Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
Cunning Lawsuit
The Company is a party to a legal proceeding with a former employee alleging, among other things, wrongful termination, violation of whistleblower protections under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and retaliation under California law against the Company relating to certain actions and events that occurred with the Company's former management during the employee's employment term from March 2018 to July 2019. The case, entitled Wendy Cunning vs Skye Bioscience, Inc. , was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the "Cunning Lawsuit"). On January 18, 2023, a jury rendered a verdict in favor of Ms. Cunning and awarded her $512,500 in economic damages (e.g., lost earnings, future earnings and interest), $840,960 in non-economic damages (e.g., emotional distress) and $3,500,000 in punitive damages. The plaintiff's counsel has also filed a motion for attorney fees claiming fees of $1,351,850 and a multiplier of 1.5, for a total of $2,042,775. The Company strongly believes that this case was incorrectly decided as to liability, the amount of compensatory damages, and the appropriateness and amount of punitive damages. The Company intends to vigorously challenge the verdict in the trial court
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and appeal and pursue reimbursement under its existing insurance policies. However, the outcome of the litigation and the amount recoverable under its existing insurance policies, if any, is inherently uncertain. If we are unsuccessful in our defense of these claims or unable to settle the claims in a manner satisfactory to us, we may be faced with significant monetary damages that could exceed our resources and could have a material adverse effect on the Company and its financial position.
Proposed Class Action Lawsuit
In July 2020, Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, was added as a defendant in a proposed class action commenced against a large number of Canadian license holders including Aurora Cannabis Inc.; Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc.; AuroraCo.; Aleafiaco; Aleafia Health Inc.; Canopy Growth Corporation; Emblem Cannabis Corp.; Hexo Corp.; HexoCo; Cronos Group Inc.; Cronosco; Tilray Canada Ltd.; Organigram Holdings Inc.; OrganigramCo; MediPharm Labs Corp.; MediPharmCo; CanopyCo; Aphria Inc.; Broken Coast Cannabis Ltd.; AphriaCo; Emerald Cannabis Corporation; and EmeraldCo. The proposed class action was commenced in the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench sitting at Calgary. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants, including Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc., marketed and sold medicinal and recreational cannabis products with an advertised content of THC and CBD and that the amount of THC and/or CBD as contained on the label was wrong and outside the permissible variability limits. The claim alleges the following causes of action indiscriminately against all of the defendants: breach of contract and breach of consumer protection legislation, including the various Sale of Goods Acts and Consumer Protection Acts; common law and statutory misrepresentation; negligence in product labelling; breach of the duty to warn; unjust enrichment; waiver of tort. The claim seeks an aggregate of $505 million in damages as against all of the defendants) and $5,000,000 in punitive damages against each defendant plus an accounting of revenues from each defendant. The proceedings are still at an early stage. We are disputing the allegations and have been and will continue to vigorously defend against the claims.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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PART II