Dear Pot Lawyer,
I read that wine growers are suing weed growers near McMinnville? What’s going on?
Yes, that’s an interesting case. The plaintiffs are vineyard developers Harihara and Parvathy Mahesh, and their vineyard owner neighbor, Momtazi Family LLC. The Maheshes and Momtazi are suing their neighbor, defendant Richard Wagner, and his parents, who, unlike your mom and dad, set Wagner up on a nice spread of land to produce and process weed. Not only do the plaintiffs not like the smell of Wagner’s weed, but they don’t like the weed itself, which they claim is damaging their grapes.
The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief, which means they want the court to block Wagner’s prospective cannabis operation altogether. In legal terms, the smell is alleged to be a “nuisance” and a “trespass.” But the most interesting allegation here is that, as a part of Wagner’s tortious actions, the weed will damage the wine. According to the complaint, one buyer of Momtazi grapes has already canceled its order because “the foul-smelling particles will migrate by air” and thereby ruin the Mahesh and Momtazi grapes.
I say this case is interesting because it presents a novel fact situation, which involves scant legal precedent and scientific inquiry. There have been many pot odor lawsuits in the past, but few, if any, where someone claims damage to crops. The jury here would have to determine whether Wagner’s weed activities are actually doing that.