Article ID: 350199504dc69e8a6b154198bfc90c2ce8c3d64aa2c02195dbcc1a3d119166f6
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/insurers-must-defend-walmart-in-opioid-lawsuits-appeals-court/
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Insurers must defend Walmart in opioid lawsuits: appeals court - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Insurers must defend Walmart in opioid lawsuits: appeals court by Richard Sine Coverage Disputes , P/C Insurers AIG Oct 7, 2026 Two units of American International Group and dozens of other insurers must pay to defend Walmart Inc. in more than 2,400 opioid lawsuits, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday in a ruling that went against the grain of other recent suits against big pharmacy chains. In ACE American Insurance Company v. Walmart, Inc. , the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a trial judge’s order that American Home Assurance Company and National Union Fire Insurance Company, Walmart’s primary insurers, and the excess insurers above them owe the retailer a defense. The ruling covers defense costs only, not whether insurers must help pay settlements. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, sued its insurers in November 2022, about a week before it announced a $3.1 billion nationwide framework to settle opioid claims by state, local and tribal governments. Walmart denied wrongdoing. The figure includes money for treatment and care plus attorneys’ fees and costs. The insurers argued that the lawsuits allege intentional misconduct, not the “accident” their policies require. The unanimous panel of three judges disagreed. The core claim against Walmart, the lead judge wrote, is that it “failed to put proper controls in place to find and report suspicious opioid orders,” which is a lack of reasonable care. Even if Walmart acted intentionally, the court said, the resulting crisis could not necessarily have been foreseen or expected. The excess insurers argued that suits by governments and health systems, which seek reimbursement for the cost of treating addiction and overdoses, do not involve covered bodily injury. “The policies state, ‘Damages because of ‘bodily injury’ include damages claimed by any person or organization for care, loss of services, loss of support or death resulting at any time from the ‘bodily injury.’ ’ It is clear from this language … that there is coverage for damages suffered by people or entities who may not have directly suffered a bodily injury. That would have to include financial damages since an ‘organization’ does not have a corporeal body.” Delaware courts have absolved insurers from defending Albertsons , Rite Aid and CVS in opioid lawsuits filed by governments, largely on the grounds that the plaintiffs could not prove direct bodily injury. A federal judge in Florida issued a similar ruling in favor of Publix . In another part of the ruling, New York-based QBE Insurance shares a layer of coverage with another insurer and asked to move the dispute to arbitration. The court said its policy did not clearly adopt the other insurer’s arbitration clause. 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