Jihee is an experienced complex commercial litigator in Harris Sliwoski’s Portland and Los Angeles offices. She represents clients in business, intellectual property, and real estate matters. Having worked extensively in both federal and state courts, Jihee advises her clients from case intake through arbitration and trial.
Given the growth of both the cannabis industry and international trade, it’s more important than ever to understand the basics, and challenges of, purchasing cannabis-related goods overseas. Root Sciences, a cannabis extraction company, has been learning this the hard way. Last week, it initiated an appeal in the Federal Circuit last week after their lawsuit
Most people who are (luckily) not familiar with litigation believe alternative dispute resolution (or “ADR”) clauses in their contracts are essentially boilerplate language that’s recycled again and again in every contract. However, well-drafted ADR clauses can not only give you a huge advantage if an issue comes up, they may also cause your counterparty to
The days where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) pays no mind to cannabis businesses (marijuana and hemp) are long gone. These days, the FTC is treating consumer complaints regarding hemp and marijuana businesses similar to complaints against businesses in other industries. The self-proclaimed mission of the FTC is to: “prevent anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business
Last week, the TTAB, or Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, refused to register AgrotecHemp Corp.’s “PUREXXXCBD” as a trademark for dietary supplements containing cannabidiol because the product was unlawful. Specifically, AgrotecHemp sought registration for goods identified as: “Plant extracts for pharmaceutical purposes; vitamins; dietary supplements; all of the foregoing containing CBD solely derived from hemp
This week, the SAFE Banking Act’s long-awaited reintroduction finally happened, and by a bipartisan group of over 100 members of the House and 30 members of the Senate (and counting!). The legislation was first introduced in March 2019, and we’ve followed along ever since. This Act has now been passed by the House THREE times,
Last month, I wrote a post on the latest development in the trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Veritas Fine Cannabis (“VFC”) against Veritas Farms. Unfortunately for VFC, Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty had issued a recommended order that the Court grant Veritas Farms’ motion to dismiss – and to dismiss the claims with prejudice (meaning,
In a step towards achieving the goals of the SAFE Banking Act, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill 1525, which importantly provides that banks, credit unions, and other financial servicers to cannabis businesses do not violate California law “solely by virtue of the fact that the person receiving the benefit of any of those
We’ve been monitoring and reporting on the growing trend of investment and securities fraud litigation in the cannabis industry, and this week brings yet another case. In Murray v. Camp, et al., Murray is suing three Washington entities and their principals for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraud, and violation of the Securities Act of
On Wednesday, July 8, 2020, a bipartisan group of sixteen state treasurers, led by Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read, sent a letter to congressional leaders requesting that the next piece of COVID-19 relief legislation include the SAFE Banking Act. The letter prominently cites both the well-known and new safety issues that come into play when forcing
If you aren’t familiar with the TCPA, you should familiarize yourself with this important statute that is currently sparking a ton of litigation in the cannabis industry. The TCPA stands for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act – a statute that was passed in 1991 to fight the incessant “robocalls” that were plaguing consumers at the
