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Cannabis
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September 10, 2024
Security Co. Loses $300M Pot Suit Over Lack Of Attorney
A New York federal judge tossed a $300 million lawsuit from an Illinois security company that claimed the business was convinced to do free surveillance camera work at hundreds of New York cannabis facilities with promises of a state contract that never came, because the plaintiff missed a pretrial conference and can't represent themselves anyway.
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September 10, 2024
Womble Bond Eyes Growth, Not Layoffs, With New Tie-Up
The merger between Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP is not about cutting costs because of mounting competition, the international law firm's U.S. boss told Law360 on Tuesday. It's about growth in the U.S., the U.K. — and beyond.
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September 10, 2024
Manatt Phelps Grows Pot Practice With Special Counsel Hire
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP on Tuesday revealed the latest expansion of its cannabis and CBD practice, saying it has hired a former Barclay Damon LLP attorney who specializes in corporate, tax and regulatory issues for clients including retail dispensary licensees, cultivators and multistate operators.
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September 10, 2024
Ballot Selfie Can't Tank Cannabis Firm Election, Union Argues
A United Food and Commercial Workers union local blasted a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary for trying to throw out a union election based on one worker's voluntary photograph of his ballot, telling the National Labor Relations Board that its precedent supports tossing only that vote and not the whole election.
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September 09, 2024
Pa. Supreme Court Snapshot: Benefits, Cannabis, Taxes
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's September schedule will have the justices pondering when to cancel tax exemptions for hospitals, if stormwater fees are taxes in disguise, and the potential resurrection of requiring medical marijuana products to be tested and approved by two separate laboratories.
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September 09, 2024
Wash. Justices Disbar Atty For Theft From Cannabis Investors
Washington state's high court has ordered an attorney be disbarred for mishandling client funds, lying to investors who poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into a cannabis venture and failing to disclose conflicts of interest, adopting the state bar association's disciplinary recommendations despite objections from the lawyer.
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September 09, 2024
Student Vaping Down By Half-Million Kids, CDC Says
The number of young people who vape has decreased by roughly half a million, a "monumental public health win," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but anti-tobacco advocates say more progress must be made through "crackdowns."
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September 09, 2024
Meta Wants Mike Huckabee's Fake CBD Ad Suit Tossed
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. asked a Delaware federal judge to throw out former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's suit alleging it allowed false advertisements claiming he endorsed CBD gummies on its popular social media platform, arguing the claims are clearly barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
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September 09, 2024
NJ Court Won't Rush UAW's Smoking Law Case Appeal
The New Jersey Appellate Division rejected the United Auto Workers' emergency bid to overturn the dismissal of its suit alleging a law excluding casino workers from secondhand smoking protections violates the state constitution, according to a Friday order.
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September 09, 2024
Ore. Seeks Dismissal Of Psilocybin Disabilities Suit
Oregon's health regulator has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging aspects of the state's pioneering regulated psilocybin treatment program, saying that the program's illegality under federal law makes the lawsuit untenable.
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September 06, 2024
Payroll Co. Didn't Pay For Cannabis Client Referrals, Suit Says
The founder of a now-closed payroll and human resources provider that largely served the cannabis industry claims he was never compensated for selling its client list to a Colorado rival, Comploy Inc., and is now demanding $161,000 and interest.
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September 06, 2024
Calif. Gov. Targets Hemp Intoxicants With Emergency Ban
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced emergency regulations banning products derived from industrial hemp that contain any intoxicating cannabinoids, and setting an age minimum of 21 years to purchase hemp products.
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September 06, 2024
Three Defendants Settle SEC's $14M Pot Co. Securities Suit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached settlements with three defendants who allegedly misappropriated $14 million in investment funds intended for a cannabis enterprise, with the three agreeing to pay back a total of more than $4 million in disgorgements and interest and $3 million in civil penalties.
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September 05, 2024
Lawmakers, AGs Urge Justices To OK Denial Of E-Cig Apps
A coalition of state attorneys general and a group of Democratic Congress members are backing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in its fight to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision striking down the denials of applications to market flavored vapes.
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September 05, 2024
Colo. Cannabis Co. Manager Stole $150K, Suit Claims
The two marijuana entrepreneurs behind the Euflora chain are once again back in court, with one of them accusing the other of stealing at least $150,000 from their enterprise, possibly to cover unpaid loans and taxes, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado state court, which claimed the alleged theft comes after a string of erratic behavior.
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September 05, 2024
Attys' Group Urges Justices To Back Trucker's CBD RICO Suit
The American Association for Justice is urging the Supreme Court to side with a trucker whose racketeering claims against CBD companies allege their false advertisements cost him his job, arguing that the plain text of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act allows his claims of injury to "business or property."
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September 04, 2024
4th Circ. Sets Legal Hemp Standard In THC Firing Case
A split Fourth Circuit panel on Wednesday set a standard for the legality of hemp products, although it still found that a real estate company worker claiming she was illegally fired for testing positive for a THC substance didn't back her disability bias claims.
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September 04, 2024
Mich. Voters Can't Advance Pot Initiatives, Panel Rules
A Michigan state appeals court sided with four cities Tuesday to block ballot initiatives that would have created regulatory schemes for the licensing and zoning of cannabis businesses, finding state law limits citizens' say and gives the power to write marijuana regulations only to cities.
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September 04, 2024
1st Circ. Unsure If Texts In Pot Bribe Case Crossed State Lines
A First Circuit panel on Wednesday expressed skepticism that the simple sending of an iMessage through an Apple cellphone satisfies the element of wire fraud requiring interstate communication, entertaining a Massachusetts attorney's challenge to his convictions for seeking to bribe a police chief to win a local marijuana license.
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September 03, 2024
R.J. Reynolds Stresses Reason To End $95M Royalties To Altria
Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds is pushing hard on a bid to end $95 million in royalty payments it owes to the parent company of Philip Morris after a patent infringement verdict, emphasizing to a North Carolina federal court that its deal with Juul to license vape pen technology can in fact be enforced retroactively.
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September 03, 2024
Minn. AG Asks Cos. To Stop Selling Illicit Vapes
Minnesota's attorney general wants a promise from players in the tobacco and vape product industry that they will no longer pedal e-cigarette or nicotine pouches not approved by the federal government, warning that "consequences" will follow should they not comply.
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September 03, 2024
UAW Loses Bid To Include Casinos In NJ Smoking Ban
A New Jersey state court judge on Friday tossed the United Auto Workers' complaint claiming a law excluding casino workers from secondhand smoking protections violates the state constitution, reasoning that the law doesn't inhibit the employees' right to pursue safety.
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September 03, 2024
Pot Co. Stiiizy Hit With New Lawsuit Over High-Potency Wares
California cannabis giant Stiiizy has been accused again of marketing dangerous, high-potency THC products to young people, allegedly resulting in cannabis-induced psychosis in a user who brought a product liability and fraud suit in Los Angeles state court.
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August 30, 2024
Missouri Ban On Some Psychoactive Foods To Hit Sept. 1
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson's ban on consumables "containing psychoactive cannabis products" will go into effect Sunday, according to an announcement by state health regulators.
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August 30, 2024
Nebraska Expected To Vote On Medical Marijuana Legalization
Medical marijuana advocates have met the requirements to put a legalization question before Nebraska voters on Election Day this November, the secretary of state announced Friday.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Constitutional Protections For Cannabis Companies Are Hazy
Cannabis businesses are subject to federal enforcement and tax, but often without the benefit of constitutional protections — and the entanglement of state and federal law and conflicting judicial opinions are creating confusion in the space, says Amber Lengacher at Purple Circle.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Roundup
After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 36 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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How Cannabis Rescheduling May Affect Current Operators
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's proposal to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III provides relief in the form of federal policy from the stigma and burdens of Schedule I, but commercial cannabis operations will remain unchanged until the federal-state cannabis policy gap is remedied by Congress, say Meital Manzuri and Alexis Lazzeri at Manzuri Law.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.