Thor Equities Pulls Rent Case Against MedMen, Plans to Refile in State Court

MedMen’s (OTC: MMNFF) battle over back rent took another turn this week when Thor Equities was granted a motion to dismiss its case against the beleaguered cannabis company. In its filing requesting the move, Thor Equities advised that it plans to refile the case in a state court after MedMen’s lawyers said they would argue that cannabis’ federally illegal status makes the lease illegal and unenforceable as well.

District Judge J. Paul Oetken dismissed the case without prejudice, noting that the case was still “in its infancy” so refiling would not create an undue burden on the defendants.

That judgment wasn’t satisfactory to MedMen, however, which, according to Law360, filed a complaint in the same court on Wednesday to ask for the courts to declare the lease contract null and void, which would prevent the refiling by Thor Enterprises.

No further court action has taken place on the latest claim yet.

Case background

MedMen does not dispute that it had not paid rent on the Chicago property since August 2021. The company signed a lease for the “raw, unfinished warehouse-type space” in June 2021.

Thor Equities sued in July 2022 in the District Court of Southern New York because that is where it is primarily based.

Because the suit was filed in a federal court, MedMen saw an opportunity and requested the case be dismissed on the grounds that cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug, making the manufacture and distribution of such a product illegal at the federal level.

MedMen reiterated its position in the latest filing, stating: “Defendant well knows, however, it is not entitled to enforce the Lease and the Guaranties or the damages it seeks because the distribution and sale of marijuana and the lease of real estate exclusively for such purposes is still illegal under Federal law.”