“We are here trying to get back the business that they stole from us.”
By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent
A St. Louis jury awarded $10 million Tuesday to three plaintiffs in a sprawling ownership battle over six Missouri cannabis licenses involving more than 20 businesses and individuals.
Over a week of testimony, jurors heard about a tangled series of business agreements and allegations that partners went behind one another’s backs to secure competing deals.
The case hinged on whether the plaintiffs in the case—AJO MO LLC, Hi-Rise LLC and DMS Facility Management LLC—lawfully acquired a company through a transaction that would have made them majority owners of a cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility in Waynesville that also included 40 percent stake in four Heya dispensaries.
Missouri cannabis regulators recognized AJO and Hi-Rise as the owners of the Waynesville facility licenses in May 2024. However, the state hasn’t approved the disputed ownership changes involving the four Heya dispensaries while a series of lawsuits played out.
The jurors sided with plaintiffs on counts of breach of contract and tortuous interference, awarding them a total of $10 million.
“We’re pleased the jury decided in our favor and awarded appropriate damages,” Peter Barden, spokesman
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