The embattled grocery chain now faces lawsuits as well as calls for Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen to step down

The failure of the $24.6 billion Kroger, Albertsons merger has opened a new set of problems for America's largest pure-play grocer.

Judges in Oregon and Washington rejected the proposed merger on Tuesday, and now Albertsons is suing its would-be partner for billions. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is also vocally opposing a $7.5 billion stock buyback planned by the Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery chain, and calling for the replacement of Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen.