HRC June Newsletter
Now that we are already into July, it should be a month of “finish lines” for some cannabis dispensaries most notably:
Terrapin opens its doors for medicinal use.
The Blue Violets litigation comes to a conclusion.
Story Dispensary goes to court to decide on a Summary Judgement motion.
One key aspects of the HRC’s mission is to advocate for the responsible implementation of cannabis businesses that adhere to local and state laws . Currently, HRC is litigating Blue Violets Dispensary that is approximately 200 feet from All Saints Episcopal Day School and Hoboken Charter School which violates the city’s 600 foot school distance requirement. HRC is almost at the finish line with a court date of July 18th and would appreciate your financial help to see it through.
The story about Story Dispensary continues.
The Condo Association has filed a motion with the courts asking for Summary Judgement on Counts 4 and 6 of the complaint. Summary Judgment would allow a judge to rule on these two counts without a jury because the facts are indisputable according to the Condo Association attorneys. A July 21st court date will decide if the facts presented by the Condo Association justify the Summary Judgment.
Count 4 - Common Law Fraud. Bulleted are the headlines from the conspiracy to commit fraud claims taken directly from the motion filed by the Condo Association, docket# HUD-C-000049-22. In the motion, each of the points stated below are supported with detailed evidence that has been redacted and not made public.
Despite their admittedly false representations to the contrary, the Retail Defendants never intended to move their physical therapy practice located at 1325 Hudson Street to the Association’s building at 51-53 14th Street.
Nussbaum and Fulop learn of the Commercial Unit’s availability and begin to weave false narratives to the Association, BofA, and BCB to acquire the unit under false pretenses for their own self-enrichment.
The Retail Defendants execute a contract of sale for the Commercial Unit in which they memorialize their representations that the Commercial Unit will be utilized as a medical office – the same representations made to Bank of America and Mr. Brennan.
Despite the representations made to the Association, Mr. Brennan, BofA and BCB, Nussbaum and Mukherji actively court multiple cannabis dispensaries for occupation of the Commercial Unit, including Ayr Wellness, Inc. a publicly traded dispensary.
The day the deal closes, Nussbaum contacts Ayr and receives a green light to proceed with the Story Defendants, affiliates of the Vedadi Group.
Through coordination by Assemblyman Mukherji, Nussbaum and representatives of the Story Defendants draft letters of intent and other agreements are prepared in which they surface and acknowledge the Retail Defendants’ obligation to obtain the Association’s approval to operate a cannabis dispensary in the Commercial Unit.
Story is formed by the Vedadi Group and defendants Hintz and Silva are selected to serve as nominees to mask the Vedadi’s Group economic interest and control of Story.
The key players in this transaction are brought together by Assemblyman Mukherji, in a process begun in early October - - more than a month before title to the Commercial Unit is conveyed to Retail - - that culminates in April 2022 with an Executed Lease.
After completing their fraud, the Retail Defendants blindly accept rental payments from entities they know nothing about as they enjoy the fruits of their deception.
Defendants Fulop and Nussbaum Revel in the Spoils of their Fraud.
As the record reflects, the Retail Defendants concealed their extensive fraud, which dated back to early October 2021, a month before closing title to the Commercial Unit, to prevent the Association from learning of the true intended use and taking steps to explicitly prohibit this specific use (prohibited elsewhere as incongruent as a deleterious activity) under its Governing Documents.
Count 6 – Corporate Veil Piercing/Alter Ego. The Fulop/Nussbaum LLC was established days before the purchase of the commercial property and was not adequately capitalized. If the courts determine that Fulop/Nussbaum LLC was set up for fraudulent purposes, then the corporate veil can pierce and the liability rests with the individuals behind the LLC.
Terrapin is tentatively set to open in July for medicinal cannabis. The State has reviewed its 86 River Street location and layout. Now, the dispensary is waiting to get final building approvals from the City in order to open its doors.
Village received City Council approval (5-4) to open at 516 Washington Street despite the dispensary being located within the 600-foot buffer of the Hoboken Middle School. Village is 460 feet away from Hoboken Middle School which is the same case as Blue Violets that is currently being litigated. The outcome of the Blue Violets case should apply to Village, but a proposal to table the discussion until after the court renders an opinion on Blue Violets was ignored. The BOE decided not to weigh in or inform the middle school community. This was debated by City Council, which included opposition from Councilman Mike DeFusco when referring to the original ordinance which Village believes it should be grandfathered under stating, “We made a mistake, and the continued expansion of that mistake is a mistake.” Despite opposition, the majority City Council (Jabbour, Cohen, Quintero, Russo, Doyle) approved the dispensary.
Community Host agreements for two dispensaries, Blue Violets and Village were approved (5-4) by the City Council. Community Host agreements include community impact fees for hosting the dispensaries in Hoboken. In all cases, they are boilerplate for each dispensary which includes an additional 1% of sales or a lump sum dollar amount whichever is higher depending on the type of dispensary. Absent from the agreements was funding for a police officer and hosting expungement clinics for those with cannabis related records despite being discussed at the CRB application hearings. In addition, social equity related programming/funding was excluded from the agreement.
Jersey City is requiring Smoke Shops to be licensed. Should Hoboken do the same? A proposed ordinance was introduced and voted unanimously by Jersey City’s City Council on first reading. HRC has received a copy of the ordinance and is working with members of Hoboken City Council to determine if something similar should be adopted in our city.
CRC Upcoming Meeting – The state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will meet on July 18th at 11 a.m.. to consider another group of dispensaries for state licensing. The agenda has not been posted. https://www.nj.gov/cannabis/about/meetings/
Register to speak here. The deadline to register to speak at the June 1st meeting will be Friday, July 14th at 5 p.m.
