Kroger will pay up to $1.2 billion to settle most nationwide opioid claims

Kroger on Friday said it has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to U.S. states, local governments and Native American tribes to settle the majority of claims that it fueled the opioid epidemic through lax oversight of its pill sales. 

The settlement would allow for “full resolution” of all claims on behalf of those parties, the company said in a release ahead of its fiscal second-quarter earnings. Kroger is now the latest retail pharmacy chain to announce a nationwide settlement agreement after Walgreens, CVS and Walmart did last fall.

Still, Kroger said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.