Walgreens Faces Class-Action Suit

New York City Law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins filed a class-action suit on Thursday against Walgreen Co. in the Northern District Court of Illinois.

The claim, filed on behalf of purchasers of Walgreen stock between June 25, and Nov. 29, 2007, alleges that Walgreen Co. and certain Walgreen officers and directors violated the Securities Exchange Act.

According to the suit, Walgreen did not disclose the declining growth rate in its prescription sales or a dispute that was underway with CVS Caremark, which was negatively impacting Walgreen earnings.

The price of Walgreen stock dropped significantly after the company reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Oct. 1, 2007. Stock values declined again on Nov. 30 following an announcement that Walgreen had withdrawn as a pharmacy provider from the CVS Caremark third-party prescription plan.