A medical-marijuana dispensary's legal bills connected to Dana Point's successful lawsuit against it keep piling up, but Beach Cities Collective's attorney doesn't seem fazed.
The collective was ordered Tuesday to pay the city $138,000 in attorney fees. That's on top of the $2.4 million that Orange County Superior Court Judge William Monroe already ordered the dispensary to pay in March after he declared the city the victor in its public-nuisance lawsuit aimed at shutting down the dispensary. Beach Cities has been closed since the city red-tagged it in January, citing building code violations.
The founders of Beach Cities Collective are David Lambert, left, and Tim Louch. Louch is no longer involved in the collective. He signed a contract with the city of Dana Point saying he would not involve himself in medical-marijuana dealings in the city.
MICHAEL GOULDING, REGISTER FILE PHOTO
ADVERTISEMENT
Dana Point has been fighting several marijuana dispensaries in town for almost two years, claiming they were operating illegally by selling marijuana for profit for nonmedical reasons, which isn't covered by state laws that allow people with a doctor's prescription to use medical marijuana.
See a chronology of the legal battles here.
Beach Cities attorney Jeff Schwartz said the dispensary doesn't plan to try to postpone payment by asking for a stay, though Beach Cities has appealed Monroe's lawsuit ruling to the state 4th District Court of Appeal.
"They can go ahead and try and collect it. They can continue to go after bank accounts," Schwartz said. "But when it gets overturned on appeal, they'll have to reimburse us with interest."
Dana Point has spent more than $400,000 on legal fees connected to its marijuana cases. Dana Point's attorney, Patrick Munoz, who works for Costa Mesa firm Rutan & Tucker, charges $229 an hour, according to court records in the Beach Cities case.
"The hours actually expended in the prosecution of this case ? while high ? appear to have been reasonably necessary," according to Tuesday's ruling.
Dana Point was able to recover attorney fees because of a civil code provision known as "crack-house costs," according to the ruling. The provision got its nickname because it was originally used as a tool for cities to recoup costs of fighting crack houses.
Dana Point has won a total of about $7 million this year in lawsuits against three dispensaries ? Beach Cities, Holistic Health and The Point Alternative Care. Beach Cities and Holistic Health have appealed the rulings. Both also have sued the city for up to $20 million and $30 million, respectively. Those cases haven't been ruled on yet.
Several area cities have been able to get dispensaries shut down when taking the fight to Superior Court, but they haven't won the type of monetary judgments that Dana Point has.
That's because many have focused on land-use and zoning rules, while Dana Point took the extra step to use the business and professions code. That includes an "unfair competition" law that calls for a $2,500 fine per transaction or per day of operation for "any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent act or practice."
Dana Point also got $50,000 from each dispensary because of the health and safety code, which prohibits distribution and sale of a controlled substance.
SEE THE "RELATED LINKS" BOX FOR OTHER STORIES ON THIS ISSUE.
?
Contact the writer: blevine@ocregister.com, twitter.com/danapointnews or 949-492-5135
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/point-308020-dana-cities.html
bloomberg jake gyllenhaal icc 7 11 free slurpee alex alex free music
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.