Hello Farms’ contract dispute with Curaleaf has advanced to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, escalating a case that has attracted wide attention from the marijuana industry and legal analysts.
The Michigan grower won a $31.8 million jury award in February for a contract dispute dating back to 2020, with an additional $5 million in interest ordered in May. Curaleaf is now asking the appellate court to overturn that decision.
In a brief filed late Thursday, Curaleaf argues the agreement at the center of the dispute is void because it required conduct that remains illegal under federal law. The company told the court the contract “is per se unenforceable” because the Controlled Substances Act still prohibits the manufacture and distribution of marijuana, regardless of what Michigan law allows. Curaleaf characterized the original agreement as a conspiracy to engage in federally unlawful cultivation and distribution, asserting that all parties “assume and shoulder the attendant risks” when entering marijuana-related contracts in a federally prohibited environment.
Hello Farms says it will submit its response brief according to court deadlines. The company, located in Omer and established in 2020, produces sun-grown marijuana on an 80-acre farm and has positioned the case as a test of whether federal courts will continue enforcing contracts for state-legal operators.
The Sixth Circuit’s ruling could carry implications far beyond the two companies, as legal disputes in regulated states increasingly collide with the federal prohibition that remains in place.
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