McGraw
RICHMOND, Va. (Legal Newsline) – A group of pharmacies has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court a decision that permits West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's lawsuit against it to be heard in state court.
The group submitted its petition that asks for review of a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Aug. 18, and it was placed on the Supreme Court's docket six days later. The pharmacies are claiming McGraw's drug-pricing case against them is essentially a class action and should be heard in federal court.
The case alleges six drug stores - Wal-Mart, CVS, Kmart, Kroger, Target and Walgreen -- did not pass savings on generic drugs to consumers.
"Indeed, the West Virginia Attorney General's role here is more analogous to the role of the EEOC or other regulator when it brings an action on behalf of a large group of employees or a segment of the public," the Fourth Circuit's 2-1 judgment says. "Yet, the Supreme Court has concluded that such a regulator's action is not a class action of the kind defined in Rule 23."
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