MENOMINEE, Mich. (WLUC) – Last month, TV6 told you Puff Cannabis had filed a lawsuit against the City of Menominee.

In it, the company claimed it had met all requirements as early as last year to open a location in the city, but that the City of Menominee had still not provided the certificate of occupancy.

The City says it’s because voters chose to cap the number of dispensaries in Menominee, but Puff calls it a breach of the legal process since it was approved before the November election.

Now, Puff Cannabis is raising concerns over who’s paying legal fees for the city in this case.

Puff Cannabis completed construction of its Menominee location in July of this year. But as it stands now, it will remain unopened unless the city provides it with the final certificate of occupancy.

Clark Hill Partner Attorney Jennifer Green, who is representing Puff Cannabis, says she’s now concerned the city is demonstrating bias toward competing dispensaries in the area.

“Even the legal fees would bankrupt the city and yet is entirely unclear whether those legal fees are being paid for by the cannabis companies,” Green said. “So, I think that that needs to be investigated by the mayor, and I think that the citizens have a right to know that their tax dollars could be used to fund that litigation.”

Menominee City Attorney Matthew Cross says several cannabis companies in Menominee do, in fact, share the responsibility of paying the legal fees for the city. He says it’s due to a 2023 settlement that requires some dispensaries involved in that case to pay legal costs.

However, he claims those dispensaries have not yet paid fees related to this specific case.

In a statement, Cross says in part, “the obligation to pay the city’s legal expenses—which is shared by Lume, Higher Love, Highwire Farms, Rocky North, and Nu Group—stems from the 2023 settlement agreement between the City of Menominee and those companies, who had previously sued the City of Menominee. Notably, those cases were all dismissed by the trial court and the settlement occurred as appeals were pending. That settlement agreement was discussed and approved in an open meeting by the City Council. Those parties have paid the city’s legal expenses associated with lawsuits filed by Rize and The Fire Station. Those claims remain pending on appeal.

“My understanding is that the city’s legal expenses associated with the recent case filed by Puff have been forwarded to those companies for payment, but I do not believe any payment has been made to date. If those companies are now refusing to live up to their agreement to pay for the city’s legal expenses, which I cannot confirm at this point, City Council will have to decide the next appropriate steps to address that issue. To be crystal clear, neither Lume nor any other cannabis company that is a party to that 2023 settlement agreement plays any role in my firm’s handling of the Puff lawsuit, or the City Council’s decision as to any proposed settlement agreement offered by Puff to resolve that case. They are paying the city’s legal bills, which the City Council consented to by approving the 2023 settlement agreement, nothing more.”

The Menominee City Council is scheduled to meet on Dec. 15. It is unclear whether the city will vote that day on the most recent settlement proposal from Puff Cannabis.The lawsuit against the city is scheduled to appear in court for the first time in early January.

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