A Colorado hemp company has gone to court to try to collect $1.4 million from an Oregon farming operation in a cultivation seed deal that went sour.
MH Consulting LLC, Boulder, Colorado, which also does business as Trilogene Seeds, said Oregon-based Four Seasons LLC ordered a shipment of 19 million industrial hemp cultivation seeds valued at $1.68 million, but has paid only $276,460 through Salt Capital LLC, a California-based financial advisory that was party to the deal.
Trigolene sells seeds intended for the production of CBD and other cannabinoids, according to the company’s website.
According to the lawsuit, Salt Capital was to assist Four Seasons’ purchase of the hemp seeds, participated in price negotiations, and signed the July 2023 invoice as the “buyer.”
No money there
Donald Doungpanya, Salt Capital’s founder who is also individually named as a defendant in the suit, told Law360 that his firm acted only as a “financial handler” whose role in the deal was limited to paying bills from money earned by Four Seasons. He said because the farming company “failed,” there was no money to be distributed.
“Defendants were fully aware that MH Consulting’s deliveries of the hemp seeds were not made as gifts but were purchases for which MH Consulting expected payment,” according to the lawsuit.
Letters ignored
“If allowed to retain the hemp seeds without paying the amounts due to MH Consulting, [Four Seasons and Salt Capital] would retain a substantial benefit in the form of the hemp seeds which they could utilize for commercial farming and sale of the resulting crops,” the plaintiff contends.
MH Consulting said it sent several letters demanding payment to Four Seasons and Salt Capital late last year which went ignored. The seed supplier is seeking the past-due payment plus 2.5% interest for every week the payment is late.