The future of the California-based cannabis delivery company Eaze remains uncertain following its acquisition at auction earlier this year by tech billionaire James Henry Clark, a founder of Netscape, through his company FoundersJT LLC. Clark purchased Eaze for $54 million, but plans for the company’s direction have yet to be announced.
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This acquisition occurred amidst ongoing legal battles involving Andrew Levine, a marijuana investor known for his work with Green Dragon. Levine and his family, who previously held a 42% stake in Eaze, have been embroiled in litigation against Eaze, claiming they were denied access to company records. They filed a lawsuit on the same day Eaze went up for auction, following a separate fraud lawsuit Levine had filed in the past, which was dismissed without prejudice.
Eaze has fired back in its court filings, accusing Levine of "frivolous litigation" and alleging that Levine improperly accessed company databases in an effort to gather evidence for future legal battles. The company’s response, filed on September 5 in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, argues that Levine was not denied access to records but was attempting to force a discovery process that could support another potential fraud claim. Eaze also accused Levine of stealing company records and secretly searching for incriminating emails.
The legal filing paints Levine as a “serial litigator” and details how his actions, including accessing thousands of emails and documents from Eaze's server, were intended to gain leverage over FoundersJT as both sides vied for control of the company. Eaze asserts that Levine’s actions were part of an effort to "harm" the company and ultimately led to his termination.
Eaze’s current CEO, Cory Azzalino, confirmed that no other bidders participated in the auction aside from FoundersJT and noted that the Levine family would no longer hold any ownership stakes in the company moving forward. Despite the tumultuous legal battle, Azzalino stated that the new ownership group, led by Clark, is still evaluating the future of Eaze’s operations across different states, with decisions expected by the end of the year.
The ongoing lawsuit is still in process, with joint status reports to be filed starting in November. Despite the substantial acquisition, the direction of Eaze under its new leadership remains in question.
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