MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A $5.5 million settlement was reached in a lawsuit against Family Dollar over unsanitary, rat-infested conditions at its distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas, state officials said Thursday.
“Arkansas has negotiated a $5.5 million settlement with Family Dollar and Dollar Tree entities, and will receive $3.9 million, with $1.6 million suspended. The settlement brings to a close a lawsuit that was filed by the Office of the Attorney General in April 2022 after evidence came to light that Family Dollar knowingly operated a distribution center in West Memphis that was infested with thousands of rats,” said Attorney General Tim Griffin.
Over 1,000 dead rodents found at Family Dollar distribution center
Griffin said in 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated a Family Dollar distribution center in West Memphis after a video showed a warehouse overrun with rodents.
The FDA determined that the facility had experienced a rodent infestation since at least 2020 and that more than 3,400 rodents were removed from the distribution center between March 2021 and January 2022.
Memphians suing Family Dollar over rodent issues
According to Griffin, during that time, products from the distribution center were shipped to all 85 Family Dollar stores in Arkansas, as well as stores in five other states…