HOLYOKE — A cannabis business which runs the dispensary Holyoke Cannabis at 380 Dwight St. is suing its landlord in a dispute over how deliveries are made to the building.

In the lawsuit, Holyoke 420 LLC has alleges that Holyoke-based AACO Realty Corp. misrepresented which parts of the building it controlled, saying that Holyoke 420 would have access to a sally port where deliveries could be made. But then another company, Marjos LLC, sued Holyoke 420, providing “sufficient proof” that it owned the sally port instead of AACO, leaving the cannabis business without a secure location for deliveries, the lawsuit states.

The marijuana business has said the only other possible method to accept deliveries of marijuana that the Holyoke Police Department would approve requires police or private security to be present when those deliveries are made.The company said that in 2021 it paid $24,954 to the city’s police and private security to satisfy that requirement. the company alleges AACO has refused to reimburse Holyoke 420 for those fees.

“Since AACO received notice of Holyoke Cannabis’ demand for reimbursement, they have taken steps to deprive Holyoke Cannabis of the benefits of the lease, including disconnecting the exterior building lights,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also alleges that AACO “threatened” that it will prevent the company from using the building’s foyer — an area Holyoke 420 says is included in the lease and is required to comply with state and local laws.

“AACO has also threatened to restrict Holyoke Cannabis’s use of the bathrooms at the Premises,” the lawsuit states, adding that AACO has allegedly failed to provide Holyoke 420 with eight parking spaces that it agreed to provide in the lease.

Lawyers representing both AACO Realty Corp. and Holyoke 420 did not respond to messages left Monday. Efforts to reach the owners of the businesses also were unsuccessful.

Holyoke 420 is owned by James Jaron and Blake Mensing, according to corporate filings. Mensing is also an owner of H&H Holdings Inc., which has sought to open a cultivation and product manufacturing business in Holyoke. AACO is run by Mark Jarvis, Terrence Bernard and David Scher, according to state filings.

In the lawsuit, Holyoke 420 requests that the court order AACO to comply with the lease, including an injunction to bar AACO from restricting the company’s use the building’s foyer. The suit also seeks monetary damages, including reimbursement for the costs of not having a sally port to use for deliveries.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.]]>