Koster Says Walgreens Violated Court Order 309 Times
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says a Jackson County judge finds Walgreens violated a 2014 judgment 309 times. Koster’s press release says Walgreens violated the judgment by leaving sales tags on the shelves after the sales period expired, putting customers at risk for overcharges.
In August 2013, Koster sued Illinois-based Walgreens for violations of Missouri’s consumer laws by displaying inaccurate sales tags, overcharging customers, and failing to remove expired sales tags, among other acts. Missouri and Walgreens resolved the case with a Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction, signed by the court on June 4, 2014. The consent judgment prohibited Walgreens from leaving expired sales tags on display more than 12 hours from the time the offer expired.
Despite the court-ordered consent judgment, Koster’s investigators found hundreds of sales tags displayed after the expiration date listed on the tag during inspections of 50 Missouri Walgreens stores in July-September 2015. As a result of the inspections, Koster asked the court to hold Walgreens responsible for violating the consent judgment.
Jackson County Judge Jennifer Phillips on Friday ordered Walgreens to pay $309,000 in civil penalties ($1,000 for each violation). Judge Phillips also found that Walgreens was aware not all sale tags were being removed within 12 hours of their offer expiring. Those expired sale tags were resulting in overcharges to Missouri consumers.
Walgreens had already paid the state $165,000 for overcharging items purchased, as part of pricing audits required by the judgment.