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Nine social equity marijuana dispensary licensees in New York filed paperwork with the state court system requesting to become party to a lawsuit that recently resulted in a third court order to interrupt the state’s cannabis licensing process, arguing they have a direct stake in the matter because their business plans are now in limbo.
The nine companies are all conditional adult use retail dispensary (CAURD) licenseholders, and thus are part of the group of legal marijuana retailers targeted by the May lawsuit. That complaint contended that the entire CAURD program was an illegal overreach by the New York Office of Cannabis Management.
Judge Sharon Graff issued a preliminary injunction on Dec. 13 halting the further processing of more CAURD licenses, including the nine that are now asking to be given standing as parties to the ongoing lawsuit. Those nine include:
Dai Ma LLC
Steven Steals & Co LLC
MAD City Canna LLC
Quality Roots LLC
High Rise Brands LLC
Blaze 420 LLC
SLG-DB LLC
Gourmet Budz, LLC
Budgea NYC LLC
All nine are represented by attorney Jorge Luis Vasquez, who wrote in a court filing that the group of CAURDs are in danger of bankruptcy if the injunction is not removed soon so their plans can proceed. Two of them – High Rise Brands and SLG-DB – have already received final licenses from the OCM, Vasquez wrote, and at least one was planning to open for business next month.
The nine have banded together in an effort to convince the court that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the case would cause irreparable damage to them and other CAURD licenseholders. The original lawsuit was filed by hopeful retailers Organic Bloom LLC, Niagara Nugget LLC, Blackmark LLC and Windward Management LLC.
“Any outcome in Petitioners’ favor regarding this action would have grave consequence, including stripping the CAURD Intervenors of millions of dollars invested in their businesses and from becoming operational within the next week,” Vasquez wrote. “At minimum, allowing the CAURD Intervenors to join this action for the limited will provide the court with a more detailed account of the harm that would result if this court were to grant Petitioners’ application.”
The Organic Bloom lawsuit is trying “to invalidate the existing CAURD licenses and to prevent the CAURD Intervenors from timely opening their retail locations which would have grave consequences for the CAURD Intervenors and surrounding communities,” Vasquez wrote. “What might appear to be a small delay puts the CAURD Intervenors at high risk of bankruptcy.”
The motion requests a hearing on Jan. 3 next year.
Until the lawsuit is resolved, the OCM remains barred from processing hundreds of CAURD licenses that are still trying to open for business, along with several thousand more license hopefuls that are in the so-called “December queue” of license applicants from last year.
The injunction issued by Graff is the third thus far to disrupt the New York marijuana business licensing process. The first was issued in November 2022 and only applied to permitting in certain parts of upstate New York; the underlying lawsuit was ultimately settled by the OCM in May 2023. The second injunction was issued in August 2023, just a few months after the first case was settled, when a group of service-disabled veterans sued the state, also over the creation of the CAURD program and its parameters. That suit was also eventually settled, in November 2023.
Organic_Blooms_LLC Vasquez affirmation“}]] A court filing argued that the group of CAURDs are in danger of bankruptcy if the injunction is not removed soon. Read More
