Kroger Settlement

Updated September 2024: 

The state of North Carolina, all 100 counties, and all required municipalities have agreed to join the proposed Kroger opioid settlement to bring an additional $40 million to North Carolina to address the opioid crisis. Here is some key background information:

BACKGROUND

In 2023, Attorney General Josh Stein and other attorneys general reached an agreement in principle with Kroger that would require the grocery chain to pay $1.37 billion to participating state and local governments for its role in the opioid crisis. The settlement covers North Carolina and other states where Kroger operates under its own name or the name of a subsidiary (such as Harris Teeter here in North Carolina). Read the press release here.

A maximum of just over $40 million may be coming to North Carolina state and local governments between 2025 and 2034 to address the opioid crisis. This chart shows the maximum amount that each local government stands to receive from the Kroger settlement, above and beyond the amounts they will receive from other opioid settlements and bankruptcy resolutions.

After North Carolina and other states approved the settlement in the Spring of 2024, Kroger agreed to move to the next stage of the settlement process, in which local governments in North Carolina and other participating states are invited to join the settlement.  All 100 counties and all required municipalities have agreed to join the proposed settlement along with the Second Supplemental Agreement for Additional Funds (SAAF-2), which governs the allocation, use, and reporting of funds from the settlement.

Kroger has until approximately mid-October to decide whether it will proceed with the proposed settlement.  If Kroger decides to proceed, funds from the settlement should start flowing to North Carolina state and local governments during the first half of 2025.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For local governments that have previously filed a lawsuit against opioid defendants, information about the Kroger Settlement has also been provided to your outside counsel, with whom we encourage you to consult.

Legal questions about the Kroger settlement and SAAF-2 may be directed to outside counsel or the NC Department of Justice at opioidsettlement@ncdoj.gov

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