Riker Danzig Secures Significant Appellate Victory on Behalf of Bloom Medicinals of PA

Morristown, NJ (November 25, 2020) –  Morristown-based law firm Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP’s Cannabis Law Group secured a significant victory before the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey on behalf of Bloom Medicinals of PA, LLC (“Bloom”).

Bloom challenged the New Jersey Department of Health’s decision to issue six (6) licenses to operate Alternative Treatment Centers to grow, process and dispense marijuana as part of the State’s Medicinal Marijuana Program pursuant to its July 2018 Request for Applications and simultaneous denial of the applications filed by Bloom.  Bloom argued that the Department of Health’s evaluation was fundamentally flawed and resulted in inconsistent and arbitrary scoring results.

Several other applicants also appealed from the Department of Health’s decision.  Considering the common issues posed by the appeals, the Court heard the appeals together.  In an impressive coordinated effort, Riker Danzig argued the matter along with counsel for the other appellants.

In a thorough and well-reasoned 75-page-decision, the Appellate Division agreed with Bloom and the other appellants and found that the Department of Health’s review and scoring of the applications submitted in response to the Department’s 2018 Request was arbitrary and capricious.  The decision remands the matter to the Department of Health to address the issues raised by its scoring and evaluation process.  The Court noted that the Department of Health could issue additional licenses to the appellants, particularly considering the stated need for expanding access to medical marijuana and the recently approved legalization of recreational marijuana use.

“We are happy with the opinion and hopeful that the decision allows Bloom and the other appellants the forum to work with the Department of Health to find an efficient way to provide additional opportunities for patients to obtain medical cannabis,” said Riker Danzig partner Stuart M. Lederman.

Lederman led the representation of Bloom with counsel Diane N. Hickey.

About Riker Danzig

For over 135 years, Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP has focused on providing high-quality legal services to the business community.  Headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, the Firm has additional offices in Trenton, midtown Manhattan, White Plains and Stamford.  Riker Danzig has earned a national reputation for expertise in trial and appellate litigation, insurance, commercial law and bankruptcy and, in addition, has highly-respected practices in products liability, environmental law, governmental affairs, real estate, white collar criminal and investigations, employment law, corporate law and mergers & acquisitions, public utilities, intellectual property, tax and trusts and estates, school law, elder law and family practice.