A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against a Carpinteria-based cannabis grower, allowing local homeowners to proceed to trial.
The ruling, issued Wednesday, marks a significant shift in the legal grounds available for class-action lawsuits against cannabis growers and could have statewide implications.
"This ruling will send shockwaves throughout California's cannabis industry, particularly in Carpinteria," said Robert A. Curtis, lead trial attorney and partner at Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP. "For too long, cannabis growers have profited from marijuana cultivation while ignoring their obligation to control the foul odors their operations produce. This case is about holding them accountable and ensuring that impacted neighborhoods have a voice."
Lionel Neff, a board member of the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, compared the ruling to "a rainbow at the end of a storm" in a report by local investigative journalist Melinda Burns.
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