Antonie v. Wash. State Liquor & Cannabis Bd.

• Decision Date: 27 June 2022
• Docket Number: 82657-3-I
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals
• Parties: NICHOLAS ANTONIE, an individual; and LEGEND MAKERS LLC d/b/a HERBAN LEGENDS., a Washington corporation, Appellant, v. WASHINGTON STATE LIQUOR & CANNABIS BOARD, an agency of the State of Washington, Respondent.

NICHOLAS ANTONIE, an individual; and LEGEND MAKERS LLC d/b/a HERBAN LEGENDS., a Washington corporation, Appellant,
v.
WASHINGTON STATE LIQUOR & CANNABIS BOARD, an agency of the State of Washington, Respondent.

No. 82657-3-I

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1

June 27, 2022

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

MANN, J.

Nicholas Antonie and Legend Makers^[1] filed a complaint for damages, injunctive relief, and declaratory relief, in the King County Superior Court after the Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Board (the Board) revoked its license to sell cannabis. The trial court dismissed Legend Makers' complaint for failure to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), ch. 34.05 RCW. Legend Makers appeals. We affirm.

1

Legend Makers was a Washington limited liability company whose sole member was Antonie. Legend Makers held a cannabis retail license from April 19, 2016, until October 26, 2020.

On December 13, 2019, the Board issued an administrative violation notice citing Legend Makers with five violations of the laws regulating the retail sale of cannabis, including engaging in criminal conduct, consuming cannabis on the licensed premises, providing cannabis at or below its cost, failing to maintain the required security and surveillance systems, and failing to utilize and/or maintain cannabis traceability. The Board also issued an emergency order suspending Legend Makers' cannabis retail license for 180 days. Legend Makers requested a stay of the suspension and an administrative hearing to challenge the administrative violation notice. Before the hearing, the Board and Legend Makers reached a settlement approved by the Board on May 19, 2020.

On June 17, 2020, the Board notified Legend Makers that it was terminating the settlement and cancelling its retail license because Antonie had violated the terms of the settlement and was no longer qualified to hold a cannabis license due to a recent felony and gross misdemeanor conviction.

In August 2020, the Board issued two statements of intent to revoke Legend Makers' license. The first statement sought license revocation because Antonie was no longer qualified to hold a cannabis license due to the recent criminal convictions and failure to timely disclose those convictions. The second statement sought license revocation because of Legend Makers' violation of the settlement.

2

In September 2020, Legend Makers filed the complaint at issue in this case in King County Superior Court. The...