Crystal Medical Center Pharmacy in Oroville has dropped a lawsuit it filed against Stericycle claiming unfair business practices.
Stericycle collects and disposes of regulated substances such as medical waste and sharps, pharmaceuticals and hazardous waste.
When it filed its lawsuit, the pharmacy was a small local business and Stericycle was a large national company publicly traded under “SRCL.” There was no real competitor for Stericycle in Butte County to provide a meaningful alternative for medical waste disposal, the suit claimed.
The lawsuit claimed Stericycle concealed from prospective customers that it would make systematic increases to the monthly charges without notice, putting contract terms in tiny type on the contract.
Crystal Pharmacy also claimed it didn’t know it would be liable for termination charge equal to 50 percent of its contract payments.
From 2009-2015, the suit claimed, Stericycle increased the monthly rate for service from $235 to $1,616.13 per month. In June 2015, Crystal Pharmacy notified Stericycle that it had sold its business assets and wanted to discontinue business operation and terminate future services.
Stericycle then sent Crystal Pharmacy a bill for approximately $21,000 as a termination charge, according to the suit.