Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Cannabis
-
August 15, 2024
Hemp Industry Rallies Against Calif. Bill
Hemp companies are coming out against a California bill that would impose new THC limits on consumables sold outside of licensed dispensaries, with some industry leaders calling it an "existential threat" to the entire state market.
-
August 15, 2024
Startup's Cannabis Payment Deal Dispute Can Move Ahead
An Illinois federal judge has preserved the bulk of a now-defunct cannabis payment startup's suit alleging Fidelity National Information Services drove it out of business by backing out of a partnership deal, saying that while there wasn't an enforceable contract, the startup sufficiently pled that FIS was misleading in its promises.
-
August 15, 2024
Ex-Mich. Speaker Says Poor Health Merits Early Release
The former speaker of Michigan's House of Representatives and ex-chair of a marijuana licensing board is asking to serve the rest of his prison sentence following a bribery conviction at home, saying he is eligible for early release due to his age and complications from a serious heart condition.
-
August 14, 2024
Recreational Pot Contract Unenforceable, Texas Court Says
A Texas state appeals court has torched a cannabis farmer's $100,000 jury win, ruling that he can not collect against his former business partner because the marijuana crop he grew was federally illegal and specifically intended for recreational use.
-
August 14, 2024
Cannabis Fertilizer Co. Says Rival Stole IP For Fake THC Study
A company that sells fertilizer to commercial cannabis growers has claimed a competitor used its trademarks as part of an unsanctioned co-branding campaign and on THC lab testing reports that falsely advertise its products as less effective, according to a suit filed in Washington federal court.
-
August 14, 2024
Grassley Asks HHS For Clarity On Cannabis Position
Sen. Chuck Grassley has asked federal health officials to clarify their position on marijuana, arguing that a recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report is at odds with its recommendation to loosen restrictions on the drug.
-
August 14, 2024
Cannabis Co. And Ex-Exec End Bad-Mouthing Dispute
A Colorado state judge has permanently dismissed a lawsuit in which a cannabis company and its former chief operating officer each accused the other of waging a smear campaign, after the parties agreed to end the litigation.
-
August 14, 2024
Wyoming Hemp Cos. Bring Challenge To 10th Circ.
After a Wyoming federal judge declined to block enforcement of a newly enacted law regulating hemp-derived intoxicating products in the state, the businesses that brought the challenge said on Wednesday they would appeal the matter to the Tenth Circuit.
-
August 14, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says Fla. Judge 'Misread' Precedent In Elfbar Row
The maker of the popular Elfbar vape will get another shot at upending a court-imposed order banning it from selling under the "Elf" mark, the Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying the district judge who ordered the injunction "misread" precedent and relied on a "deficient" legal analysis.
-
August 14, 2024
Curaleaf Says Ballot Selfie Warrants Redo Of NLRB Election
A Massachusetts cannabis dispensary asked the National Labor Relations Board to reverse an agency official's decision rejecting the company's claim that a voter tainted a union representation election by sharing a selfie with his ballot, saying the incident raised questions about the secrecy of workers' ballots.
-
August 13, 2024
NY Cannabis Regulator Accused Of Racial Discrimination
A public employee with New York state's cannabis regulatory agency said in a new federal lawsuit that she was denied advancement because of racial discrimination and then retaliated against when she called attention to it.
-
August 13, 2024
Food Law Atty Rejoins Thompson Coburn From Davis Wright
Thompson Coburn LLP said this week that a former partner who focuses on agriculture and food law has rejoined the firm's St. Louis office after a stint with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.
-
August 13, 2024
Ex-Tilray Exec Can Collect $4M Arbitration Award
A Minnesota federal judge has confirmed a more than $4 million arbitration award in favor of a former Tilray Brands Inc. executive who took the company to arbitration over her termination, finding that the pharmaceutical company hasn't established that the award should be vacated.
-
August 13, 2024
North Dakota Officials OK Pot Legalization Ballot Measure
North Dakota voters will have another opportunity to legalize adult-use marijuana on Election Day this November after state officials said that reformers had submitted enough signatures to qualify the question for the ballot.
-
August 12, 2024
Cannabis Advocates Drop Lawsuit Against Mich. Town
A cannabis entrepreneur and local developers have agreed to end a lawsuit against a Michigan township that claimed the municipality's leaders blocked them from opening a marijuana dispensary.
-
August 12, 2024
Cannabis Drink Cos. Drop Challenge To Iowa THC Law
After failing to temporarily block an Iowa law that imposed new restrictions on hemp-derived THC consumables, two manufactures of cannabis-infused drinks have decided to drop their lawsuit seeking to upend the statute, according to a notice filed in federal court.
-
August 12, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Multimillion-dollar share conversions, power struggles in a classic rock band, a good deal for fandom collectibles, and a pindown by two heavyweights were all part of the spectacle in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. New cases involved pharmaceutical companies, cannabis, drones and liquid-gas exports. In case you missed it, here's the latest from the Chancery Court.
-
August 12, 2024
Big Tobacco To Pay $600M In 'Historic' Mass. Deal
Philip Morris Inc. and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. will pay nine-figure sums as part of a $600 million settlement between Massachusetts and major tobacco companies that resolves yearslong disputes about how much the cigarette makers owe, the state attorney general announced Monday.
-
August 09, 2024
Lifting Of Worker Suspension Upheld In Hospital-Union Fight
A healthcare union has scored a victory against an Ohio hospital that suspended one of its attendants after he tested positive for cannabis, with a federal judge ruling that an arbitration decision upending the disciplinary action was totally valid.
-
August 09, 2024
FDA Rejects Latest Effort To Treat PTSD With MDMA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected a new drug application to treat post-traumatic stress disorder with the psychedelic drug MDMA, an entactogen also known as ecstasy or molly, the company that backed the effort announced Friday.
-
August 09, 2024
The Long Road To Legalizing Pot In Florida And South Dakota
Voters in Florida and South Dakota will have the opportunity this Election Day to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, and while the two efforts vary in their particulars, they both follow years of work by legalizers to craft a proposal that could gain court approval.
-
August 09, 2024
Mich. Pot Co. Alleges IP Atty, Wife Are Ruining Its Reputation
Efforts by a Montana intellectual property attorney and his wife to hit back after losing money in an alleged investment scam have missed the mark by targeting a Michigan cannabis company that was also ripped off, the company claimed Wednesday.
-
August 09, 2024
Investor Can't Drop Fraud Suit Against Crowdfunding CEO
A California cannabis investor cannot withdraw his lawsuit against a CEO he accused of helping to operate a $2 million crowdfunding scheme, a federal judge ruled, saying the investor now needs the defendant's permission.
-
August 09, 2024
Trulieve Settles Fired Retail Worker's Race Bias Suit
Florida-based cannabis company Trulieve has agreed to settle a mixed-race former employee's suit alleging he was fired after complaining that a manager repeatedly made racist comments, including calling him a slur, the worker told a Florida federal court.
-
August 08, 2024
'Unclean Hands' Doom Colo. Dispute Over Cannabis Biz Sale
A Colorado state appeals court on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of a dispute over the sale of a cannabis business, saying the would-be buyer can't pursue its claims because the sale agreement was an illegal attempt to get around the state's licensing laws.
Expert Analysis
-
Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
-
Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
-
Opinion
Intoxicating Hemp Products: It's High Time For Clarity
Thanks to ambiguity in the 2018 Farm Bill, intoxicating hemp cannabinoid products are largely unregulated and are widely available without restrictions on who can buy the products, and although there are several possible solutions, voluntary industry action by good actors is the best option, say Andrew Kline and Tommy Tobin at Perkins Coie.
-
What Rescheduling Could Mean For Cannabis Bankruptcies
Bankruptcy courts have historically been closed for cannabis-related businesses, but recent case law coupled with a possible reclassification of cannabis provides cautious optimism, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
-
Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
-
Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
-
Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks
As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.
-
Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
-
Cannabis Case Lights Up Benefits Of Creative IP Protection
A recently filed California federal court case, The Holding Company v. Pacific West Distributors, illustrates potential creative strategies cannabis companies can use to build intellectual property rights, such as combining federal and state registrations for copyrights and trademarks, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
-
Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.
-
CSA Case Could Shift Intrastate Commercial Cannabis
In Canna Provisions v. Merrick Garland, cannabis companies argue that the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to intrastate commercial cannabis activity; the Massachusetts federal court's eventual decision will be important to the cannabis industry for several reasons, including that the threat of federal enforcement would disappear overnight, says Hilary Bricken at Husch Blackwell.
-
What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
-
Tips On Numerical Range From Fed. Circ. Philip Morris Ruling
The Federal Circuit's recent RAI v. Philip Morris decision that a patent provided sufficient written description to support a claimed numerical range offers several takeaways for practitioners, including the need for a cautious approach to criticism of ranges, say attorneys at BCLP.
-
What's At Play In Rising Lanham Act Cases At The ITC
Amid an uptick in Lanham Act claims involving false advertising related to medical devices at the U.S. International Trade Commission, Brian Busey and Maryrose McLaughlin at MoFo discuss recent ITC complaints from Eli Lilly and R.J. Reynolds, Lanham Act claim limits under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the issues practitioners face in this realm.
-
Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.