If you purchased or otherwise acquired Rite Aid Corporation (“Rite Aid”) common stock between October 20, 2016 and June 28, 2017, inclusive, you could be entitled to a payment from a proposed Settlement.

For a full description of the Settlement, including a description of your rights under the Settlement and how to file a claim, click on the Case Documents page where you can download and review the Stipulation of Settlement ("Stipulation"), the Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice"), the Proof of Claim and Release ("Claim Form"), and other critical documents.

In order to participate in the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form. For the most effective submission method, we recommend you submit a Claim Form on this website. There is a link found on the File Claim page under the header “Submit Your Claim Form Online.”

Note that the online link will be disabled at any time after the submission deadline and you will only be able to submit via mail.

A brief background of the case is provided in the Notice on pages 3 and 4 and is also summarized on the home page of this website for your convenience. We do not have any more information regarding the background of this case available beyond what is provided in the Notice.

The Court certified the following Class: all Persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Rite Aid Corporation common stock between October 20, 2016 and June 28, 2017, inclusive (the “Class Period”) and were damaged thereby. Excluded from the Class are: (i) defendant Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and any of its subsidiaries, parents, and affiliates; (ii) defendants Stefano Pessina and George R. Fairweather and any of their immediate families, any entities in which they have a controlling interest, and their legal representatives, heirs, successors, or assigns; and (iii) the officers and directors of Rite Aid during the Class Period, and any members of their immediate families, any entities in which they have a controlling interest, and their legal representatives, heirs, successors, or assigns. Also excluded from the Class are all persons and entities who previously submitted a Request for Exclusion from the Class in connection with the Notice of Pendency of Class Action that was previously mailed to potential Class Members in December of 2020.

Please Note: Receipt of the Notice does not mean that you are a Class Member. Please check your records or contact your broker to see if you purchased or otherwise acquired Rite Aid common stock during the Class Period.

We are unable to advise regarding claim eligibility prior to receiving and processing a Claim Form submission. We cannot be more specific than the information which has been included in the Notice and cannot interpret how the Notice or Plan of Allocation may apply to a specific claim prior to processing.

Please read the Notice and Class definition carefully and decide whether or not you wish to submit a Claim Form. If you are still not certain of eligibility and want for us to determine eligibility, you will need to submit a Claim Form along with supporting documentation for your transactions.

Email is not an acceptable submission method and claims submitted via email will not be reviewed for eligibility. As indicated in the general instructions for the Claim Form, you must submit your claim online via this website or by postal mail. To submit your Claim Form by mail, mail your completed and signed Claim Form to the following address:

Rite Aid Securities Settlement
Claims Administrator
c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC
PO Box 301135
Los Angeles, CA 90030-1135

To submit your Claim Form online, use the link under the header “Submit Your Claim Form Online" on the File Claim page.

In the Settlement, Defendants have agreed to pay or cause to be paid $192,500,000.00 in cash, which will be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account for the benefit of the Class (the “Settlement Fund”). The Settlement Fund will be distributed among all Class Members after deduction of Court-awarded attorneys’ fees and expenses, Notice and Administration Costs, Taxes and Tax Expenses, and any other fees and expenses approved by the Court, among all Class Members who timely submit valid Claim Forms that are accepted for payment by the Court (“Authorized Claimants”). 

To be potentially eligible for a payment from the proceeds of the Settlement, you must be a member of the Class and must timely complete and return the Claim Form with adequate supporting documentation postmarked, if mailed, or received, if submitted online, no later than February 12, 2024. 

The Plan of Allocation, discussed on pages 5 - 9 of the Notice, explains how the Net Settlement Fund will be allocated among purchasers and/or acquirers of Rite Aid common stock and how claimants’ “Recognized Claims” will be calculated. Your share of the Net Settlement Fund will depend on several things, including: (i) the quantity of Rite Aid common stock you bought or otherwise acquired; (ii) how much you paid for the common stcok; (iii) when you bought or otherwise acquired such common stock; (iv) whether or when you sold such common stock (and, if so, for how much you sold them); and (v) the amount of Recognized Claims of other Authorized Claimants.

It is unlikely that you will get a payment for your entire Recognized Claim, given the number of potential Class Members. After all Class Members have sent in their Proofs of Claim, the payment any Authorized Claimant will get will be their pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund based on the Plan of Allocation approved by the Court. In general, an Authorized Claimant’s share will be his, her or its Recognized Claim divided by the total of all Authorized Claimants’ Recognized Claims and then multiplied by the total amount in the Net Settlement Fund. 

The law firms of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Lead Counsel") and Saxton & Stump LLC were appointed to represent all Class Members. These lawyers are called Plaintiffs' Counsel. You will not be separately charged for the services of these lawyers. The Court will determine the amount of Plaintiffs' Counsel’s fees and expenses. Any fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid from the Settlement Fund. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Plaintiffs' Counsel have not received any payment for their services in pursuing the claims against the Defendants on behalf of the Class since the Action was commenced in 2018, nor have they been paid to this point for any of their litigation expenses.  At the Settlement Hearing described below, or at such other time as the Court may order, Lead Counsel will ask the Court to award them, from the Settlement Fund, attorneys’ fees of up to 30% of the Settlement Amount and litigation expenses that they have incurred in pursuing the Action in an amount not to exceed $1.9 million, plus interest on both amounts from the date of funding at the same rate earned by the Settlement Fund. Lead Counsel may also apply for awards to Plaintiffs in connection with their representation of the Class.

The Court will hold a Settlement Hearing at 1:30 p.m. EDT, on February 7, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse, 1501 North 6th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102, Courtroom 8A. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. The Court will also consider the proposed Plan of Allocation for the proceeds of the Settlement and Plaintiffs' Counsel’s application for attorneys’ fees and expenses. The Court will take into consideration any written objections filed in accordance with the instructions set out in the Notice. We do not know how long it will take the Court to make these decisions.

You should also be aware that the Court may change the date and time of the Settlement Hearing without another notice being sent to Class Members. If you want to come to the hearing, you should check with Lead Counsel before coming to be sure that the date and/or time has not changed.

No. Lead Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But, you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you validly submit an objection, it will be considered by the Court. You can, but do not have to, come to Court to talk about it. 

We do not hold stock records here. Gilardi & Co., LLC is a third-party administrator appointed by the Court to notify potential claimants. We are provided with names and addresses of potential claimants in order to notify individuals of settlements but do not have access to your private investment records. We recommend you contact the institution where you held your Rite Aid common stock and request proof or supporting documentation for your claim.

We cannot advise you as to whether or not you should choose to submit a claim or objection.

Unless you timely and validly excluded yourself by March 23, 2021, you are staying in the Class, and that means that you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Defendant Parties in this case. It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you, and you will release your claims in this case against the Released Defendant Parties. The terms of the release are included in the Notice, Claim Form, and Stipulation.

If you do not submit a Claim Form, you will not receive any money from this Settlement but will still be part of the Class and subject to applicable releases.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class.

Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be paid and do not want to release any claims you think you may have against the Released Defendant Parties. If you excluded yourself, you cannot object to the Settlement because it does not affect you.

If you did not request exclusion in response to the Notice of Pendency of Class Action (known in this phase of the administration as the Class Notice) which was originally mailed in December 2020, you are not able to do so at this time. As explained in the Class Notice, you must have submitted an exclusion request by March 23, 2021. If you do not recall whether you excluded yourself during the earlier phase, a list of those individuals and entities who excluded themselves is available here.

Any Class Member may object to the Settlement, the Plan of Allocation, or Plaintiffs' Counsel’s request for an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.  You can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection. You cannot ask the Court to order a different settlement; the Court can only approve or reject the Settlement. If the Court denies approval, no settlement payments will be sent out and the lawsuit will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you must object.

Any objection to the proposed Settlement must be in writing. All written objections and supporting papers must: (a) clearly identify the case name and number (Chabot, et al. v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., et al., No. 1:18-cv-02118-JPW); (b) be submitted in writing to Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, David A. Knotts, 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Caroline Hickey Zalka, 767 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10153, and received no later than twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing, or January 17, 2024; and (c) be filed with the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse, 1501 North 6th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102, no later than January 24, 2024.

The notice of objection must include documentation establishing the objecting Person’s membership in the Class, including the number of shares of Rite Aid common stock that the objecting Person (1) owned as of the opening of trading on October 20, 2016, and (2) purchased, acquired, and/or sold during the Class Period, as well as the dates and prices for each such purchase, acquisition, and sale, and contain a statement of reasons for the objection, copies of any papers, briefs, or other documents upon which the objection is based, a statement of whether the objector intends to appear at the Settlement Hearing, and the objector’s signature, even if represented by counsel. The objection must state whether it applies only to the objector, to a specific subset of the Class, or to the entire Class. In addition, the objector must identify all class action settlements to which the objector or his, her or its counsel have previously objected.

Documentation establishing membership in the Class must consist of copies of brokerage confirmation slips or monthly brokerage account statements, or an authorized statement from the objector’s broker containing the transactional and holding information found in a broker confirmation slip or account statement. Objectors who desire to present evidence at the Settlement Hearing in support of their objection must include in their written objection or notice of appearance the identity of any witnesses they may call to testify and any exhibits they intend to introduce into evidence at the hearing.

You may not object to the Settlement or any aspect of it if you previously excluded yourself from the Class. You may file a written objection without having to appear at the Settlement Hearing.

You may not appear at the Settlement Hearing to present your objection, however, unless you have first filed a written objection in accordance with the procedures described above, unless the Court orders otherwise.

You are not required to hire an attorney to represent you in making written objections or in appearing at the Settlement Hearing. If you decide to hire an attorney, which will be at your own expense, he or she must file a notice of appearance with the Court so that the notice is received on or before January 24, 2024.

The Settlement Hearing may be adjourned by the Court without further written notice other than posting of the adjournment on this website.  If you plan to attend the Settlement Hearing, you should confirm the date and time with Plaintiffs' Counsel.

Separate Claim Forms should be submitted for each separate legal entity (e.g., a claim from joint owners should not include the transactions of just one of the joint owners, and an individual should not combine his or her IRA transactions with transactions made solely in the individual’s name).

However, a single Claim Form should be submitted on behalf of one legal entity that includes all transactions made by that entity, no matter how many separate accounts that entity has (e.g., a corporation with multiple brokerage accounts should include all transactions made in all accounts on one Claim Form).

When filing on behalf of a deceased beneficial owner or their estate, you can submit a claim in the name of the individual, or, if an estate exists, you can submit on behalf of the estate. Note that any settlement proceeds will be made payable to the estate if that is how you submit that claim.

The claim submission should include a copy of the death certificate as well as proof of authority to file. As you are submitting a Claim Form as a representative on behalf of someone else (e.g., as an executor, administrator, trustee or other representative), you must document your authority to file on their (or their estate’s) behalf. Proof of authority can include a copy of the Last Will and Testament, Letters Testamentary, evidence of probate, proof of authority as executor or beneficiary and/or any other testamentary provisions of the deceased person. Do not send originals as any documents submitted with your claim will not be returned.

Depending on whether you submit on behalf of the individual on behalf of the estate, please provide the appropriate tax identification number or last four digits of the social security number and sign the Claim Form.

The claim must be submitted for the benefit of the actual beneficial owner/purchaser of the shares or their estate. Do not submit the Claim Form in the name of the deceased person’s family or other heirs. We must issue the check to the actual beneficial owner/purchaser of the shares. We cannot issue any applicable check in the name of the deceased person’s family, beneficiaries or other heirs.

Sufficient documentation will provide proof of all the transaction information required by the Claim Form.

Suggested forms of documentation include, but are not limited to, photocopies of stockbrokers' confirmation slips or stockbrokers' monthly statements reflecting your transactions, opening and closing balances for the months specified on the Claim Form, and in which transactions during the relevant period occurred.

Stock certificates are not considered a sufficient form of documentation as they do not provide the necessary trade date and transaction price information. We are also unable to accept handwritten documents, self-prepared tax forms or spreadsheets, or statements that are illegible due to document quality.

Please send your late submission when you are able, as we will continue to process late claims. Up until the point when we are prepared to distribute the settlement fund, late claims which are otherwise valid will be accepted. Distributions in settlements such as this typically take place ten months to a year after the filing deadline, but this is an average estimate and claims processing could take longer depending on various factors, including whether a large number of late claims are being submitted due to delays outside of the control of claimants.

The Settlement Hearing will be held on February 7, 2024. The Court reserves the right to approve the Settlement or the Plan of Allocation, Plaintiffs' Counsel’s motion for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or any other matter related to the Settlement at or after the Settlement Hearing without further notice to the members of the Class. If the Court approves the Settlement, there might be appeals.  It is always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved, and resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year. 

It also takes time for all the Claim Forms to be processed.  Processing time on our cases can take an average of twelve months or more from the February 12, 2024 filing deadline. Once processing is complete, we must then wait for authorization from Counsel and/or the Court before we can distribute the funds which can take several additional months.

Please understand that this is an estimated timeframe for processing based on our experience which does not guarantee that all case processing will be completed within twelve months. Processing time varies from case to case and some cases may take more or less time based on the specifics of that case settlement.

If your claim has been received and we have any questions or need additional information or documentation to assist in the processing of your claim, we will contact you by using one or more of the contact methods (phone, e-mail, mail) which you listed on your Claim Form submission.

We will not have the final claim payout amount available until we have processed all of the claims, calculated the total loss of claims filed, and received approval from the Court and/or Plaintiffs' Counsel.

We appreciate your patience as accurate claims processing takes time.

If you do nothing, you will not receive any money from this Settlement.  In addition, unless you excluded yourself, you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Released Defendant Parties about the Released Plaintiffs' Claims in this case.

The Settlement is separate and distinct from the bankruptcy filing and the claims administration is proceeding independent of the bankruptcy matter. Please also note that Gilardi is an independent claims administrator appointed by the Court to oversee the administration of the securities class action settlement. We have no information pertaining to the status of the Rite Aid bankruptcy and are unable to answer any questions regarding that matter.