Curaleaf's location on Washington Street in HanoverGoogle Maps

Town Administrator Acknowledges Curaleaf Lawsuit at Meeting

Town Manager acknowledges Curaleaf litigation at Select Board meeting but details were slim.

Published on:

14 Jan 2025, 11:06 am

Hanover town officials briefly acknowledged last Monday that cannabis company Curaleaf has filed suit against the town, but provided few details about the case during the public Select Board meeting.

"So, Curealeaf has filed, I guess you would say, a suit against the town looking to potentially reclaim fees that were charged to them starting in 2017 with our community host agreement," Town Manager Joseph Colangelo told the Select Board. “I have no idea, obviously, how that’s going to cycle through the system.”

If the content does not load, please click here to view the file directly.

During the meeting, Colangelo did not address allegations contained in the lawsuit that the town failed to provide documentation of impact costs when requested by Curaleaf multiple times between 2020 and 2023.

The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts Superior Court on November 5, 2024, seeks the return of more than $630,000 in community impact fees paid between 2019 and 2023. Curaleaf claims the town collected these fees without properly documenting how the money was used or demonstrating actual costs caused by the business – a requirement under state law.

While declining to discuss specifics, Colangelo indicated the town had anticipated potential legal action. "We've kind of anticipated something like this would happen," he said, adding that the town’s attorney “has been in touch with their legal team for the last few months."

As previously reported by the South Shore Times, Curaleaf agreed to pay $125,000 annually after an initial $50,000 payment during its first year under the Host Community Agreement signed in 2019. The company alleges these payments were collected without proper justification and deposited into the town's general fund.

The lawsuit comes at a challenging time for Hanover, which faces a projected $4.2 million deficit in fiscal year 2025. Further discussion of the case will likely occur in executive session, with Colangelo noting, "When there's something to discuss potentially will be with the board in executive session… depending on what happens next."