Walgreens Whistleblower T.J. Novak’s $25.875 Million Award and Bid for More Settlement Money Goes to State Courts

A Walgreens pharmacist who received $25,875,000 from a 2025 federal False Claims Act settlement will have to take his request for a share of Walgreens’ separate $4.7 billion multistate opioid settlement to state courts. On September 29, 2026, a federal judge declined to decide the question and dismissed his claims without prejudice.

Important: This is a whistleblower dispute. There is no consumer claim form, no public claim deadline, and no new Walgreens settlement fund that customers, patients, or employees can claim because of this ruling.

Walgreens Whistleblower Case

Detail	What the court records show
Federal case	United States ex rel. T.J. Novak v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Case number	18 C 5452
Court	U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Judge	Joan H. Lefkow
Federal settlement	$300 million, plus a possible $50 million under specified circumstances (up to $350 million)
Amount allocated to False Claims Act claims	$150 million
Novak’s relator share	17.25% = $25,875,000
Separate multistate opioid settlement	More than $4.7 billion over 15 years (Walgreens’ SEC filing describes about $4.8 billion)
Multistate agreement executed	December 9, 2022
States in the multistate agreement	46, plus numerous local governments
States involved in Novak’s share claims	28
September 29, 2026 ruling	Federal court declined supplemental jurisdiction over Novak’s state-law share claims
Can Novak still pursue the claims?	Yes, in the respective state courts (dismissed without prejudice)
Consumer claim form / deadline	None

What Did the Judge Decide on September 29, 2026?

Judge Lefkow did not rule on whether Novak is entitled to any of the $4.7 billion. She ruled on which courts should decide.

Novak’s request concerned claims involving 28 states. Deciding it would require interpreting each state’s false-claims law, opioid-allocation law, and settlement judgments, and those laws do not all work the same way. The judge called these unsettled questions of state law and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction.

She dismissed Novak’s share claims without prejudice, withdrew the court’s earlier retention of jurisdiction over them, and terminated the federal case. The headline is not that Novak lost the money. It is that the fight now moves to state-by-state proceedings.

T.J. Novak’s $25,875,000 Federal Award

Novak, a Walgreens pharmacist, filed a qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit under seal in August 2018. He alleged Walgreens filled invalid controlled-substance prescriptions and billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs for them.

• September 2024: The United States intervened in the federal False Claims Act claims.
• April 18, 2025: The United States, Novak, and Walgreens entered a settlement.
• Terms: Walgreens agreed to pay $300 million, plus up to $50 million more if specified events occurred. $150 million was allocated to the False Claims Act claims.
• Novak’s share: 17.25% of $150 million, or $25,875,000.

The Justice Department described the allegations as involving millions of invalid prescriptions. The settlement resolved allegations only. Walgreens did not admit liability.

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Why the $4.7 Billion Opioid Settlement Created a New Dispute

Walgreens’ separate multistate opioid agreement (December 9, 2022) requires payments of more than $4.7 billion over 15 years to resolve opioid-related claims by 46 states and many local governments. The money is directed to opioid abatement, treatment, and related programs. Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico reached their own separate settlements.

Novak was not a party to that agreement. But the state settlements led to the dismissal of state Medicaid claims that Novak had originally included in his qui tam suit. He argued he should receive a whistleblower share of what the states recovered. The states disagreed.

Why the State Claims Are Complicated

The federal court identified several open questions, including:

• Whether a state’s separate settlement counts, under that state’s false-claims law, as a recovery from which a whistleblower is entitled to a percentage.
• Whether a settlement reached outside Novak’s qui tam case can count as the state proceeding with, or settling, the claims he brought.
• Whether the multistate agreement is an alternate remedy under individual state false-claims statutes.
• How any whistleblower payment would fit with state laws and judgments that already direct settlement money to specific programs.

Different states may answer these differently. That is why the judge concluded one federal court should not decide them collectively.

What Happens Next for Novak

The order does not award Novak more money, and it does not end his ability to seek it. He may assert the claims in the courts of the respective states. The federal order sets no single procedure or deadline. Any timing requirements would depend on each state’s law, and the court noted that no party argued the claims would be time-barred if refiled, while declining to resolve certain limitations questions.

Is There a Walgreens Claim Form for the Public?

No. This is not a class action in which customers can submit claims for cash. There is:

• No public Walgreens claim portal
• No consumer claim form
• No claim deadline tied to the September 29 ruling
• No automatic payment program created by the ruling

The $4.7 billion is largely earmarked for state and local opioid-abatement programs such as treatment, overdose-reversal supplies, and community health initiatives. It is not distributed as checks to individuals. Do not submit personal information to any site claiming this ruling created a Walgreens customer payment program.

How Whistleblower (Qui Tam) Awards Work

Under the federal False Claims Act, a private person, called a relator, can sue a company on behalf of the United States for defrauding government programs. The government can review the case and choose whether to intervene.

• When the government intervenes and recovers money, the relator generally receives 15% to 25% of the recovery.
• Relators are typically represented by specialized qui tam attorneys, and the complaint is filed under seal while the government investigates.
• Novak’s 17.25% share falls inside that range.

Anyone with evidence of fraud against a government program should speak with a qualified qui tam attorney. This is a legal process, not a claim form.

Attorney Fees and Taxes on Whistleblower Awards

The specific fee arrangement in Novak’s case is not public. In general, qui tam attorneys work on contingency, and fees plus expenses commonly come out of the relator’s share.

Whistleblower awards are generally treated as taxable ordinary income. Federal law allows False Claims Act relators to deduct attorney fees and costs “above the line,” so tax is generally owed on the net amount rather than the gross. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, so consult a tax professional.

Key Dates in the Walgreens Whistleblower Case

Date	Event
August 10, 2018	Novak files the qui tam action under seal
December 9, 2022	Walgreens enters the multistate opioid settlement
January 2, 2024	State Medicaid claims dismissed with prejudice after the states’ intervention
September 3, 2024	United States intervenes in the federal FCA claims
April 18, 2025	Federal settlement entered
April 21, 2025	Federal claims dismissed with prejudice
October 23, 2025	Novak’s remaining fee, expense, and cost claims dismissed
September 29, 2026	Judge Lefkow declines supplemental jurisdiction; share claims dismissed without prejudice

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Walgreens pay T.J. Novak $25 million?

Yes. The court record supports a precise figure of $25,875,000, which is 17.25% of the $150 million allocated to the False Claims Act claims in the federal settlement.

Was the federal settlement $300 million or $350 million?

Walgreens agreed to pay $300 million, with up to $50 million more under specified circumstances. The Justice Department described it as up to $350 million.

How big was Walgreens’ separate state opioid settlement?

The court described it as more than $4.7 billion over 15 years. Walgreens has separately described it as about $4.8 billion in remediation payments.

Did the judge deny Novak a share of the $4.7 billion?

Not on the merits. The judge declined to decide the question and sent it to state courts. The dismissal was without prejudice.

Can Novak still pursue money from the state settlements?

Yes. The order allows him to assert the claims in the respective state courts. That does not guarantee he will recover anything.

Is there a Walgreens $4.7 billion claim form?

No. The ruling did not create a public claim program.

Can Walgreens customers file a claim because of Novak’s lawsuit?

No. His dispute concerns a whistleblower’s possible statutory share of government settlement proceeds, not payments to customers.

What was Walgreens accused of?

The Justice Department alleged Walgreens filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances and sought reimbursement for many from Medicare and other federal programs. Walgreens settled without admitting liability.

Does this ruling create a new deadline?

No public claim deadline is associated with the ruling.

Related AllAboutLawyer Coverage

Looking for real consumer settlement opportunities? See our guide, How to Claim a Lawsuit Settlement Money? Step-by-Step Guide (2026).

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information based on publicly available court and government records. It is not legal or tax advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

About the Author: Israr Ahmad, Legal Content Researcher

Sources

1. September 29, 2026 Opinion and Order, United States ex rel. T.J. Novak v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., No. 18 C 5452 (N.D. Ill.), Document 222. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1%3A2018cv05452/355381/222/
2. U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, “Walgreens Agrees to Pay Up to $350 Million for Illegally Filling Unlawful Opioid Prescriptions and for Submitting False Claims to the Federal Government,” April 21, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/walgreens-agrees-pay-350-million-illegally-filling-unlawful-opioid-prescriptions-and
3. Walgreens Boots Alliance SEC filing describing the multistate opioid agreement and approximately $4.8 billion in remediation payments. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1618921/000161892125000056/wba-20250531.htm