Apeks is being sued for selling a $357,000 extraction machine that the buyers claim didn’t live up to the sales claims. Ryan Elmore and Warren Blesofsky own the California-based medical cannabis business LB Atlantis, LLC. They bought Apeks’s new “High Production Series” machine, which was marketed as being able to process “nearly 60 pounds of raw material per day when operating for 23 hours per day with a 90% cannabinoid extraction rate.” The cost of this machine was $315,000, but with shipping, the final purchase amount was $357,761.25.
The owners received the machine in October 2018 and alleged they had problems from the first day of operation. The lawsuit states, “Among other problems, the machine never processed more than 23 pounds per day and “never approached” a 90% cannabinoid extraction rate.” In addition to the less-than-promised processing amount, they claim the resulting oil product was consistently discolored and burnt.
Their case filing says, “Finally, in late August 2019, Elmore spoke to Andy Joseph (Apeks President), who told Elmore that plaintiffs could return the machine for a full refund and Apeks would sell them a different machine at a lower cost. Apeks then reneged, saying that the plaintiffs could return the machine at a reduced “trade-in” or “depreciated” value and that the plaintiffs would be given only “store credit” towards a new machine. The plaintiffs retained the machine.”
The Blesofsky’s continued to try to get the faulty machine to work. According to the case, they ordered replacement valves as suggested by Apeks (who promised to refund them if the valves did not work. When the replacement valves did not work, the owners claimed Apeks refused to refund the cost of the valves. In June 2020, the Blesofsky’s said Apeks remotely installed software updates to the machine, which made it “even less functional.” They say they finally stopped using the machine in July 2020 and filed this lawsuit in March 2022.
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