DEERFIELD, Ill. — According to a statement issued by Walgreens Wednesday morning, the arbitrator in the Express Scripts/Walgreens suit issued a ruling Sunday denying the parties’ requests for preliminary injunctive relief.

The arbitrator will consider the underlying merits of the parties’ claims at a future date, Walgreens reported.

Express Scripts filed suit against the Chicago-based pharmacy on Sept. 7, seeking relief from Walgreens' informing patients that the Walgreens pharmacy base will not be part of the Express Scripts pharmacy network at the top of the year, and that Walgreens has been working toward keeping those patients.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Sept. 15 ruled that the suit will be halted pending private arbitration.

According to a District Court filing Tuesday, an initial status hearing is set before magistrate judge Maria Valdez on Nov. 3.