When a customer of Montazi Vineyard cancelled an order because it feared the grapes were contaminated with the smell of marijuana from a nearby marijuana firm, the Oregon vineyard sued its neighbor.
Now a federal judge has ruled the lawsuit can go forward. Under Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, Montazi has standing because it suffered a “concrete financial loss.”
“The customer’s concerns, whether valid or invalid, arose directly from the proximity of defendants’ marijuana-grow operation,” U.S. Senior District Judge Anna Brown wrote in the 20-page opinion.
The neighbor defendants had argued Montazi’s allegations of lost grape sales, reduced marketability and reduced property income weren’t “concrete” damages under RICO. The Montazi family filed the lawsuit alleging the marijuana farm was a “criminal enterprise” because marijuana is illegal under federal law.