The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals issued two rulings Friday in the lawsuits over business licenses for the state’s new medical marijuana industry.issued a news release saying that one of the decisions marked a breakthrough that would lead to the removal of some of the legal hurdles that are delaying the issuance of licenses and availability of products for patients.
The litigation involves the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which was created by the Legislature to oversee the new industry, and companies that applied for but were denied licenses by the AMCC.“The two decisions issued today by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals highlight the procedural complexities of the litigation against the Commission over the past year,” the AMCC said.
On Friday, the Court of Civil Appeals ruled that the AMCC’s appeal was moot because the original Alabama Always case, the master case, was barred by sovereign immunity because of a technical flaw, it did not name the individual commissioners as defendants, only the agency. The Court of Civil Appeals ordered the circuit court to dismiss the master case and said all orders that were issued as part of that case were void. All five judges concurred with the decision.
In Friday’s second ruling, the Court of Civil Appeals denied the AMCC’s request to order the dismissal of the new Alabama Always case.