Mass. Cannabis Labs Call Rival's Suit 'Publicity Stunt'
By Julie Manganis
Law360 (June 27, 2025, 1:58 PM EDT) -- Seven Massachusetts cannabis testing labs are asking a state court judge to toss a lawsuit brought by a competitor accusing them of manipulating test results, with three of the defendants calling the complaint a "publicity stunt" driven by the plaintiff's declining market share.
Plaintiff MCR Labs LLC, which filed suit in January against eight other testing labs alleging they were misrepresenting potency and contamination results to circumvent state regulations, disputed the claim in an opposition on Wednesday, doubling down on allegations that its competitors have "siphoned" away customers by guaranteeing their products will pass tests.
The defendants, in a series of motions to dismiss, said MCR's claims lack any evidentiary or legal support, urging Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Debra Squires-Lee to toss the claims, which include tortious interference, unjust enrichment, and violation of the state's law against unfair or deceptive business practices.
Judge Squires-Lee has scheduled arguments on the motions for Aug. 27. "The complaint appears to be a thinly veiled publicity stunt designed to extol the virtues of plaintiff's services while casting unsupported and unsupportable aspersions on the majority of its competitors," lawyers for three of the defendants — Analytics Labs LLC, Green Valley Analytics LLC, and Safe Tiva Labs LLC — said in a joint motion to dismiss.
The three labs argued MCR's complaint is being driven by "apparent resentment" over its lost business and that its claims are based on "speculation, unreasonable inferences and conclusory allegations" devoid of any specifics.
Similar arguments have been made on behalf of defendants Kaycha, Green Analytics, Assured Testing, and Massbiolytics in their motions to dismiss the complaint. An eighth defendant, CDX, which has closed, has not filed any motion.
MCR's complaint "lacks a single allegation that any defendant engaged in a specified intentional misrepresentation of test results for any specific customer," Massbiolytics said in its motion filed Wednesday.
The defendants said MCR is not entitled to pursue a claim of unfair or deceptive practices because there has been no commercial transaction between the plaintiff and any of the defendants.
MCR said in its response it believes it has adequately pled its claims at this stage of the proceedings, and that the defendants are making "a premature factual challenge that is inappropriate on a motion to dismiss."
MCR said the unfair or deceptive trade practices clause of the state's consumer protection law does not require it to have engaged directly in a transaction with a competitor to assert an unfair competition claim.
The plaintiffs also said the tortious interference claims are based on actual lost contracts, including one specifically identified in the complaint.
The defendants argued the complaint is improperly filed in Suffolk County, as neither the plaintiff nor any of the defendant labs are located there. MCR said in its response that it brought the case in Suffolk County Superior Court's Business Litigation Session because the specialized division has the resources and experience to handle the claims.
Messages seeking comment from the parties did not immediately receive responses on Friday.
MCR Labs LLC is represented by Patrick J. Sheehan of Whatley Kallas LLP, Edwin Kilpela and David Slade of Wade Kilpela Slade LLP, and Alex Barlo of Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP.
Green Analytics LLC is represented by Kevin Polansky of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.
Analytics Labs LLC, Green Valley Analytics LLC, and Safe Tiva Labs LLC are represented by Michael D. Roundy and Michael J. McAndrew of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas LLP.
Massbiolytics is represented by Roger A. Peace of the Peace Law Office.
Kaycha is represented by Joseph D. Lipchitz and Paige V. Schroeder of Saul Ewing LLP.
Assured Testing Laboratories LLC is represented by David B. Mack and Stephanie R. Parker of O'Connor Carnathan & Mack LLC.
The case is MCR Labs LLC v. Analytics Labs LLC et al., case number 2584CV00260, in the Suffolk County Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
--Editing by Philip Shea
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