Rainbow lease and real estate litigation
On June 4, 2020, Rainbow HAH Council Bluffs LLC, Rainbow HAH Santa Cruz LLC, Rainbow HAH Coalinga LLC, Rainbow HAH LLC and Rainbow Realty Group LLC (collectively, the “Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Nassau (Index No.: 605323/2020) against the Company and certain of its subsidiaries and certain of its current officers and directors, including Scott Atkison (the “Harvest Defendants”), ICG and certain of its subsidiaries, Hightimes Holding Corp. and one of its subsidiaries, Ryan Kunkel (“Kunkel”) and James Dennedy (“Dennedy”). Mr. Atkison is a former shareholder and director of ICG and is a party to the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated March 13, 2020, between a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and ICG (the “ICG Merger Agreement”) and as result thereof, he, along with other former ICG shareholders including Daniel Reiner, a shareholder of the Company and the beneficial owner of greater than 5% of our equity securities, may have indemnification obligations to the Company. On September 24, 2020, the Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint (the “Amended Rainbow Complaint”). The Amended Rainbow Complaint alleges, among other things, that the Plaintiffs were fraudulently induced by Kunkel and Dennedy and aided and abetted by the Harvest Defendants into paying $3.5 million to purchase three cannabis dispensaries that were leased by Have a Heart branded dispensaries in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Coalinga, California and Santa Cruz, California (the “Gerra Properties”). The properties were sold to the Plaintiffs by Gerra Capital Management which was owned and controlled by certain former ICG directors and shareholders which included Kunkel and Dennedy. The Amended Rainbow Complaint alleges breach of lease, breach of guaranty, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud in the inducement, conspiracy to commit fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, violations of debtor creditor law and piercing the corporate veil (the “Rainbow Litigation”). In December 2020, the case transferred to the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Index No.: 452625/2020).
On July 15, 2021, the Company, Harvest Enterprises, Inc., Harvest HAH WA, Inc., Steven M. White, M. Scott Atkison and Daniel T. Reiner (collectively, the “Defendants”), and the Plaintiffs entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement and Release, pursuant to which, inter alia, the Company issued 150,000 SVS to the Plaintiffs in consideration for the final release (with prejudice) of all claims pending against the Defendants in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Index No.: 452625/2020).
TGS National Franchise, LLC arbitration
In the Matter of Arbitration between TGS National Franchise, LLC v. San Felasco Nurseries, Inc. (“SFN”) as assignee of Florida Compassionate Growers LLC (Case No: 01-18-0003-9481) (the “SFN Arbitration”).
Prior to the Company’s acquisition of SFN via a share exchange agreement dated October 25, 2018, TGS filed several arbitrations and civil lawsuits (the “TGS Lawsuits”) arising out of franchise agreements between TGS and SFN dated April 8, 2016 (“Franchise Agreements”). The TGS Lawsuits included a demand for arbitration filed with the American Arbitration Association filed on October 22, 2018 (the “SFN Arbitration”) seeking monetary damages arising from the termination of the Franchise Agreements. On March 28, 2019, the SFN Arbitration was stayed by agreement of the parties pending resolution of a TGS appeal, to the Colorado Court of Appeals, of a decision adverse to TGS in another of the TGS Lawsuits (the “TGS Appeal”).
On February 21, 2020, TGS moved to substitute Jushi FL SPV, LLC (“Jushi”) as Claimant in the SFN Arbitration (“Claimant”) and amend the case caption to In the Matter of Arbitration between Jushi FL SPV, LLC, as assignee of TGS National Franchise, LLC v. San Felasco Nurseries, Inc., as assignee of Florida Compassionate Growers LLC (Case No: 01-18-0003-9481). On May 15, 2020, the parties stipulated to substitute Jushi as Claimant and amend the case caption. On March 26, 2020, the Colorado Court of Appeals denied the TGS Appeal and held that certain terms in the Franchise Agreements evidence “a clear intent to limit the parties’ rights and remedies otherwise available.”
With the TGS Appeal decided, the SFN Arbitration re-commenced in August 2020. On November 9, 2020, the panel in the SFN Arbitration (the “AAA Panel”) denied SFN’s motion to dismiss, which had argued that the arbitration was precluded by the earlier TGS Lawsuits. On March 29, 2021, the AAA Panel denied SFN’s request to file a pre-hearing motion to dismiss the SFN Arbitration for failure to state recoverable damages. The final hearing in the SFN Arbitration was held the week of May 3, 2021. Post-hearing briefing was completed on June 29, 2021.
The AAA Panel issued its interim award (the “Interim Award”) on July 29, 2021. The AAA Panel ruled against Claimant on its legal and equitable claims for breach of a contractual right of first refusal (“ROFR”) under the Franchise Agreements in connection with a potential sale of SFN (the “ROFR Transaction”), holding that SFN had negotiated the ROFR Transaction in good faith. Claimant prevailed, however, on its claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing arising from SFN’s termination of the Franchise Agreements. The AAA Panel awarded Claimant $10.6 million based on the supposed “present value” of “unpaid future royalties” in respect of these claims. The AAA Panel awarded an additional $3.7 million in pre-award interest on these damages, and post-award interest at a rate of 12% per annum.
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