DLTR Dollar Tree Inc

By Corinne Ramey 

Three dollar-store chains reached a collective $1.2 million settlement with the New York attorney general's office after undercover investigators found expired over-the-counter drugs and obsolete motor oil on store shelves in the state.

Dollar Tree Inc., which bought Family Dollar in 2015, settled the attorney general's claims against itself and Family Dollar for $100,000, court documents show. A spokesman for Dollar Tree and Family Dollar declined to comment.

Dollar General Corp., which settled for $1.1 million, didn't respond to a request for comment.

"These settlements will ensure that Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar will not only pay both a substantial fine and damages, but, more importantly, update their business practices to comply with the law so that no expired over-the-counter drugs are sold to a New York consumer again," state Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Beginning in March 2016, undercover investigators from the attorney general's office visited dollar stores throughout New York to search for expired products. At some Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores, investigators found over-the-counter drugs that were more than a year beyond their expiration date, court documents show.

The products included allergy medicine that expired in October 2014, calcium supplements expired in August 2014 and cough medicine that expired in May 2015, according to court documents.

At Dollar General stores, investigators said they found obsolete motor oil, including some labeled as not suitable for most engines built after 1930. According to court documents, the oil's package included the message, "Use in modern engines may cause unsatisfactory engine performance or equipment harm."

Other types of oil were labeled as not suitable for engines built after 1988, according to court documents.

Investigators also found some Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores that were violating state bottle-deposit laws, including by not accepting returned bottles, the attorney general's office said.

As part of the settlement, the stores agreed to conduct weekly inspections for expired products and to institute third-party audits, the office said.

Write to Corinne Ramey at Corinne.Ramey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2019 15:19 ET (19:19 GMT)

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