Frier Levitt has achieved another victory, this time on behalf of an HIV-focused specialty pharmacy, Mission Wellness, against Caremark and SilverScript. On January 31, 2024, District of Arizona Chief Judge Snow awarded Mission Wellness attorneys’ fees and pre-judgment interest following our application to confirm our arbitration award exceeding $3.6 million.
Mission Wellness secured its arbitration victory against Caremark and SilverScript in June 2022, recovering 100% of DIR fees wrongfully recouped by Caremark, plus all expenses and attorneys’ fees. Despite this, Caremark refused to pay. However, we successfully confirmed the arbitration award in the District of Arizona, defeating Caremark and SilverScript’s motion to vacate the arbitration award. Caremark was compelled to pay the award in full.
On behalf of Mission Wellness, we additionally sought attorneys’ fees for having been forced to confirm the arbitration award and opposing Caremark’s motion to vacate. Chief Judge Snow not only ruled in our favor, awarding full attorneys’ fees and interest in federal court confirming what had occurred in the arbitration, but also commented on Caremark’s refusal to honor the arbitration award. Chief Judge Snow compelled Caremark to pay Mission Wellness’ attorneys’ fees for both confirming the arbitration and fighting Caremark’s improper motion to vacate. Caremark’s violation of its own contract was evident, as Chief Judge Snow stating, “Caremark refused to honor the arbitration award, thus failing to comply with the agreement’s specification that ‘the award of the arbitrator(s) will be final.’ Caremark did so by challenging whether the arbitrator followed the law – something also required by the agreement.”
Chief Judge Snow’s Order provides a persuasive argument for other courts facing similar circumstances in which Caremark has refused to pay an arbitration award. For example, Judge Naomi Buchwald in the Southern District of New York has been presented with a similar motion from Caremark seeking to vacate a $20+ million arbitration award entered against Caremark and in favor of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists (NYCB&BS). Judge Snow’s Order, which can be found here, represents a significant victory for independent pharmacies challenging abusive PBM behavior.
