Denver court case to decide if pot farm hurts neighbor's real estate values

A Denver court will decide if a next-door marijuana cultivation and processing facility injures real estate values. A suit was brought by ...
A Denver court will decide if a next-door marijuana cultivation and processing facility injures real estate values. A suit was brought by ranch owners near Pueblo, Colo., who argue that a facility, licensed by the state but in violation of federal law, has depressed the value of their ranch. File Photo by Iriana Shiyan/Shutterstock.

By Ed Adamczyk, UPI

A court case over whether a next-door marijuana farm devalues a neighbor's property begins on Monday in a Denver federal court.

An appeals court ruled in 2017 that a lawsuit by ranchers and landowners Hope and Michael Reilly can continue against Parker Weston, operator of a state-licensed marijuana grower near Pueblo, Colo.

Although recreational marijuana cultivation and use is legal in Colorado, it still violates federal law, and the lawsuit is based on the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The RICO Act, typically used to by federal prosecutors to bring mob bosses to justice, allows civil lawsuits against criminal enterprises for property damages.

The Reilly's suit says their property values have declined largely because of the aroma coming from their neighbor's business. It indicates that the marijuana industry could face the same issues the pork-producing industry has faced for years. More importantly, if the suit is successful it could serve as a template for dismantling Colorado's marijuana industry by singling out businesses for harming neighbor's property and then suing them.

The suit contends that the smell of marijuana processing, growing plants blocking mountain vistas and the connection to a federally illegal activity all reduce the value of the Reilly's ranch.

"If they [the Reillys] win a jury verdict and win a big judgment, that would be big news," said law professor and marijuana law expert Robert Mikos. "Then you have even more incentive to look out there for potential plaintiffs to sue these big companies."

A 2015 ruling in the suit by the 10th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the RICO claim to go forward while rejecting the argument that Colorado violated federal law in legalizing and regulating its marijuana business.

Matthew Buck, Walton's attorney countered that the smell involved in processing marijuana is not vented to the outdoors, so no odor can be detected. Buck added that the Reilly's home is not immediately adjacent to the processing facility, and that "Our contention is that marijuana is good for business. Everything says that the plaintiff's property value has gone up."

Mikos said that not every property owner can prove that a next-door marijuana facility is harmful to real estate values. The Circuit Court, in its ruling, noted that "We are not suggesting that every private citizen purportedly aggrieved by another person, a group, or an enterprise that is manufacturing, distributing, selling, or using marijuana may pursue a claim under RICO."

Still, the court case is being closely watched by the growing marijuana industry. RICO laws call for defendants who lose cases to pay for plaintiffs' legal costs, which, Buck said in regard to the Reilly's case, could be millions of dollars.

COMMENTS


A Part of dearJulius.com Inc.
Made with in NYC by Julius Choudhury
Name

Alabama,1,Apps,2,Arizona,1,Autos,731,Beauty and Style,88,Bollywood,29,Books,2,Business,796,California,8,Career,25,Celebrities,40,College Basketball,1,College Football,14,Colorado,1,Connecticut,1,Crime,554,Entertainment,1647,Facebook,3,Fashion,3,Fitness,4,Florida,3,Food and Drink,1,Food and Drinks,49,Football,1,Games,3,Google,16,Hawaii,8,Health,258,Health Care,2,Health News,251,Hollywood,1,Home and Garden,7,Horse Racing,4,Illinois,2,Instagram,1,Internet,1,Investing,36,Lifestyle,255,Markets,33,Massachusetts,6,Mental Health,1,Mississippi,1,MLB,22,Motorcycles,162,Movies,105,Music,121,NBA,21,New York,134,News,4065,NFL,185,NHL,8,Offbeat,987,Oregon,1,Personal Finance,18,Real Estate,20,Relationships,1,Samsung,16,Science,91,Security,2,Small Business,36,Smartphone,23,Soccer,7,Sports,266,Technology,163,Texas,1,Tips and Tricks,1,Travel,1397,TV,287,Twitter,1,US,2225,VR,1,Washington,7,Weather,12,
ltr
item
Daily News | local news, US news, world news and much more!: Denver court case to decide if pot farm hurts neighbor's real estate values
Denver court case to decide if pot farm hurts neighbor's real estate values
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVckILSYajJ09zPbbXfeNW3teCZcaghr3QmEozleb5vRos_XiPmHF_WPWKY1421pcSRQuFS2TxU4MwZ0LCxiQb1CpPeUKQWuG2k9OqNiiPD9wm01AXd6OAaj6GYP_ecaTw5d0tipadVQGo/s1600/6.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVckILSYajJ09zPbbXfeNW3teCZcaghr3QmEozleb5vRos_XiPmHF_WPWKY1421pcSRQuFS2TxU4MwZ0LCxiQb1CpPeUKQWuG2k9OqNiiPD9wm01AXd6OAaj6GYP_ecaTw5d0tipadVQGo/s72-c/6.jpg
Daily News | local news, US news, world news and much more!
https://www.dailynewsview.com/2018/10/denver-court-case-to-decide-if-pot-farm.html
https://www.dailynewsview.com/
https://www.dailynewsview.com/
https://www.dailynewsview.com/2018/10/denver-court-case-to-decide-if-pot-farm.html
true
7476738364740107800
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content