Some claims dismissed in CBD startup lawsuit by Curaleaf exec, others

An Oregon judge dismissed some of the claims against cannabis entrepreneur Nitin Khanna in a legal battle involving Curaleaf Holdings Executive Chair Boris Jordan, but the court battle continues.

Securities fraud claims against Khanna and others were dismissed last week by Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge David Rees.

But the plaintiffs’ “claim for breach of fiduciary duty remains active and very much alive in the Oregon Court,” their attorney, Geoffrey Harrison, told the Portland Business Journal.

The legal dispute involves a lawsuit against Khanna and others by a group of investors, including Jordan, over their investments in Khanna’s CBD startup, Sentia Wellness.

The plaintiffs, who made $74 million in unsecured loans to Sentia, claimed they did so based on misleading and false information.

Sentia was spun off from Cura Partners, where Khanna had once been CEO and which Massachusetts-based Curaleaf acquired in 2020.

Khanna later countersued Jordan and the other plaintiffs.

In a news release, Khanna said he was “thrilled with this decision” to dismiss the claims.

His lawyers “had argued that agreements between the CBD company Sentia Wellness and the investors required disputes to be resolved in New York,” and the judge dismissed the securities claims “for lack of subject matter jurisdiction,” the Portland Business Journal reported.

However, plaintiff’s attorney Harrison told the business publication that the investors would pursue the securities fraud claims elsewhere.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/some-claims-dismissed-in-cbd-startup-lawsuit-by-curaleaf-exec-others/