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The Arizona Supreme Court has refused to review a ruling by the Court of Appeals pertaining to the decision to penalize Statecraft, a Phoenix law firm, for filing what was deemed a frivolous lawsuit against the Town for Snowflake and Copperstate Farms, a marijuana grow operation, by the lower court.
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The lawsuit was based on a 2016 decision by the town to issue a special use permit to Copperstate to grow marijuana in an existing greenhouse purchased by Copperstate from a company that previously had grown cucumbers and tomatoes.
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Statecraft, known for filing litigation in political lawsuits, had allegedly recruited Ken Kreiger, a former chiropractor who lives in Peoria, to file a claim that the town allowed for illegal contract zoning and that open meeting laws had been violated.
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In court documents, it was stated that Statecraft was representing the residents of Snowflake and alleged three defects in the special use permit process. The first was that the town council had given insufficient public notice before voting to approve Copperstate’s special use permit. The second, that the town’s planning and zoning commission had not properly appealed to the town council, and third that the agreement between the town and Copperstate constituted “illegal contract zoning.”
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The higher court found that Statecraft failed to obtain verification from any resident for the complaint. The court also stated that the litigation was part of a concerted effort by Statecraft “to impede Copperstate from its lawful business.”
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The case was originally heard in Navajo County Superior Court where the case was dismissed and the law firm was required to pay attorney’s fees. Statecraft appealed the decision but it was upheld in the Court of Appeals and now the Arizona Supreme Court, where it was ruled that Statecraft would have to pay the legal fees of both the town, in the amount of $39,515, and Copperstate, in the amount of $109,151. Copperstate employs over 200 people and is one of the largest marijuana grow operations in the country.
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