Anthem Hit With Suit Over Dropping California Pharmacy From Network
A Richmond-based pharmacy owned by former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz has brought on lawyers at Boies Schiller to sue Anthem Insurance Companies, claiming they illegally cut the pharmacy out of their prescription drug networks.
August 02, 2019 at 06:05 PM
2 minute read
Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi
Lawyers at Boies Schiller Flexner, including antitrust heavyweight William Isaacson, have hit a group of Anthem-owned insurance companies with a lawsuit claiming they illegally dropped a California pharmacy from their network of prescription drug providers.
CZ Services Inc., a Richmond-based company owned by former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz which does business as CareZone Pharmacy, leaned on the Boies Schiller lawyers to sue Anthem Insurance Companies Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, and Premera Blue Cross. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that the insurers’ pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc., which is not named as a defendant in the suit, terminated CareZone from participating in the insurers’ “pharmacy network plan” in violation of state laws in California and Tennessee.
A spokeswoman for Anthem said Friday that the company would not comment on the lawsuit.
CareZone claims that the Anthem companies, as principals in Express Scripts, can be held liable for its actions in cutting the pharmacy out of prescription drug plans, which the pharmacy claims Express Scripts did on their behalf. Express Scripts, CareZone’s lawyers contend, has indicated that it will not work with mail-order pharmacies which might compete with its own mail-order business. CareZone claims the insurers now violate the “any willing provider” provisions of the Medicare Part D Act and Social Security Act, which forces companies to permit pharmacies that serve Medicare Part D and Medicaid prescription drug benefits that meet certain criteria participate in their networks.
The lawsuit claims that CareZone’s exclusion violates both California’s Unfair Competition Law and Tennesee’s “Any Willing Provider” Statute. The suit asks for a finding that the insurers, through Express Scripts, have improperly terminated CareZone from their networks and an injunction barring the company from denying participation to the pharmacy going forward. The suit also seeks an undisclosed amount of restitution as well as court costs and attorney fees.
Boies Schiller’s Isaacson was out of the office Friday and didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
'Pull Back the Curtain': Ex-NFL Players Seek Discovery in Lawsuit Over League's Disability Plan
'Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable': Pearls of Wisdom From 2024 GC Q&As
Insurers Dodge Sherwin-Williams' Claim for $102M Lead Paint Abatement Payment, State High Court Rules
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
