The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an appeal from a CBD hemp oil maker fighting a lawsuit from a truck driver who says he got fired after using a product falsely advertised as being free from marijuana’s active ingredient.
Douglas Horn says he took the product to help with chronic shoulder and back pain he had after a serious accident. The company said it contained CBD, a generally legal compound that is widely sold as a dietary supplement and included in personal-care products, but not THC, which gives marijuana its high, Horn said in court documents.
After a failed routine drug test got him fired, Horn says he confirmed with a lab that the product did have THC. He sued the Vista, California, company under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, among other claims, alleging the THC-free marketing amounted to fraud.
Read more
SCOTUS BLOG CASE TIMELIME
Medical Marijuana, Inc. v. Horn
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23-365 | 2nd Cir. | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | OT 2024 |
Issue: Whether economic harms resulting from personal injuries are injuries to “business or property by reason of” the defendant’s acts for purposes of a civil treble-damages action under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Supreme Court takes up RICO and veterans “benefit of the doubt” cases (Amy Howe, April 29, 2024)
- RICO injury, federal jurisdiction, and giving veterans the benefit of the doubt (John Elwood, April 26, 2024)
- Maker of CBD products asks court to decide whether lawsuit under criminal racketeering law can go forward (Kalvis Golde, January 13, 2024)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding) |
|---|---|
| Oct 03 2023 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 6, 2023) |
| Nov 06 2023 | Brief amici curiae of Atlantic Legal Foundation, et al. filed. |
| Nov 07 2023 | Waiver of right of respondent Douglas Horn, et al. to respond filed. |
| Nov 14 2023 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/1/2023. |
| Nov 16 2023 | Response Requested. (Due December 18, 2023) |
| Dec 01 2023 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 18, 2023 to January 17, 2024, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Dec 07 2023 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 17, 2024. |
| Jan 09 2024 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 17, 2024 to February 16, 2024, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Jan 16 2024 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 16, 2024. |
| Feb 13 2024 | Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 16, 2024 to March 18, 2024, submitted to The Clerk. |
| Feb 15 2024 | Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 18, 2024. |
| Mar 18 2024 | Brief of respondent Douglas Horn in opposition filed. |
| Apr 03 2024 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/19/2024. |
| Apr 03 2024 | Reply of petitioners Medical Marijuana, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 22 2024 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/26/2024. |
| Apr 29 2024 | Petition GRANTED. |
