Penalty Amount
$384,192,156
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay more than $384 million — including $977,558 to Oregon — to resolve allegations that it sold powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products made in unsafe manufacturing conditions to Medicaid and food assistance programs such as WIC between January 2018 and December 2022. Investigators found Abbott failed to maintain manufacturing equipment and control water at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities, and withheld test results showing contamination during FDA inspections in 2019 and 2022. The settlement was negotiated by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units on behalf of the federal government and 39 states.
Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the federal government and $35,491,288 to 39 states for claims tied to their Medicaid programs, with Oregon receiving $977,558. The release does not describe additional injunctive or compliance obligations.
In-house legal teams at companies selling into government healthcare or nutrition programs (Medicaid, WIC) should review government program agreements and supply/manufacturing contracts for representations that products meet all applicable federal and state safety requirements, and for quality-control covenants covering equipment maintenance and water control at manufacturing facilities. Contracts should be checked for express duties to disclose contamination or failed test results to regulators during inspections, since withheld test results drove liability here. Vendor and contract-manufacturer agreements should include FDA/quality compliance warranties, audit and inspection cooperation clauses, and indemnification for government enforcement or false claims exposure arising from undisclosed product safety data. Customer and government contracts should also be reviewed for refund or credit obligations when products fail promised safety standards.
Entity
Abbott Laboratories
Industry
Healthcare"Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced today that Abbott Laboratories will pay Oregon $977,558"
"Under the settlement, Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the federal government and $35,491,288 to 39 states for claims tied to their Medicaid programs."
"Abbott manufactured powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities without meeting federal and state safety requirements"
"Abbott also withheld test results showing that contamination was present at the Sturgis facility"
"A team from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units investigated the case and negotiated the settlement on behalf of the states, with representatives from Oregon, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee."
"Abbott will pay Oregon $977,558, resolving allegations that it sold powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products made in unsafe manufacturing conditions to federal and state programs, including Medicaid and food assistance programs"
$384.2M
Connecticut joined 39 other states and the federal government in a $384 million False Claims Act settlement with Abbott Laboratories over allegations that the company failed to manufacture powder infant formula and nutritional therapy products in compliance with federal and state requirements at its Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona facilities. Abbott allegedly manufactured formula in conditions that risked microorganism contamination and failed to disclose contamination test results to the FDA during 2019 and 2022 inspections. The settlement resolves claims that Abbott caused false claims to be submitted to the WIC program and state Medicaid programs between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022.
An Oregon judge rejected RealPage’s attempt to have the state’s rent-pricing lawsuit dismissed, allowing the case to move forward. Oregon alleges that RealPage pooled landlords’ private pricing and availability information to recommend rents and encouraged property managers to accept those recommendations automatically; no penalty or final remedy was imposed in this ruling.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging NHTSA’s rollback of fuel economy standards. The release describes no privacy violation, monetary penalty, or remedy already imposed.
$400.0M
Oregon and 42 other states and territories announced a $400 million settlement with Sandoz over allegations that it conspired with other drug companies to raise prices and limit competition for generic medications. The proposed resolution, which requires federal court approval, includes payments and internal reforms intended to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust law.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a multistate coalition filed suit alleging that DuPont (now EIDP) and Corteva shifted substantial assets to Vylor while PFAS contamination lawsuits were pending, potentially leaving insufficient resources to pay cleanup costs. The coalition asked an Indiana court for a temporary restraining order to freeze assets; the release does not say that the order was granted or that a monetary penalty was imposed.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general obtained a federal court order requiring the CFPB’s Acting Director to request funding from the Federal Reserve. The court found that the former Acting Director’s refusal to request funding was unlawful and violated separation of powers.