Walgreens gets sued for using — and not using — the very same fridge door panels

Cooler heads are not prevailing in the ongoing saga over Walgreens’ refrigerator misadventures.

On the one hand, the company’s being sued for trying to get out of a deal to install more “smart panels” on refrigerators in its stores. On the other hand, it’s being sued for using those very panels.

Alpha Modus Holdings said its subsidiary has filed a lawsuit against Walgreens Boots Alliance for the use of these digital screens, alleging patent infringement.

“Walgreens’s deployment of Cooler Screens digital smart screens in its stores mirrors the innovations protected under Alpha Modus’s patents, necessitating this legal action,” according to the press release, in which CEO William Alessi opines that total damages across “scores” of so-called offenders is over $500 million and “could easily run into the billions.”

Here’s the thing: Walgreens seemingly hated, hated those fridges.

Walgreens and Cooler Screens are already in a legal battle related to the pharmacy chain’s use of the startup’s panels for fridges, which can be used to sell ad space. Cooler Screens says Walgreens breached its contract by attempting to exit a deal to install more and more panels in its stores; Walgreens says these doors were glitch-ridden and countersued for damages.

Per Bloomberg, the CEO of the startup — which, to add a layer of incestuous intrigue, was cofounded by former Walgreens CEO Greg Wasson — cut the feeds to certain Walgreens stores, causing them to go blank and appear to be out of order.

Cooler Screens’ understanding is that Wasson, through Wasson Enterprises, funded the startup of Cooler Screens and helped deploy Cooler Screens technology throughout Walgreens. These ongoing legal challenges between Walgreens and Cooler Screens further reinforce the strategic importance of Alpha Modus’ claims and the value of its intellectual property.

Walgreens recently suspended a quarterly dividend it’s paid out since the depths of the Great Depression, citing a need to preserve cash to refinance debt and deal with litigation. While the latter point seemed to be more a nod to the DOJ’s lawsuit, perhaps it will also take a fair amount of time and money to put the fridge panel disputes on ice.