Landlord of Pot Tech Company Wins Settlement for Unpaid Rent

Even those in a cash-heavy industry can hit bottom, or nearly hit bottom. One of Denver’s pot pioneers in the tech sector, MassRoots, Inc., has gone through a rough patch to say the least over the last year. The company apparently got in arrears on its commercial rent space, underperformed sending its stock market share prices plummeting, and sacked its founder and CEO.

The Facts About the Struggling Cannabis Tech Company

Here are the latest facts about MassRoots’ struggle to remain a viable company in the grown cannabis industry, as reported by news agencies:

• MassRoots’ former landlord Market Center Investors LLC at its former location of 1624 Market Street filed a lawsuit against the pot tech company in Denver District Court over $145,000 in unpaid rent. MassRoots entered into a settlement agreement with Market Center Investors on Feb.2. As part of the agreement, MassRoots agrees to move out of its office space and has signed a one-month lease at the WeWork co-working office building at 2420 17th Street.¹
• MassRoots has seen a shakeup of its Board of Directors with a vote of no confidence in founder and CEO Isaac Dietrich. Dietrich was temporarily replaced by Vice President Kveton.² Dietrich, who holds a majority of shares in the cannabis company, was prepared to launch a proxy vote to oust the board.² Dietrich reached a deal with the three board members, who agreed to resign from the board without a proxy vote. Dietrich was then reinstated as MassRoots CEO.³
• MassRoots, Inc.’s share price recently dipped to .2889, which has it performing below the Ichimoku Cloud, a Japanese technical trend trading charting system. This signals MassRoots’ share price is poised for bearish activity and possible sign for trouble ahead or even a sell-off of equity.⁴

How to Evict a Non-Paying Commercial Tenant

As a commercial landlord, when you’ve exhausted all other reasonable means of collecting rent from a tenant, you have a tough business decision to make. Even in business, a company can hit hard times and run low on cash to cover rent payment for office space. Just like residential landlords, you can’t just threaten to kick occupants out and change the locks when they aren’t there. You must follow the law and proceed with a legal eviction process. Here are some of the considerations and processes for recouping losses for commercial landlords:

• What is the rental market like in your area? Does the company have a good chance of recovering and paying back rent? Is the company having financial, legal, or partnership problems?
• If you aren’t willing to wait to see if the company can recover and pay its back rent, you may need to retain a knowledgeable and successful Denver business dispute lawyer to file an eviction and lawsuit to win back rents owed.
• Other considerations include whether it’s a small business, partnership, corporation, or the leased was signed into one person name.
• Burden proof rests solely on the landlord to prove the tenant is in arears.

Contact a Denver Business Dispute Lawyer at Lohf Shaiman Jacob

Do you have a commercial tenant that is in arears on rent payment? If so, contact the Denver Business Dispute Lawyer at Lohf Shaiman Jacobs. If you feel your tenant is not going to catch up missed back rent payments, then it’s time to get a legal advocate involved that will fight for your rights and help you get compensated for financial losses.

To learn how we can best serve you, call us at (303) 974-4411 or send us an email using the contact form on this page.

___________________________________________________________

¹“Pot-Tech Company MassRoots Settles Unpaid-Rent Dispute, Finds New Office Space” published in Denver Business Journal, Feb. 2018.

²“MassRoots Board Removes CEO Isaac Dietrich” published in Forbes, Oct. 2018.

³“MassRoots, Inc. (MSRT) Price Moves Below Cloud” published in Danver Record, March 2018.

⁴“MassRoots Board Resigns; Dietrich Reinstated as CEO” published in Marijuana Business Daily, Dec. 2017.