The most common types of cannabis litigation are:

• Regulatory and compliance disputes
• Business and contract disputes
• Intellectual property litigation
• Employment and labor disputes
• Commercial and real estate disputes

‍

Less common, but growing, areas of cannabis litigation include:

• Cybersecurity and data privacy litigation 
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance litigation 
• Products liability litigation 

Rudick Law Group offers legal defense and dispute resolution services for all these cannabis-related matters.

Rudick Law Group helps businesses move through regulatory disputes with cannabis-specific industry knowledge and courtroom know-how. Our skill in conveying compliance efforts to regulatory bodies, judges, and juries maximizes the chances that your business will remain safeguarded when facing litigation. We guide you through pleadings, discovery, and resolution options to effectively and efficiently navigate regulatory disputes.

If your cannabis business faces a trademark infringement case, hire a cannabis attorney with specific cannabis trademark experience to represent you and offer you strategic guidance. Trademark attorneys who don’t specialize in the cannabis market may be unfamiliar with the sector’s unique and complex regulatory landscape. A cannabis trademark attorney can defend your business while helping you navigate cannabis-specific trademark issues like federal illegality, the Lanham Act, ancillary services trademarks, cannabis-specific branding concerns, and patchwork state regulations that may affect the litigation.

Many contract disputes are resolved through negotiations between parties and their lawyers prior to a lawsuit being filed. Sometimes, however, litigation is unavoidable. When resolving a contract dispute through litigation, there are six steps involved, all of which happen through the courts. The process goes as follows:

1. The plaintiff (sometimes called “the complainant” or “complaining party”) submits a statement of claim (often called a “petition” or “complaint”) that details their claims against the defendant. You must respond to these claims, usually via a document called an “answer”. Depending on the facts, you may be able to file counterclaims when you do so.
2. The plaintiff and defendant go through the discovery process to exchange information via document exchanges, written statements, depositions, and, if necessary, motions heard by the court.
3. Either party may file motions seeking rulings on issues in the case.
   
   1. Appropriate timing will vary based on the issue, but most motions can be filed once discovery has progressed enough such that the information needed to argue the motion is available to all parties. Motion practice might include a party seeking a determination on whether certain evidence is admissible, whether an expert will be allowed to testify, or whether a party correctly followed the required procedure. 
4. In many jurisdictions and in federal courts, one or both parties may file a motion for summary judgment. 
   
   1. Summary judgment motions argue that there is no genuine dispute of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Parties can move for summary judgment on some or all claims. 
5. When discovery and motions are complete, any remaining issues go to trial. At trial, each party will present arguments and evidence, either to a judge or a jury.
6. Once a decision is delivered, either party can file an appeal for the case to be heard in a higher court.

Yes, Rudick Law Group offers litigation support for employee-related conflicts in the cannabis industry. When you need to defend your cannabis business against claims from current or former employees, we’ll help you respond to complaints, accurately portray your business practices in court, and preserve your business’s hard-won goodwill.