Jepsen
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen announced a settlement on Thursday with Connecticut CVS Pharmacy LLC over the sale of expire products.
The company, under terms of the settlement, is prohibited from selling or offering to sell products after their expiration or "sell by" date at its retail stores. CVS must also pay the state $105,000.
In addition, for at least three years, CVS will offer consumers a $2 discount coupon toward any purchase for each over-the-counter drug, egg or dairy product, or baby food or formula found on store shelves and turned into a cashier. Consumers do not have to make a purchase to receive the coupon and there are no limits to the number of coupons a consumer can receive.
The settlement results from a 2009 lawsuit filed by then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, now a U.S. senator, that alleged that the company sold expired food and over-the-counter medications at more than 20 of its Connecticut stores. CVS denied the allegations in agreeing to the settlement.
"This settlement represents a fair solution that not only prohibits the sale of expired products, but provides incentives to CVS and its customers to clear its store shelves of overlooked expired products," Jepsen said.
Additionally, the settlement requires CVS to review and revise its expired products policy within 30 days, send it to all employees, post the new policy in its stores and train employees on it at least annually. CVS is also required to begin and maintain a program of regular inspections of covered products and review and revise its third party supplier delivery policies to ensure that no expired dairy products and eggs are available for sale on the shelves of the store.