A judge has ruled a medical marijuana dispensary cannot stay
open in Gilroy while the business is appealing a previous decision
that forced its closure for operating without a license.
A judge has ruled a medical marijuana dispensary cannot stay open in Gilroy while the business is appealing a previous decision that forced its closure for operating without a license.
Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, of the California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District, denied MediLeaf’s request Tuesday to allow it to remain open until the court issued its decision in MediLeaf’s appeal. The City of Gilroy filed a brief in opposition to MediLeaf’s request.
“My goal from day one was to not have them operate in our community,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said. “We need to put it to rest. I’m hoping the city prevails at every level.”
In a letter sent to the Gilroy City Council by Andy Faber of the firm Berliner Cohen, the attorney who is representing Gilroy in the MediLeaf suit, the order does not resolve the underlying appeal. Faber went on to say the court of appeal would proceed to decide the merits of the underlying appeal, which he says is now fully briefed. Faber is expecting the court to set oral arguments in the case within the next few months.
MediLeaf opened Nov. 9, 2009 without a business license at 1321 First St. It was forced to close Aug. 9, 2010 after Superior Court Judge Kevin McKenney issued an eight-page order on July 20 upholding the city’s claim that MediLeaf was operating illegally following a Gilroy lawsuit.
Attorneys for MediLeaf filed a notice to appeal the prohibitory injunction the day after McKenney’s Santa Clara County court decision and requested the dispensary be allowed to operate during the appeals process. McKenney denied MediLeaf’s request on Sept. 13, 2010.
The dispensary maintains it used a not-for-profit model and therefore did not require a business license.
On Dec. 9, 2010, dozens of undercover law enforcement officers from across Santa Clara County raided eight homes and MediLeaf offices in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Jose as part of an eight-month investigation of illegal sales of marijuana and money laundering into the medicinal pot club.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said in January that they are still reviewing the case and the potential for filing charges against those involved in the MediLeaf search and seizure Dec. 9.
A call Thursday to the Deputy District Attorney Emann Chan, who is in charge of the case, was not returned by press time.
The MediLeaf search warrant obtained by The Dispatch names the six people that law enforcement refused to release at the time of the warrant: founder Goyoko “Batzi” Kuburovich, 50, Patricia Kuburovich, 46, Kristel Kuburovich, 21, Neil Forrest, 58, Bruce Ziegelman, 53, and Kevin Keifer, 54.
Councilman Perry Woodward said Thursday the city had spent $201,000 in legal fees. Woodward said there was a chance the city could end up paying significantly more.
“I think it depends,” he said. Woodward, who’s been an attorney for 15 years and currently is a partner at Terra-Law, LLP in San Jose, said if all goes as hoped, it would still likely cost the city another $50,000 or $100,000 before the case is truly over.
Woodward called Tuesday’s ruling a “vulnerable win,” in that it is more likely to be overturned on appeal than most trial court rulings. Woodward said there was a “75 percent chance” that would not happen.
