Oregon Cannabis Litigation: Business Between Friends Leads to $4.2 Million Lawsuit
OregonUncategorized July 16, 2019
“A friendship founded on business is a good deal better than a business founded on friendship,” said John D. Rockefeller. In our experience, this adage applies with force in the cannabis industry where –because of its black-market origins – people became accustomed to business arrangements founded on a handshake when recourse from the legal system…
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Cannabis Patent Litigation Update: A Certificate of Correction Allows the 911 Patent to Survive Another Challenge
Uncategorized July 9, 2019
We have been closely monitoring the first ever cannabis patent infringement case, between plaintiff United Cannabis Corporation (“UCANN”) and defendant Pure Hemp Collective, Inc. (“Pure Hemp”). UCANN owns the “911 Patent,” which generally covers liquid cannabinol formulations of a purified CBD and/or THC greater than 95%. For the past year, UCANN has fought to secure a…
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Oregon Hemp-CBD Litigation: Another Tale on the Importance of Due Diligence Before Contracting
HempOregonUncategorized June 28, 2019
Most of the hemp litigation we’ve written about has concerned a hemp purchaser suing a hemp farmer. This week concerns a $2.5 million lawsuit recently filed in Oregon wherein a hemp farmer sued a CBD processor. The plaintiff, JNV Farms, alleges that in the fall of 2018 it entered into a manufacturing agreement with one…
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Oregon Hemp Litigation: Bad Contract = Big Federal Court Claims
HempOregonUncategorized June 14, 2019
We frequently write on hemp litigation and the ways farmers and purchasers can mitigate the risks inherent in this new industry. Along with others, we have stressed the importance of strategic and careful thinking before entering into a hemp-related contract. Our cannabis lawyers frequently write and speak on these and related topics. A couple of…
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Since 2014 we’ve cautioned investors about publicly traded marijuana stocks. Back then we cautioned would-be investors about “pot companies that are trading at frothy levels that are not well-positioned to compete in the marijuana marketplace.” More recently, we’ve written about the scale of mergers, acquisitions, and cross border work, how to “raise money right, and…
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Resolve cannabis business disputes better outside of court — IF you have the right clause in your contracts. You may have heard about contractual agreements for “good faith” negotiations, mediation, arbitration and combinations of these techniques. When used properly, these techniques can save you significant time, money and lost productivity by avoiding a long courtroom…
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California Cannabis Litigation: Alta Sierra v. Kern County and Protecting the Will of the Voters
CaliforniaUncategorized May 18, 2019
Kern County has a long and sordid history when it comes to regulating cannabis. There has been over a decade of allegations of corruption, bribery, arrests, and a plethora of lawsuits. Long story short, in March of 2009, the County passed an ordinance that permitted medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the County as long as they…
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Oregon Hemp Litigation: Multi-Million Dollar Crop Delivery Lawsuit Filed
HempOregonUncategorized May 16, 2019
We recently wrote about hemp production contracts, noting that scope and scale of commercial hemp production and the related contracts and lawsuits are likely to dwarf the dollar values we typically see in recreational marijuana. That post discussed a $57 million lawsuit arising from a hemp production contract and lists some issues for growers and…
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Cannabis Patent Litigation Update: The 911 Patent Passes the (Alice) Test!
Uncategorized May 9, 2019
As promised, here’s an update on the first ever cannabis patent infringement case, which we’ve previously written about here and here. Since it’s been a little while – plaintiff United Cannabis Corporation (“UCANN”) owns the “911 Patent,” which generally covers liquid cannabinol formulations of a purified CBD and/or THC greater than 95%. Last July, UCANN…
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Cannabis Securities Litigation: Hawaii Federal Court Denies Motion to Stay Civil “Pump and Dump” Case Pending Resolution of Parallel Criminal Proceedings
CaliforniaHawaiiUncategorized May 5, 2019
Cannabis is hyped as a hot investment, and it can be, though it is not without risk as a recent CNN article points out. (See also links below). Setting aside issues concerning the federal prohibition on marijuana, the cannabis industry’s path from the black market to legalization has been rife with hucksters and promises of…
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