The lawsuit was filed by Lisa Smith Mauldin, a 23-year-old customer service manager at a Walmart store in Hiram, Georgia.

"[2] Mauldin sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., her employer, claiming that the defendant's health plan was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because its provisions did not provide coverage for prescription contraceptives.

[1][7] On August 23, 2002, U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes granted the case class action status, allowing all women who had been covered by Walmart's Associates Health and Welfare Plan since March 2001 and who had been using prescription contraceptives to join the lawsuit.

Lead counsel Milberg Weiss claimed they had no knowledge of the payments and indicated in their response to the court that Stein and Mauldin intended to withdraw from the lawsuit.

"[11][12] In September 2006, Walmart decided to change its health care policy to include coverage of prescription contraceptives as part of a larger overhaul of its health-care plans.

[11][13] On December 8, 2006, just a couple of weeks after the court's discovery order, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion to dismiss the case voluntarily, stating that the central purpose of the lawsuit had been achieved.