Marijuana sellers butt heads in Pitkin County court
A Snowmass Village man has been cited twice for contempt of court since he ignored a civil court order to stop fraudulently billing customers for marijuana products that are distributed by another company. Now he can’t be found.
Attorney James Fosnaught, who represents The Laughing Dog Group in its lawsuit against Joshua Meacham and his assortment of companies, said Tuesday that attempts to serve Meacham with contempt-of-court papers have been fruitless because his whereabouts are unknown.
“Currently we’re not sure where he is,” said Fosnaught, who practices in Glenwood Springs. “We’ve tried to serve him with contempt, and we haven’t been able to.”
Meacham is due Feb. 26 in Pitkin County District Court, where he’s scheduled for a hearing on the contempt citations. Fosnaught said he doubts Meacham will appear. Meacham could not be reached for comment, and his attorney on the matter, Michael Edminister of Carbondale, also was unavailable.
The Laughing Dog Group sued Meacham in April 2017, alleging that his Wyoming company using the same name was intercepting their clients and their business. Before the matter went to court, the original Laughing Dog company and Meacham had worked together, but they severed their business ties in October 2016.
After that, Meacham allegedly billed the plaintiff’s business clients who sell the marijuana-infused products made by the original Laughing Dog, the suit alleges. Leading up to the lawsuit, Meacham attempted to bill $39,379 to the customers, all while not having a Colorado-issued marijuana license, the suit contends.
In the meantime, the court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Meacham from soliciting business from the Colorado Laughing Dog Group’s clients. The Laughing Dog has claimed in court papers that “some or all of the defendants have caused (Laughing Dog) harm by ignoring the stipulated temporary restraining order and harassing plaintiff’s customers to try to get payments.” The court has twice cited Meacham for contempt of court for violating the order.
“We believe that he was taking money from the Laughing Dog and posing as the Laughing Dog,” Fosnaught said.
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