Drug Testing
Supreme Court Hears Case of Truck Driver Fired for Failed Marijuana Test Who Seeks to Sue CBD Product Supplier. The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in the case of a truck driver who sued a marijuana company after he was fired in the wake of a failed drug test after using its product, which he claims was falsely sold as not containing any THC.
The high court heard an appeal from Medical Marijuana, Inc. of a district court's decision to allow trucker Douglas Horn to sue it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This 1970 federal law was designed to crack down on organized crime and its economic impact. RICO's civil provisions allow "any person injured in his business or property" to seek triple damages from the defendant.
In 2012, Horn purchased a CBD tincture called Dixie X that was advertised as containing no THC. After a random drug test by his employer detected THC, he was fired from his trucking job.
In oral arguments, some justices were skeptical of Horn's claim. Justice Brett Kavanaugh worried about making it too easy for plaintiffs to bring civil RICO suits by characterizing personal injuries as injuries to business or property.
"That would be a dramatic, really radical shift in how tort suits are brought throughout the United States," Kavanaugh said. "And we would expect a clearer indication from Congress," Kavanaugh added.
But other justices appeared more sympathetic.
"If you're harmed when you lose a job, then you've been injured in your business, haven't you?," asked Justice Elena Kagan. "I guess what I'm saying is the simplest, clearest reading of this statutory language is it doesn't distinguish by what causes the harm," Kagan added. "It just says, if you're harmed in a way that's in your business or property, which has been understood to include being harmed by the loss of a job, and that's by reason of a (racketeering activity), then you're entitled to threefold the damages you would otherwise be."
Horn brought the lawsuit in 2015, arguing that the company was engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity" that included violations of the Controlled Substances Act, mail fraud, and wire fraud by selling products that contained THC.
He lost at trial, but the 2nd US Court of Appeals revived his lawsuit, leading Medical Marijuana, Inc. to appeal to the Supreme Court. A decision is not expected for months.
Supreme Court Hears Case of Truck Driver Fired for Failed Marijuana Test Who Seeks to Sue CBD Product Supplier. The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in the case of a truck driver who sued a marijuana company after he was fired in the wake of a failed drug test after using its product, which he claims was falsely sold as not containing any THC.
The high court heard an appeal from Medical Marijuana, Inc. of a district court's decision to allow trucker Douglas Horn to sue it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This 1970 federal law was designed to crack down on organized crime and its economic impact. RICO's civil provisions allow "any person injured in his business or property" to seek triple damages from the defendant.
In 2012, Horn purchased a CBD tincture called Dixie X that was advertised as containing no THC. After a random drug test by his employer detected THC, he was fired from his trucking job.
In oral arguments, some justices were skeptical of Horn's claim. Justice Brett Kavanaugh worried about making it too easy for plaintiffs to bring civil RICO suits by characterizing personal injuries as injuries to business or property.
"That would be a dramatic, really radical shift in how tort suits are brought throughout the United States," Kavanaugh said. "And we would expect a clearer indication from Congress," Kavanaugh added.
But other justices appeared more sympathetic.
"If you're harmed when you lose a job, then you've been injured in your business, haven't you?," asked Justice Elena Kagan. "I guess what I'm saying is the simplest, clearest reading of this statutory language is it doesn't distinguish by what causes the harm," Kagan added. "It just says, if you're harmed in a way that's in your business or property, which has been understood to include being harmed by the loss of a job, and that's by reason of a (racketeering activity), then you're entitled to threefold the damages you would otherwise be."
Horn brought the lawsuit in 2015, arguing that the company was engaged in a "pattern of racketeering activity" that included violations of the Controlled Substances Act, mail fraud, and wire fraud by selling products that contained THC.
He lost at trial, but the 2nd US Court of Appeals revived his lawsuit, leading Medical Marijuana, Inc. to appeal to the Supreme Court. A decision is not expected for months.
