August 5, 2025 — New Jersey — Rite Aid Corporation has filed an adversary complaint seeking to claw back approximately $90 million in payments made to McKesson Corporation prior to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May 2025. The action is part of ongoing legal proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and highlights concerns surrounding what Rite Aid argues were non-ordinary-course payments made under pressure.
The complaint alleges that Rite Aid, facing intense pressure from McKesson, was compelled to make a series of significant payments to maintain its drug supply chain — payments that did not align with normal business operations. These transfers, according to Rite Aid, were made in the critical weeks before and even on the day of the bankruptcy filing, including a $49.7 million payment just hours before the filing on May 5.
The Rite Aid McKesson $90M clawback effort is rooted in a broader dispute stemming from a previous bankruptcy settlement in 2023, where Rite Aid agreed to pay McKesson $175 million in semiannual installments over three years. The terms also placed strict caps on accounts payable, which were later reduced even further by McKesson, prompting additional payments under duress.
Rite Aid’s complaint further alleges that McKesson has since withheld over $100 million in manufacturer rebates and credits that would typically be shared under their long-standing agreement, further straining the pharmacy chain’s financial recovery efforts.
Legal representatives for Rite Aid include Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and Cole Schotz PC. McKesson is represented by Sidley Austin LLP, McManimon Scotland & Baumann LLC, and Buchalter PC.
The adversary proceeding is titled Rite Aid Corp. et al. v. McKesson Corp., case number 3:25-ap-1316, associated with the bankruptcy case In re: New Rite Aid LLC, case number 3:25-bk-14861, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.
