for next March.

CVS contributed to widespread addition among Cherokee Nation citizens, lawsuit alleged

The Cherokee lawsuit accused CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and other opioid retailers of contributing to widespread addiction and overdose deaths among Cherokee Nation citizens. 

Cherokee Nation members made up a high proportion of the 3,300 people who died from drug overdoses within the tribe’s northeast Oklahoma reservation between 2003 and 2017, the tribe alleged. 

Opioid multidistrict litigation against CVS goes back to December 2017, when the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated numerous cases filed against various defendants by plaintiffs such as counties, cities, hospitals, Indian tribes and third-party payors, alleging claims beginning as far back as the early 2000s concerning the impacts of widespread prescription opioid abuse.

In November 2021, CVS was among the chain pharmacies a jury found liable in a trial in federal court in Ohio. In August 2022, the court issued a judgment jointly against the three defendants in the amount of $651 million to be paid over 15 years and also ordered injunctive relief, which CVS is appealing.

CVS has also settled opioid claims with a number of states. In March, CVS Health and CVS Pharmacy entered into a $484 million settlement agreement with Florida to resolve claims related to opioid medications dating back more than a decade. 

In August, CVS entered into an agreement with New Mexico. In September, CVS Pharmacy, Inc. entered into an agreement with West Virginia.

Native American tribes that were disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic agreed in February to a $590 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and major opioid distributors to resolve claims over their roles in exacerbating the crisis. 

What do you think of this CVS settlement with the Cherokee Nation? Let us know in the comments. 

The tribe is represented by Tyler Ulrich and William Ohlemeyer of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Michael Burrage of Whitten Burrage, Richard Fields of Fields Law PLLC and Frank Sullivan III of Sullivan & Sullivan PLLC.

The Cherokee settlement is The Cherokee Nation v. AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., et al., Case No. CJ-2018-11, in the District Court of Sequoyah County, State of Oklahoma.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Teva Pharmaceutsettles New York opioid lawsuits for $523M
• CVS, Walgreens propose $10B settlement to resolve national opioid suits
• Walmart to pay $215M for role in Florida opioid crisis
• CVS, Rite Aid lawsuit alleges acetaminophen use during pregnancy caused child’s autism