Background
We represented as the defendant in a complex civil action arising from a collaboration within the commercial cannabis supply chain. The plaintiff alleged breaches relating to design/fulfillment, revenue allocation, and performance metrics, seeking money damages and temporary/permanent injunctive relief. The dispute sat at the intersection of industry compliance and contract interpretation, including:
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Priority and enforceability among a master agreement and multiple addenda
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Conditional obligations tied to delivery, consideration, and KPI triggers
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State-law cannabis compliance and public-policy considerations
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Plaintiff’s application for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) / Preliminary Injunction (PI)
Challenges
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Regulatory overlay: Cannabis is a highly regulated sector. State-law compliance issues can color both remedies and damages.
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Fragmented record: Communications spanned emails, chats, POs, and settlements—requiring a timeline rebuild and evidence matrix.
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Aggressive early relief strategy: Plaintiff sought immediate injunctive relief to disrupt defendant’s channels and pressure settlement.
Our Strategy
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Front-loaded procedural review: Assessed forum, service, arbitration/choice-of-law, and pled facts; filed targeted demurrer / motion to strike to narrow claims early.
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Injunction defense: Challenged TRO/PI on irreparable harm, likelihood of success, and balance of equities/public interest, emphasizing ongoing compliance and the adequacy of monetary remedies.
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Evidence matrix & timeline: Built a four-layer record—master contract → addenda → orders/invoices → payment/settlement proofs—plus email metadata, showing plaintiff’s unmet conditions precedent / self-breach.
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Compliance alignment: Produced a checklist (licensing, reporting, track-and-trace) to reframe the dispute from “compliance fault” back to contract risk allocation.
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Negotiation cadence: After defeating the injunction, steered the matter to Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)/mediation, leveraging narrowed claims and rising proof burdens to establish a favorable anchor.
Key Milestones
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TRO/PI denied: Court declined temporary injunctive relief; status quo preserved.
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Claims narrowed: Ambiguous/duplicative or insufficiently pled causes of action were dismissed or constrained.
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Protective order: Limited disclosure of trade secrets and compliance workflows, reducing operational exposure.
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Cost & timeline control: Shifted from “injunction crisis” to a predictable discovery-and-resolution track.
Outcome
Without any admission of liability, the parties reached a confidential settlement:
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Plaintiff’s monetary demand reduced to under 20% of the initial ask;
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Mutual dismissals and broad releases;
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No ongoing injunction or operational restraints;
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Cash flow and commercial channels remained stable; core projects proceeded on schedule.
Amounts and specific terms are confidential and summarized with client consent. Prior outcomes do not guarantee similar results.
Our Value
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Converted an injunction-driven emergency into a managed discovery and negotiation process.
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Used a compliance-plus-contract dual track to restore leverage.
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Reduced uncertainty through evidence matrices and timeline management, delivering result predictability and business continuity.
