HGT Law Commences Derivative Lawsuit Against Directors And Officers Of McKesson Corporation For Its Role In National Opioid Epidemic

On October 17, 2017, HGT Law filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit (“Lawsuit”) on behalf of the shareholders of McKesson Corporation (“McKesson” or the “Company”) against various McKesson directors and officers for abdicating their fiduciary duty of oversight with respect to the Company’s sale of opioid drugs and controlled substances.

Under federal law, drug distributors are subject to rigorous obligations to report “suspicious” orders of controlled substances to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  In 2008, McKesson was fined $13.25 million for violating these reporting requirements, and agreed to implement corrections to its policies and procedures.  As alleged in the Lawsuit, even after the 2008 agreement, McKesson continued to violate its obligations under federal law.  As a result of these violations, on January 17, 2017, McKesson agreed to pay a record $150 million civil penalty for its violations, and agreed to onerous compliance and monitoring terms for the next five years.

The Lawsuit alleges that the failure of McKesson’s board of directors and senior officers to oversee the Company’s distribution of controlled substances and compliance with federal law, was a key component in the violations that led to McKesson’s $150 million fine.  The Lawsuit alleges that, as the largest of the nation’s “Big Three” prescription drug wholesalers, McKesson’s violations of its reporting obligations played a significant role in facilitating the spread of opioid drugs in America’s communities, and in fueling the country’s prescription opioid epidemic.

In addition to the $150 million record fine in 2017, McKesson faces liability from numerous civil lawsuits filed by affected States, counties and towns all over the country.

A copy of the complaint filed by HGT Law on behalf of McKesson’s shareholders can be found here.

For more information about the McKesson lawsuit or any of our other cases, please contact us at (646) 453-7288 or via email at info@hgtlaw.com.