Pharmacy Benefits Manager Caremark Must Pay $290 Million After Trebled Damages and Assessed False Claims Act Penalties
PR Newswire
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 21, 2025
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs' law firm, has won a $289,873,500 million final judgment on behalf of whistleblower, Sarah Behnke, in this False Claims Act whistleblower case against pharmacy benefits manager Caremark and related entities. The judge trebled the single damages of $95 million and awarded civil penalties of $4.8 million bringing the full amount that the Caremark defendants must pay to almost $290 million.
In awarding $4.8 million in civil penalties, the Court noted that it was imposing a per-claim penalty "near the top of the statutory range" of $5,500 to $11,000 because "Caremark's misconduct was serious."
"This is a terrific outcome for our client and the U.S. government and taxpayers," said Executive Shareholder David F. Sorensen, who led Berger Montague's trial team, that included shareholders Caitlin G. Coslett and Joy Clairmont, associates William H. Fedullo and Laurel Boman, and counsel Susan S. Thomas. Berger Montague tried the case with co-counsel, Miller Shall LLP, whose trial team was led by James C. Shah.
After an eight-day bench trial, the Court found that the Caremark defendants were liable for false and inflated drug prices that had been reported to the Government for prescriptions filled for Medicare Part D beneficiaries at two national chain pharmacies (Walgreens and Rite Aid), causing the federal government to overpay for these generic drugs.
Read the final judgment here.
Berger Montague is one of the nation's preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, whistleblower cases, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With nearly $2.4 billion in 2025 trial verdicts alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.
Contact:
Amy Wall-Monte
awallmonte@bergermontague.com
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SOURCE Berger Montague
