NY Receives Millions From Baby Formula Settlement

A baby formula manufacturer is paying a hefty price tag after a lawsuit claims they failed to maintain proper safety standards.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this week, that baby formula manufacturer Abbott Laboratories (Abbott) will pay more than $384 million to states and the federal government, including more than $9.3 million to New York.

Attorney General James and a coalition of 39 other attorneys general sued Abbott in 2025, alleging "that the company failed to ensure its formula products were safe."

“Parents should never have to worry about whether the baby formula they buy for their children is contaminated with dangerous bacteria,” said Attorney General James. “Abbott prioritized profits over people when it produced and sold baby formula in potentially unsafe conditions. My office will continue to go after anyone who puts families at risk with dangerous products and get justice for New Yorkers.”

 

The Lawsuit Against Abbott

The lawsuit alleged that from January 2018 through December 2022, Abbott failed to maintain proper safety standards in its manufacturing facilities, and as a result- put the baby formula products at risk of contamination. The company was also accused of misleading safety inspectors about the quality of its products.

During this time, Abbott sold baby formula products that were purchased with public assistance funding from Medicaid, SNAP and WIC- meaning state and federal funds were used to purchase potentially contaminated formula.

In their lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition alleged that, between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2022, the products Abbott manufactured at its facilities in Sturgis, Michigan and Casa Grande, Arizona, were at high risk of contamination. In 2022, Abbott closed its Sturgis facility and issued a recall, causing a nationwide baby formula shortage due to contaminated products.

The lawsuit alleged that Abbott:

• failed to maintain its manufacturing equipment,
• failed to control the presence of water that put the products at increased risk of microorganism contamination,
• and in certain cases, failed to disclose test results indicating contamination when responding to requests from the U.S. FDA.

Abbott will pay more than $348 million to the federal government and more than $35 million to the coalition of states, including more than $9.3 million to New York.

For the coalition of states, the settlement was led by Attorney General James and the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee. Joining the settlement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.