ATTENTION NEW YORK!
We have yet ANOTHER lawsuit in the house!
The plaintiff, a New York processor, brings this lawsuit to challenge the legality of OCM’s recently announced new rule requiring operators to purchase unique digital identifier tags from Metrc to be affixed to cannabis inventory and product per unit, rather than per batch or lot (i.e., the “New Rule”) on the grounds that the New Rule:
💫Violates SAPA (State Administrative Procedure Act) since OCM issued this rule without any public comment period or other rulemaking requirements necessary for the promulgation of regulation.
💫 Violates the MRTA by, among other things, failing to: i. generate revenue for local public investment since the overly burdensome new costs imposed by it will generate more revenue for METRC as a Florida based company rather than for New Yorkers; and ii. minimize the illicit market since increased seed-to-sale costs will be necessarily passed onto consumers who will then turn back to illicit shops.
💫Violates state law as arbitrary and capricious and made without lawful justification or jurisdiction and without foundation in fact (i.e., ultra vires).
The plaintiff here is seeking a temporary and permanent injunction preventing OCM from enforcing the New Rule, and it seeks to compel OCM to produce documents it had requested via FOIL, including the BioTrack contract, the assignment of that contract to METRC, and all amendments to the contract. Plaintiff argues these documents are relevant to its challenge of the New Rule because “many questions are raised about whether the amendments or assignment of the contract comport with the requirements of the State Finance Law, and whether proper procedure was followed.”
There is also the matter of anti-trust violations and how the NY AG’s office may handle those, if at all.
CCB is having its last hearing of the year tomorrow and this lawsuit, as well as Felicia Reid’s recent departure, are sure to be hot topics there!
The complaint is attached below, happy reading!
