PENSACOLA, Fla., April 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Albertsons Companies, Inc. announced today it has reached a $774 million settlement framework to resolve opioid-related claims brought by state, local and tribal governments across the country. The settlement, to be paid out over nine years, represents one of the most significant financial accountability measures yet imposed on a major pharmacy chain for its role in the opioid crisis.
Albertsons operates 1,713 in-store pharmacies across a network of 2,244 retail food and drug stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, doing business under banners including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, ACME, Tom Thumb and Randalls. The company stated the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
The financial toll on the company has been substantial. Albertsons recorded a pre-tax charge of approximately $600 million last quarter, resulting in a reported operating loss of roughly $480 million. The settlement amount represents approximately 9% of the company’s $8.66 billion market capitalization.
Levin Papantonio attorneys Peter Mougey, Laura Dunning, Page Poerschke and Jeff Gaddy are among the legal team that has driven accountability against pharmacy chains across the country in the national opioid litigation. The Pensacola-based firm has stood at the center of that litigation for more than a decade.
“This $774 million settlement sends a clear message: large pharmacy chains must take responsibility for their role in fueling the opioid crisis,” said Jeff Gaddy, attorney at Levin Papantonio. “This resolution represents meaningful accountability and will help provide tangible resources to those suffering from opioid abuse and addiction. We hope this settlement serves as both a measure of justice and a deterrent, ensuring that corporate actors prioritize patient safety over profit in the future.”
Levin Papantonio has been a driving force in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL since its earliest stages. The firm represented more than 750 local governments, 9 states and 15 tribes in the opioid litigation, contributing to a recovery of more than $60 billion, one of the largest settlements in the history of juris prudence. Peter Mougey served on the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, leading negotiations in what the Washington Post described as “the largest and most complex case in the history of jurisprudence.”
The firm’s record of pharmacy chain accountability has been particularly far-reaching. Mougey and Gaddy co-led the trial team in New Mexico that secured a $500 million settlement with Walgreens, one of the largest individual settlements ever reached with a single opioid defendant in the country and the largest Attorney General settlement in New Mexico’s history. Mougey was also co-lead of the city of San Francisco case resulting in a liability award from Judge Charles R. Breyer, which was the catalyst for the National settlement
Throughout the national MDL, the firm managed more than 2 billion lines of data, tracking the movement of pills through the supply chain from manufacturer to distributor to pharmacy. Federal judges described that evidence as devastating to defendants’ positions at trial.
Funds from government opioid lawsuit settlements are directed toward addiction treatment, prevention and community education for the states, counties and municipalities that bore the financial and human costs of the epidemic for decades.
About Levin Papantonio Proctor Buchanan O’Brien Barr & Mougey
Founded in Pensacola, Florida, in 1955, Levin Papantonio is one of the nation’s most recognized plaintiff law firms, with a history of more than $80 billion in jury verdicts and settlements. The firm has represented nearly 2,000 governmental entities, including states, tribes, counties and municipalities, in major litigation across the country. For more information, visit levinlaw.com or call (800) 277-1193.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7bb41849-3498-44c4-93b4-c8e68d97bc48
