On May 3, 2020, Hemp Inc. has announced their intention of filing a lawsuit against AHSG (American Hemp Seed Genetics), in the North Carolina Court of Appeals. AHSG is an organization that is based in Salem, Oregon. And this Jerry Norton hemp seed company is said to have engaged in a legal agreement with Hemp Inc. on April 26, 2018, of which the contract was breached due to fraud, intentional misinterpretation, deceptive trade practice, negligent misinterpretation, deceptive trade practices, and many more.
Background Of The Lawsuit
According to the Hemp Inc. executives, Jerry Norton convinced the executives of Industrial Hemp Manufacturing (IHM) that the seeds from AHSG had exceptional genetic makeup and were suitable for the soil and climate of North Carolina. So they purchased these seeds so the company can plant it on 1000 acres for biomass. Mr. Norton allegedly guaranteed that if 1 pound of hemp seeds will be planted to every 10 acres of land, it will yield 100% germination.
The manager of AHSG also added that his hemp seeds have a germination rate of 97% and that he will make up for the remaining 3% failure rate with 103 pounds of seeds.
The hemp seeds were sent to IHM as stated in the contract. IHM immediately tested the quality of the seeds and found out that the germination rate is lower than 97% as promised. The discouraging results were corroborated further when IHM sent a sample of the seeds to a third-party company for professional germination testing.
Mr. Norton was notified of the results, and at the same time IHM demanded to take back the $70,000 that they paid while returning the seeds to the Jerry Norton hemp seeds company. Mr. Norton refused to give back the payment and requested to discuss the matter further.
Recent Developments
The initial case filing against AHSG was done on October 12, 2018, which was then countered by Mr. Norton by filing a motion to dismiss on December 31, 2018. The motion filed by Mr. Norton was denied 2 months later on February 25, 2019, which was followed by an appeal to reconsider the denial of the motion on March 18, 2019 that delayed the case for 1 year.
On March 3, 2020, the appeal of Mr. Norton was again denied, which allowed IHM to proceed with the case against AHSG.
About Hemp Inc.
Hemp Inc. is a global organization that produces industrial hemp. They have the largest processing facility for hemp in the entire Western Hemisphere and they seek to provide business constituency for small farmers, veterans, and other social groups that have an increasing disparity between small income and soaring expenditures.
As one of the top companies in the industry, Hemp Inc. believes that tangible benefits can be gained from observing a solid corporate social responsibility program.
Final Thoughts
Despite the delay, the Jerry Norton hemp seeds company could be looking at $10 million (or more) in consequential and incidental damages if Mr. Norton is proven guilty. And while the case will take another period of time before reaching the final verdict, the CEO of Hemp Inc. (Bruce Perlowin) remains optimistic that the whole matter will be settled legally in their favor.
To find out more about the Jerry Norton hemp seeds scam, you can click on this link to see all the lawsuits filed against him.