Suit: Walgreen owes Express Scripts $25 million

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, owes Express Scripts Inc. more than $25 million, the pharmacy benefits manager said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in St. Louis.

Express Scripts, the third-biggest U.S. drug benefits manager, claimed Walgreen breached a pharmacy-services contract signed in August 2005, under which the drugstore operator serves Express Scripts clients in exchange for scheduled payments.

Walgreen, based in Deerfield, over-billed Express Scripts for some services and substituted some prescribed medicines for others without doctors' orders to do so, according to the complaint.

Express Scripts, based in St. Louis, manages prescription benefits for companies and supplies drugs by mail to plan beneficiaries for clients in 13 states and Canada. Under its contracts, Walgreen and other retailers serve its subscribers who wish to pick up their prescriptions in person.

The company has withheld $13.1 million in remittance payments from Walgreen that it claims not to owe, Express Scripts' attorneys said in court papers.

Walgreen has been preparing a lawsuit of its own that will seek millions of dollars in damages from the benefits company, Michael Polzin, a Walgreen spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement.

"Their lawsuit is groundless and was filed solely in an attempt to beat us to the courthouse," Polzin said.

In addition to money damages, Express Scripts seeks a court order directing Walgreen to give it greater access to conduct audits.

The case is Express Scripts Inc. v. Walgreen Co., 08cv1915 U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis).