Don’t Make a Federal Case Out of It
Crimson Galeria Limited Partnership et al (the Plaintiffs) vs. Healthy Pharms, Inc. et al (the Defendants), in Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-11696-ADB (the Complaint), which is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is an interesting case to watch, as it could have far-reaching implications for the cannabis industry. In it, Plaintiffs allege that all Defendants are criminally conspiring to grow and sell cannabis and cannabis products, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This is a stretch, as one of the defendants, Century Bank and Trust Company, only provides banking services to Healthy Pharms, Inc., a Massachusetts-licensed registered marijuana dispensary located in Harvard Square. Not to put too fine a point on the dispute, but by invoking the RICO statute, Plaintiffs are attempting to make a federal case out of what amounts to a Harvard Square landlord dispute, because the landlord does not approve of Healthy Pharms, Inc.’s operation and is concerned about the potentially negative ramifications it may have on its own business and real estate value.
On December 15, 2017, Century Bank filed a brief in support of its motion to … Keep reading