AZ Man Sues Costco, Pharmacist Joked With His Ex-Wife About His ED Pills

A Phoenix-area man is able to sue Costco for alleged privacy violations, reported KJZZ.

The man claims that a pharmacist at the store joked with his ex-wife about an erectile dysfunction prescription that he had canceled twice.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the man will be able to sue the warehouse store because of the incident.

The ruling sets a high bar for the man to win, however. He must be able to give "clear and convincing" evidence that the store and its pharmacist did not act in good faith when the woman was told about the prescription.

The ruling upholds a 2019 state Court of Appeals ruling that revived the lawsuit the man filed after the pharmacist told his ex-wife about the prescription.

The man had called Costco on two occasions to cancel the prescription before his ex-wife went to the store to pick it up, but the pharmacist didn't. This took place in 2016.

According to the rulings, the man received a sample of the medication for ED from his doctor and later received a call from Costco statin that a full prescription he had not sought was ready for pickup. He canceled the prescription and then canceled it a second time about a month later when he was told it was waiting for him.

He had previously authorized for his ex-wife to pick up his regular prescription refill, which is when the pharmacist told her about the ED pills and joked with her about them.

According to the man's attorney, Joshua Carden, Costco apologized, stating that the pharmacist's actions violated HIPAA and the company's own privacy policies.

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