CVS Loses First Round in Bid to Avoid Court in Antitrust Case

Four independent pharmacies won the first round in their antitrust case against CVS Health Corp. when a federal judge in Arizona refused to enforce a contract provision requiring an arbitrator to decide if the claims should be resolved out of court.

Provisions in the parties’ network provider agreements delegating the arbitrability question were so one-sided and unfair as to shock the conscience and therefore were unenforceable under Arizona law, the US District Court for the District of Arizona said in an opinion posted Thursday.

The provisions imposed “an unduly oppressive financial burden” on the pharmacies that effectively precluded them from ...