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Cannabis
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August 15, 2025
LA Judge Upholds $2M Award In Cannabis Investment Battle
A Los Angeles state court judge upheld a $2.25 million judgment against the manager of a medical marijuana collective accused of defrauding an investor, chastising him for "never even" attempting to bring in key evidence that would allegedly help his case.
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August 14, 2025
Insurer Avoids Bad Faith Claims In $2M Vandalism Case
A California state court dismissed a property owner's claims that its insurer refused in bad faith to cover nearly $2 million in vandalism losses after its tenant, a cannabis cultivator, ended its lease, but found the owner's breach of contract claim can still proceed to trial.
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August 14, 2025
Maryland Budtenders Win Class Cert. In Curaleaf Tip Suit
Budtenders who work for Curaleaf Inc.'s Maryland dispensaries scored conditional class certification in their lawsuit accusing the company of taking their tips and paying them to managers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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August 14, 2025
Hemp Sellers Can Challenge NY Raids Outside Court
An administrative law judge has ruled that a group of hemp sellers can raise constitutional challenges in administrative proceedings over raids they say were illegally conducted by New York's Office of Cannabis Management.
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August 13, 2025
NYC Pot Shops Can't Revive Suit Over Marijuana Crackdown
A federal judge will not reconsider his decision to end a lawsuit filed by more than two dozen companies that claim their due process rights were violated when New York City closed some of their stores on claims they were unlicensed cannabis operations, saying they brought nothing new for the court to ponder.
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August 13, 2025
Colo. Dispensary Says Weed Regulator Made Invalid Rule
The owners of a cannabis company told a state judge on Tuesday that an industry bulletin posted about them by Colorado's marijuana regulator was "quasi-legislative" and created new enforcement rules in the industry without approval.
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August 13, 2025
Cannabis' Social Equity Efforts In Doubt After 2nd Circ. Ruling
A Second Circuit decision Tuesday, finding that the Constitution's dormant commerce clause applies to the federally illegal marijuana industry, further constricts states' ability to implement programs intended to award so-called social equity licenses favoring those harmed by past cannabis prohibition, experts told Law360.
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August 13, 2025
Calif. Firm Says Pot Co. Co-Owners Stiffed On Buyout Deal
A California firm is suing its former business partners in state court, alleging that they failed to pay up on a partnership withdrawal agreement and still owe more than $280,000 for the firm's 15% share of a cannabis business.
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August 12, 2025
Vape Interests Defend Suit Against NC E-Cigarette Law
A group of vaping industry interests are fighting to keep alive their federal lawsuit that seeks to stop North Carolina's ban on many types of e-cigarettes, saying the state is interfering with the federal government's intentional approach to regulating the industry.
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August 12, 2025
Reynolds Asks Justices To Eye Patent Damages In $95M Case
R.J. Reynolds has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a $95 million verdict against it for infringing Altria vape patents, saying the Federal Circuit is flouting high court precedent that patent damages can only be based on the value of the patented features.
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August 12, 2025
2nd Circ. Rules Dormant Commerce Clause Covers Marijuana
A split Second Circuit panel on Tuesday ruled that, despite marijuana's federal illegality, the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from privileging their own residents when awarding licenses to cannabis businesses.
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August 12, 2025
Maryland Says It's Immune To Hemp Cos.' Challenge To Regs
The state of Maryland and its regulators are urging a federal court to toss hemp companies' challenge to a state regulation requiring licenses for intoxicating hemp-derived products, saying the claims are blocked by sovereign immunity under the 11th Amendment.
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August 11, 2025
Consumers Say Vape Makers Can't Escape Price-Fixing Suit
Buyers of cannabis vape brand CCell are pushing back on two bids seeking to dismiss their consolidated proposed consumer class action in California federal court accusing the Chinese manufacturers and U.S. distributors of organizing a price-fixing scheme, saying the companies' interpretation of antitrust law creates a legal loophole.
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August 11, 2025
Canadian CEO Nabs Partial Win In Border Dispute
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security cannot end a lawsuit accusing it of retaliating against the Canadian CEO of a cannabis harvesting equipment company, a Washington federal judge ruled, rejecting government arguments that the case is totally moot because it lifted its initial deportation order against the executive, noting that the government hasn't restored his trusted traveler status.
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August 11, 2025
Judge Rules NYC Can Enforce Kava Cafe Shutdowns
A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that New York City public health and safety officials were within their authority to issue shutdown orders to restaurants that served kava, a federally unregulated psychoactive plant derivative.
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August 08, 2025
Colo. Conviction Axed Over Man's 'Rambling' Midtrial Speech
A man who was allowed to go on an incoherent rant before a jury while wearing prison clothes and was subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison for growing marijuana will get a new trial, a Colorado state appeals court said, finding that his unsworn ramblings undoubtedly deprived him of a fair hearing.
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August 08, 2025
LA Judges Tosses Suit Over $5.7M Pot Loss In Fire
A Los Angeles cannabis entrepreneur must pay the legal fees of his neighbor, whom he sued for $5.7 million on claims that the defendant allowed his property to become a fire hazard through lax safety standards and by allowing transient people to live there, resulting in an inferno which destroyed millions of dollars worth of cannabis flower.
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August 08, 2025
Vape Maker Must Arbitrate Claims Of Distributor Misconduct
A California federal judge has ordered the owners of a Hong Kong vape maker to arbitrate their claims accusing a competitor of trying to "usurp" their place in the market, concluding that an underlying arbitration agreement was applicable despite the competitor's founder not signing the pact.
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August 08, 2025
LAPD Wins Bid To Withhold 'Embarrassing' Body Cam Footage
The public will not get to see body-camera footage allegedly showing a Los Angeles police officer destroying an MRI machine after his rifle was pulled into its magnetic field during a raid on an X-ray clinic that was wrongly assumed to be a cannabis grow site, a California federal court ruled, seeking to avoid "embarrassing" the officers named in the civil suit.
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August 08, 2025
NY Court Tosses Challenge To Crackdown On Illicit Pot Shops
A New York state judge has dismissed a constitutional challenge to a crackdown on unregulated marijuana sellers, finding that city and state officials acted within their authority when they targeted the self-described cannabis club that brought the petition.
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August 08, 2025
NY Cannabis Sellers Urge Lawmakers To Fix Regulation Flap
New York cannabis retailers facing the revocation of their licenses due to a recent destabilizing shift in regulatory interpretation are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to take immediate action to ensure the continuity of their businesses.
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August 08, 2025
Massachusetts Sheriff Charged With Extorting Cannabis Shop
Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins was arrested Friday morning in Florida on extortion charges related to his demand for a stake in a cannabis dispensary — and a refund when his shares lost value — federal prosecutors announced.
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August 07, 2025
Class Action Over Kratom Extract Is Resolved
Consumers have agreed to drop a proposed class action against online Missouri hemp retailer CBD American Shaman LLC that accused it of deceptively marketing a concentrated kratom alkaloid, known as 7-OH, as a safe "natural" product while concealing its opioid-level addictiveness.
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August 07, 2025
Calif. Sheriff Says Criminal Law Enforceable On Tribal Land
A California sheriff is asking a federal judge to dismiss the latest complaint from the Round Valley Indian Tribes and three members alleging law enforcement illegally raided cannabis growers, saying criminal laws can still be enforced on tribal land.
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August 07, 2025
Kratom Buyers Take Addictiveness Suit To 9th Circ.
A proposed class of kratom buyers is appealing to the Ninth Circuit after their claims that Thang Botanicals and FTLS Holdings LLC misled them about the addictive qualities of kratom products were dismissed with prejudice.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Legal Considerations Around Ibogaine As Addiction Therapy
Recent funding approval in Texas pertaining to the use of ibogaine for the potential treatment of substance use disorders signals a growing openness to innovative addiction treatments, but also underscores the need for rigorous compliance with state and federal requirements and ethical research standards, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Feds' Shift On Reputational Risk Raises Questions For Banks
While banking regulators' recent retreat from reputational risk narrows the scope of federal oversight in some respects, it also raises practical questions about consistency, reputational management and the evolving political landscape surrounding financial services, say attorneys at Smith Anderson.
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Series
Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator
Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma
Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.
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Opinion
4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery
E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.
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Series
Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care
Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.
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ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'
The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Canadian Suit Offers Disclosure Lesson For US Cannabis Cos.
A Canadian class action asserting that Aurora Cannabis failed to warn consumers about the risk of developing cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome may spawn copycat filings in the U.S., and is a cautionary tale for cannabis and hemp industries to prioritize risk disclosure, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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Series
My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer
Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.
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8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work
Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients
Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.