Three cannabis license applicants have sued the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), claiming they were wrongfully excluded from an upcoming licensing lottery.
Justice Grown, Emerald Coast LLC and ReNu LLC filed the complaint in federal court July 30, claiming that their applications should have received perfect scores, thus qualifying them for an Aug. 19 lottery to win a cannabis retail license, but they were wrongfully denied points due to regulators’ scoring errors, according to a Law360 report.
The businesses say IDFPR notified them on July 29 that the agency would not consider their requests to re-score their applications, Law360 reported. The lawsuit alleges that denying the companies the opportunity to challenge their scores violates their constitutional right to due process.
The applicants have requested a court order forcing the state to let them participate in the upcoming lottery, according to Law360.
IDFPR awarded 55 cannabis retail licenses to 53 firms on July 29 in the first of three licensing lotteries meant to improve social equity in the state’s adult-use market. Regulators plan to hold two more lotteries on Aug. 5 and Aug. 19 to award 130 additional licenses.
