Eckerd Says Customer Suit Is ‘Without Merit’

Eckerd Corp., a drugstore chain owned by J.C. Penney Co., said a lawsuit accusing it of bilking customers out of more than $100 million by overcharging for medicine is “without merit.”

The class-action suit, filed in Broward County, Fla., claimed Eckerd engaged in a practice of “rounding up” certain prescription quantities and allegedly overcharged customers.

Prescriptions such as liquids and ointments come from the manufacturer in fractional quantities and are sold to customers at a price set for that amount, Clearwater, Fla.-based Eckerd said. Due to “systems limitations,” the quantity, but not the price, needed to be rounded up to correctly process the drug.

Processing systems were upgraded recently at Eckerd stores.

Shares in Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney rose 20 cents to $23.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.