A really massive congratulations to a longtime Oregon hashish shopper, and to our trial group, which simply gained a decisive, hard-fought victory in a nine-day jury trial in Portland, Oregon. Harris Bricken lawyer Jesse Mondry led a stellar trial group comprised additionally of lawyer Tom Oster, litigation paralegals Kathleen Biddle and Staci Black, and summer time affiliate Janve Sobers.
This complicated case involved the failed merger of 26 California and Oregon hashish corporations. Harris Bricken’s shopper is a widely known enterprise that operates a series of dispensaries and a develop operation in areas from the Oregon coast to Portland metro to Central Oregon.
In 2019, our shopper signed an ill-fated merger settlement with quite a few California corporations. This was an effort to create a multi-state operation. The deal rapidly fell aside and the signatories went their separate methods. However one particular person, who was to obtain shares within the merged entity, threatened to sue our shopper and others for the purported worth of his shares within the merged entity. He claimed the shares have been value $7.4 million and he sought one other $1.3 million in alleged compensation from our shopper for an alleged settlement that he could be the brand new firm’s Chief Income Officer.
After receiving the specter of a being sued, our shopper struck first. In Might of 2020, we filed a lawsuit in Oregon primarily looking for a court docket order holding that the purported settlement was unenforceable. The disgruntled third-party filed counterclaims towards our shopper totaling $8.7 million.
Two hard-fought years of litigation ensued. There have been a number of motions to dismiss, motions to strike, motions for abstract judgment, discovery disputes, and over a dozen particular person and company officer depositions. Greater than 25,000 pages of paperwork have been produced. Our shopper succeeded in dismissing quite a few claims all through the method (e.g., tortious interference with contract), securing abstract judgment on others (employment associated), and getting the court docket to strike varied different allegations of the counterparty.
The case went to trial earlier than a jury in August 2022 on the $7.4 million in counterclaims towards our shopper for breach of contract and promissory estoppel. After a nine-day jury trial, involving quite a few lay and professional witnesses, the panel returned a verdict fully in our shopper’s favor. The decide additionally dominated individually in our shopper’s favor on the estoppel declare.
This was bet-the-company litigation for our shopper who, evidently, is thrilled with the consequence. Congratulations!