Peter Schorsch
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
A former sales associate for VidaCann, one of the state’s approved medical marijuana providers, is suing the company, saying it dumped her and other workers as it readied to get bought out.
Lindsey Patton of Sarasota County filed suit in Leon County Circuit Civil court this week, alleging fraud and deceptive trade practices, among other things, and seeking compensation and punitive damages, her suit said.
Patton is no ordinary saleswoman: She’s the mom of a “special needs child” who suffered from severe seizures. Her daughter was on Charlotte’s Web, the first form of low-THC cannabis approved by Florida lawmakers and used to treat kids with chronic or terminal illnesses. The girl died in 2015.
Patton — who was a pharmaceutical sales rep — became a medical marijuana advocate, which caught the attention of VidaCann executives, the suit said.
She said she went to work for VidaCann for free even before it got its license in Florida, to help with “advocacy and sales.” Eventually, she agreed to get paid commissions based on sales, her suit said. Meantime, she turned down other job offers.
But, the suit added, the company’s bigwigs essentially lied to her, knowing they’d never be able to pay her what they promised because selling the company had always been their end game.
The company told her it no longer needed her services in March — the same month Cresco Labs announced plans to buy VidaCann for about $120 million in cash and stock.
Patton “believes her termination was simply a strategic business decision related to the acquisition — a way for VidaCann to ‘get lean’ before the deal closed,” the suit said. “What is without question is that VidaCann’s decision to terminate its agreement with Ms. Patton was without cause …”
A complaint in a lawsuit tells one side of a story. A request for comment from a VidaCann representative was pending as of Thursday afternoon.
Patton is represented by attorney Frank Malatesta of Venice. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey. A copy of the complaint is here.
Ed. Note — Sunburn, the must-read morning email newsletter of politics, policy and government in the Sunshine State, will not appear in inboxes Friday, but look for its return Monday to start the new week.
Evening Reads
“The Supreme Court blocks Census citizenship question for now. Here’s why that matters to Florida.” via Langston Taylor of the Tampa Bay Times
“Twitter adds labels for tweets that break its rules — a move with potentially stark implications for Donald Trump’s account” via Elizabeth Dwoskin of The Washington Post
“Supreme Court Bars Challenges to Partisan Gerrymandering” via Adam Liptak of The New York Times
“House Passes Florida Congresswoman’s Proposals to Fund NOAA’s Efforts Against Toxic Algae” via Kevin Derby of Florida Daily
“Ron DeSantis OKs legislative crackdown on human trafficking” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Questions swirl about detention center hurricane plan” via Ana Ceballos of News Service of Florida
“Lottery victims vs. school victims” via The St. Augustine Record
“Florida lawmakers condemn Bill de Blasio for use of Che Guevara quote at rally” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Did a truck without a driver just pass you on the road? Yes, and there are more coming” via Julia Ingram of the Miami Herald
“Amendment 10 impact triggers Volusia County election” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“A look back at Stu Sternberg’s 2005 promise when buying the Rays” via Noah Pransky for Florida Politics
“‘Major concerns’ about Clay Sheriff Darryl Daniels, but DeSantis won’t move” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics
“A Florida city was forced to use pen and paper and pay a $500,000 ransom after hackers took control of its computers” via Antonio Villas-Boas of Business Insider
Quote of the Day
The 2020 Census will be “the least accurate census in decades; even without the citizenship (question)” because “some folks fear repercussions. This will end up costing Floridians billions of dollars in federal resources.” — Al Cardenas, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, in a tweet.
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Breakthrough Insights
Wake Up Early?
The Florida Bar will continue its annual convention, with events including a general assembly that will feature swearing in Vero Beach attorney John M. Stewart as the Bar’s president and Miami attorney Dori Foster-Morales as president-elect. Events start at 8 a.m., with a general assembly at 9:30 a.m., Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 East Camino Real, Boca Raton.
State analysts will hold a workshop that is the first in a series of meetings to consider the financial impact of a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand Medicaid coverage. The proposal, which supporters hope to place on the November 2020 ballot, would expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults who currently are not eligible. Florida lawmakers have repeatedly rejected such an expansion, which is optional for states as part of the federal Affordable Care Act. The proposed constitutional amendment would expand eligibility to people whose incomes are up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, an amount that varies depending on the number of people in a family. Under state law, the Financial Impact Estimating Conference is required to analyze how such initiatives would affect revenues and costs for state and local governments. A newly passed state law (HB 5) also will require analysts to evaluate impacts to the economy and the state budget. That’s at 8:30 a.m., 117 Knott Building, the Capitol.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson is slated to speak to the Capital Tiger Bay Club. That’s at 11:30 a.m., Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, 505 West Pensacola St., Tallahassee.
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, a Republican, will speak to the Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida. That’s at noon, Camping World Stadium, Varsity Club, 1 Citrus Bowl Place, Orlando.
The state Revenue Estimating Conference will meet to take up what is known as post-Session “outlooks” and measures that affect state revenue at 1:30 p.m., 117 Knott Building.
