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NEWARK
– Rite Aid Corporation, Rite Aid of
New Jersey, Inc. and Eckerd Corp. have agreed
to a $650,000 settlement with the Office
of the Attorney General, the Division of
Consumer Affairs and the Office of Weights
and Measures to resolve a lawsuit alleging
the company sold expired and incorrectly
priced non-prescription drugs, infant formula,
baby food and other products at its New
Jersey drug stores.
Pursuant
to the settlement, Rite Aid has agreed to
pay $475,000 to the State comprising civil
penalties, attorneys’ fees and investigative
costs.
If
Rite Aid fails to adhere to the terms of
the settlement over the next 12 months,
it faces an additional $175,000 penalty.
In entering into the settlement, Rite Aid
made no admissions of liability or wrongdoing.
“Expired
products have no place on the shelves of
New Jersey stores, and as this settlement
makes clear, the law requires Rite Aid to
make sure product dates are checked and
requires that out-of-date products are not
offered for sale,” Attorney General
Anne Milgram said.
The
State sued Rite Aid in October 2006 following
inspections of the company’s New Jersey
stores conducted by Investigators from the
Office of Consumer Protection and the Office
of Weights and Measures.
In October 2007, following the acquisition
of Eckerd by Rite Aid, the State amended
its complaint to include Eckerd Corporation
as a defendant. Consumer Affairs investigators
similarly found expired and/or incorrectly
priced non-prescription drugs, infant formula,
baby food and other merchandise at Eckerd
drug stores in New Jersey.
Under
the settlement, Rite Aid has agreed not
to sell expired non-prescription drugs,
infant formula, baby food and cosmetics
and to check the expiration dates before
displaying such merchandise for sale. Rite
Aid has also agreed to arrange for the destruction
or return to the manufacturer of any expired
merchandise removed from store shelves.
Further, Rite has agreed not to sell merchandise
that exceeds the price at the point of display.
Rite Aid will also post its refund policies
clearly in stores.
As
part of the settlement, Rite Aid has also
implemented uniform policies for the periodic
inspection and removal of merchandise to
ensure that it is not sold beyond its expiration
date as well as for monitoring the price
accuracy of merchandise.
“We
recognize the actions Rite Aid has taken
to address the State’s concerns and
to ensure that the merchandise sold at its
stores is not outdated and is accurately
priced,” said David Szuchman, Consumer
Affairs Director.
Deputy
Attorney General Jennifer Dougherty represented
the state in this action.
This
is the second settlement reached with a
drugstore chain within the past eights months.
Duane
Reade International Inc. in November, 2007
agreed to pay a $175,000 civil penalty,
plus reimburse the state $25,000 in investigative
costs and attorneys’ fees, under the
settlement resolving a lawsuit that alleged
the chain sold or offered for sale expired
and/or mispriced non-prescription drugs,
infant formula, baby food and other products.
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