A court in Denver has issued a rather hefty $8.8 million judgment against the co-owners of Sweet Leaf.

The Colorado-based company boasts a solid reputation for being one of the most popular cannabis chains in the region. However, its reputation is now in tatters, with Denver District Judge Edward Bronfin demanding that Sweet Leaf co-owners Matthew Aiken, Christian Johnson and Anthony Sauro cough up for unpaid rent.

The judge issued his decision against the three cannabis company co-owners after discovering that they had breached the agreements of four commercial leases in Denver. Unpaid rent, late fees and interest were brought to the Court’s attention, with the penalty being issued on behalf of RF Elati 4125.

Based on information released by the Secretary of State filings, Ryan Fox of Saguache, Colorado is listed as RF Elati’s official principal.

Sweet Leaf accused of allowing customers to exceed daily purchase limits

Sweet Leaf, a well-known lifestyle brand boasting medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries throughout Colorado and Oregon, has also been accused of selling more than the daily limit to customers. As a result, at the beginning of 2018, the cannabis company’s 26 licenses for cannabis cultivation, processing, and dispensary operations were revoked.

Then, in October, Aiken, Johnson, and Sauro came to an agreement that they would fork out $2 million in fines to the State of Colorado as punishment. Furthermore, they agreed to sell their remaining cannabis licenses in Colorado and refrain from re-entering the state’s medical cannabis industry for a whopping 15 years.

In December of last year, a lengthy undercover investigation of the cannabis company was conducted by Denver police. After numerous raids, the police arrested Sweet Leaf employees and confiscated company assets. The medical cannabis dispensary chain was accused of allowing customers to exceed the maximum limit that they could legally buy over a set period of time.

Denver cannabis law firm provided representation against Sweet Leaf’s co-owners

Providing representation for RF Elati in the dispute against Aiken, Johnson and Sauro was Greenspoon Marder. The national full-service Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 business law firm operates its business with 200 attorneys spread across 26 offices in the U.S.

Lawyers from Greenspoon claimed that the co-owners of Sweet Leaf had been unsuccessful in their vows to honor a 2016 agreement confirmed with property owner Fox. During an official statement, chair of Greenspoon Rachel Gillette claimed that the intention(s) of her firm is to aid legal cannabis businesses in becoming a “normal and trusted part of the corporate world.”

“This case represents justice for the business owner playing by the rules, regardless of the type of business,” she added.

GreenSpoon’s lead attorney on the court case, Anton Handal, stressed the importance of the case, which he says will demonstrate to the courts that cannabis businesses must be run just like any other type of business.

“As cannabis businesses join the mainstream business community, persons that do business with them can rely on the fact that courts will enforce agreements made with them,” Handal declared in a statement.

Currently, one Sweet Leaf store remains open in Portland, Oregon.