Sign Up for Kroger Class Action Lawsuit
Kroger class action lawsuit is currently open:
Those who meet eligibility criteria should apply before the deadline December 17, 2026. Kroger pharmacy settlement: $17 million for people who used insurance and paid part of a prescription at Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer or other Kroger stores.
Kroger Class Action Lawsuit
If you used your insurance card at a Kroger pharmacy, what you paid at the counter depended partly on a number most customers never see: the pharmacy's "usual and customary" price, which is the price it reports to insurers as what it normally charges cash customers. The Kroger pharmacy class action lawsuit says Kroger reported that number too high. Since 2018, Kroger has run an Rx Savings Club for people paying without insurance: an annual fee of $36 for an individual or $72 for a family bought prices of $0, $3 or $6 for a 30-day supply of more than 100 generic drugs, according to the court's class certification order.
The lawsuit claims Kroger should have reported those Savings Club prices as its usual and customary prices, and that by reporting its higher retail prices instead, it left insured customers paying inflated copays. Kroger denies this. It says Savings Club prices, which required joining, paying a fee and accepting terms, were never its "usual" or "customary" prices, and it has admitted no wrongdoing in settling.
Judy Kirkbride, who filled prescriptions at a Kroger in Hebron, Ohio, filed the case on January 5, 2021, and Beeta Lewis later joined her as a named plaintiff, one of the customers who sue on behalf of everyone else. The case is Kirkbride et al. v. The Kroger Co., No. 2:21-cv-00022, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The legal claims are fraud, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. Judge Algenon L. Marbley let those claims go forward in July 2023 and certified a class in April 2025. While Kroger asked an appeals court to review that ruling, the parties mediated, and they signed the settlement on March 12, 2026. Class counsel, the lawyers the court appointed to represent the class, are Bursor & Fisher, Arisohn LLC and Smith Krivoshey.
Kroger Class Action Settlement - $17,000,000
Kroger has agreed to pay $17,000,000 into a settlement fund. The fund is non-reversionary, which means none of it goes back to Kroger, however many people claim. Judge Marbley granted preliminary approval on June 24, 2026. The class period covers prescriptions filled from December 9, 2018, through August 23, 2026, and Chimo's deadline to file is December 17, 2026.
Several costs come out before customers are paid. Class counsel have asked for one-third of the fund, $5,666,666.66, plus $610,325.71 in litigation expenses and $5,000 each for the two named plaintiffs. Notice and administration costs are capped at $325,000 before the settlement takes effect. If every request is granted, about $10.39 million is left to share among valid claims. Angeion Group is the settlement administrator, the firm the court appointed to process claims, and it is paid from the fund.
The lawyers' filings explain why they took the deal. In the only comparable case to reach a jury, a pharmacy customer suit against CVS, the jury found for the pharmacy and the verdict was upheld on appeal. The closest settlement, against Walgreens over its own Prescription Savings Club, set aside about $20 million for consumers. If money is left after the first round of payments, the administrator may run a second or third round, and any small remainder goes to a court-approved charity or nonprofit chosen by the parties, known by the legal term cy pres. The final approval hearing is January 11, 2027, in Columbus, Ohio.
Deadline for filing a claim: December 17, 2026
Kroger Pharmacy Class Action Payout: $10 - $52 (estimate)
The Kroger settlement pays pro rata, meaning each valid claim gets a share sized by how much that customer paid compared with everyone else. You do not list individual prescriptions. You pick one range for the total you paid out of pocket on insured prescriptions at Kroger during the class period, and the plan of allocation values each range at its top: $1 to $500 counts as $500, $501 to $1,000 as $1,000, $1,001 to $4,000 as $4,000, and $4,001 to $7,999 as $7,999. A claim of $8,000 or more counts at the amount your records prove. So a claim in the $4,000 range is weighted eight times as heavily as a $500 claim.
No payment amount has been published, and it depends mostly on how many valid claims come in. Our estimate is about $10 to $52 for an average claim: roughly $10.39 million left after the requested fees and costs, spread across 1,000,000 valid claims, is about $10 each, and across 200,000 valid claims about $52. Both claim counts are our assumptions, not figures from the court, and claims in the higher ranges are weighted above the average.
When eligible payments are ready, the administrator contacts claimants by email or text with digital options such as PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer (ACH) or a virtual prepaid card, or a claimant can ask for a paper check. Prepaid cards are worth avoiding, since a small balance left on one can be hard to spend or move. Checks must be cashed within 180 days. The first round of eligible payments goes out within 120 days after the settlement takes effect, which follows final approval and any appeals. If you change your phone number, email or address, tell the administrator, which you can reach at (888) 535-4262.
Kroger Pharmacy Class Action Eligibility
You may qualify if, at any time from December 9, 2018, through August 23, 2026, you filled a prescription at a Kroger-owned pharmacy in the United States or its territories, used prescription insurance for it, and paid at least part of the cost yourself. Kroger here means every pharmacy the company owns or operates, not only stores with Kroger on the sign. The settlement's own list names Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foods Co, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Gerbes, Jay C Food Store, King Soopers, Kroger, Mariano's, Metro Market, Pay-Less Super Markets, Pick 'n Save, QFC, Ralphs, Ruler and Smith's Food and Drug.
Prescriptions you paid for entirely without insurance do not count, including ones bought through the Savings Club itself, and neither do fills at pharmacies Kroger does not own. You are also out if you opted out of this settlement, already sued Kroger, filed an arbitration or took part in another settlement over its Savings Club pricing, or are a Kroger officer or director or a judge on the case.
The claim form asks for your name and contact details, the notice ID number if the administrator sent you one, and one range for what you paid out of pocket. Claims of $8,000 or more need records up front, such as pharmacy printouts, receipts or insurance statements. Kroger has given the administrator a list of known customers, and if you are not on it you will be asked for records for a claim of any size. You sign the form under penalty of perjury, the administrator can check it against Kroger's records, and false claims can be cut back, rejected or prosecuted. Choose the range you are confident in: a smaller accurate claim gets paid.
Kroger Pharmacy Class Action Claim Form
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FAQ
Every pharmacy Kroger owns or operates counts, including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry's, Smith's, Dillons, QFC, Mariano's, Pick 'n Save, Food 4 Less, Foods Co, City Market, Baker's, Gerbes, Jay C, Metro Market, Pay-Less and Ruler.
It is the price a pharmacy reports to insurers as what it normally charges people paying cash. Insurers use it to work out what you owe at the counter, so the lawsuit says a higher reported price could mean a higher copay.
Not for those purchases. The settlement covers prescriptions where you used insurance and paid part of the cost. Fills you paid for entirely without insurance, including through the Savings Club, are outside the class.
Not up front, unless you claim $8,000 or more. But if you are not on Kroger's list of known customers, the administrator will ask for records such as pharmacy printouts, receipts or insurance statements for a claim of any size.
It is a number the administrator sent to customers it found in Kroger's records. Entering it is optional. Having one means you are a known claimant, which usually means no records request unless you claim $8,000 or more.
Class counsel have asked the court for one-third of the $17 million fund, which is $5,666,666.66, plus $610,325.71 in expenses. The court decides how much to award at the final approval hearing on January 11, 2027.
Judy Kirkbride and Beeta Lewis, the two customers who brought the case, have each asked for a $5,000 service award from the fund, which pays them for the time they spent on the case over more than five years.
The settlement class covers anyone who paid part of a prescription's cost at Kroger "using their insurance", and it does not limit the type of plan. If a plan paid part of the bill and you paid the rest, the purchase fits that wording.
It is a separate case against a different pharmacy, brought on the same kind of claim. Walgreens settled for $100 million, with about $20 million set aside for consumers. Kroger customers claim here, not in the Walgreens case.
None of it goes back to Kroger. Leftover money may be paid out in a second or third round to people with valid claims, and any small remainder goes to charities or nonprofits the parties choose and the court approves.
Sources
These are the court's own records for this case. They are hosted here unchanged, so you can check anything on this page against the documents themselves.
- Class Action Complaint (PDF) Complaint · Filed January 5, 2021 · U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio · Case 2:21-cv-00022
- Opinion and Order Granting Class Certification (PDF) Court order · Filed April 9, 2025 · U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio · Case 2:21-cv-00022
- Amended Opinion and Order Granting Preliminary Approval (PDF) Court order · Filed June 25, 2026 · U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio · Case 2:21-cv-00022
The full case file is on the court docket: view the docket.