Abattis Obtains Emergency Temporary Restraining Order Against Defendants In King County, Washington State Court–Court Sets “SHOW Cause” Hearing Against Defendants For November …
Vancouver, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 11, 2014 / Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (the “Company” or “Abattis”) (ATTBF) (CSE:ATT), a specialty biotechnology company with capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiaries of cultivating, licensing and marketing proprietary ingredients, bio-similar compounds, patented equipment and consulting services to medicinal markets in North America, wishes to advise its shareholders that late Monday afternoon, the Company obtained a temporary restraining order from the Washington state court in King County against Herbal Analytics, LLC, James Baxter, Kaleb Lund, Lauren Hilty, and Erin Leary (the “HA Defendants”). The Company agreed with the court to defer any action against Affinor Growers, Affinor Growers, LLC and Nicholas Brusatore, personally, until after the conclusion of a “Show Cause” hearing on preliminary injunctive relief. The Show Cause hearing is scheduled for argument on November 24, 2014 at which time all of the defendants must prove why a temporary injunction should not be entered by the court.
As predicted by the federal court during its proceedings on November 7th, the Company immediately that afternoon sought emergency legal relief in Washington state court. “While we would have preferred to argue these issues in federal court,” said Mike Withrow, Company CEO, “a peculiar recent decision made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals relating to the federal Computer Fraud & Abuse law tied the judge’s hands on this matter. High technology companies are currently advocating for the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation to be overruled so that our local courts are able to obtain legal remedies consistent with the rest of the U.S. Abattis is interested in and willing to assist in these efforts to change how the law is interpreted in the Ninth Circuit as it places local companies at a competitive disadvantage as compared to the rest of the U.S.” Mr. Withrow further stated that “the federal court’s decision declining to exercise jurisdiction had absolutely nothing to do with the merits of the Company’s claims against the defendants. To the contrary, the court indicated that while it had to follow this peculiar interpretation of the law, it was unfortunate in the present circumstances given the defendants’ blatant and flagrant disregard for legal and ethical business norms. Similarly, the court’s decision was not predicated on the basis that Abattis and PhytaLab are participating in the Washington’s marijuana industry as none of the claims made against the defendants are grounded in the state’s marijuana laws. All of the claims are directed to the unlawful and fraudulent actions taken by the defendants. The fact that Abattis and PhytaLab are involved in the marijuana industry simply had no bearing on the federal court’s decision.”
While the federal court declined to hear the Company’s request on jurisdictional grounds, the King County state court is mandated to hear factual testimony and legal argument on issues relating to the defendants’ theft and misuse of the Company’s confidential and proprietary information. As yesterday’s order makes plain, Abattis’ request to restrain the HA Defendants from further unlawful acts and the imposition of on-going restrictions on their future behavior was deemed to be an appropriate and lawful request. Given the HA Defendants’ blatant and irrefutable scheme as well as their express acknowledgement that they had unlawfully obtained the Company’s intellectual property in contravention of their legal and fiduciary obligations, the court granted the Company’s request and issued an order directing all of the defendants to appear before the court on November 24th and show cause (e.g., provide evidence) why an early preliminary injunction should not be entered against them for the duration of the lawsuit.
The Company intends to vigorously defend its intellectual property, prosecute all state and federal civil remedies and, where appropriate, advocate for the imposition of criminal penalties. According to Mr. Withrow, “It is truly unfortunate that individuals we trusted and elevated to positions of leadership and fiduciary responsibility conspired against Abattis and PhytaLab in a coordinated effort to steal value from the Company’s shareholders for their own selfish gain. We will not tolerate such duplicity and will use every legal remedy available to us in order to regain shareholder value–including the imposition of monetary damages, permanent and ongoing injunctive relief, the return of shares in the Company which were given to the defendants in exchange for their loyalty, as well as criminal sanctions.” With regard to the Company’sshareholders, Mr. Withrow stated that “Throughout this process we intend to maintain the high level of transparency and value that we promised from the very beginning of Abattis and PhytaLab. While we welcome spirited competition, we will never allow the Company’s shareholders to be gamed by schemers and thieves for their own unlawful gain.”
Prior to the November 24th Show Cause hearing for the imposition of a lasting preliminary injunction, the Company will be serving subpoenas and seeking discovery on an expedited basis against all of the defendants as well as individuals and organization’s implicated in the defendants’ calculated scheme to defraud Company shareholders. The Company will ask the court to order, as a component of the preliminary injunction: (a) as to Dr. Lund and Ms. Hilty, ceases all future breaches of their fiduciary duties, cease unfairly competing against PhytaLab/Abattis, and specific performance of their still in force obligations under their consulting agreements with Abattis; and (b) as to all defendants: (i) stop tortiously interfering with PhytaLab’s ongoing and potential business relationships with its employees, customers and prospective customers; (ii) stop conspiring against PhytaLab/Abattis; (iii) stop their use of PhytaLab’s converted property; (iv) stop their misappropriation of PhytaLab’s trade secrets; (v) stop using information obtained from PhytaLab’s computers for the benefit of the defendants and to the detriment of PhytaLab/Abattis; (vi) preserve all evidence of their wrongful theft of PhytaLab’s confidential and proprietary information as well as their scheme to breach their fiduciary obligations to the detriment of their fellow shareholders; and (vii) hold all monies generated as a result of their wrongful acts as constructive trustees for the benefit of PhytaLab/Abattis with the eventual requirement to transfer the funds to PhytaLab/Abattis. As part of the outcome or settlement of the entirety of the lawsuit, the Company will be seeking the imposition of financial damages, significant financial penalties and fines for the defendants willful misconduct, and the return by all of the defendants the stock they fraudulently obtained from the Company. The Company’s shareholders should rest assured that any future unlawful, fraudulent, and criminal activities will not be tolerated and will be dealt with using all appropriate and necessary legal resources.
The Company will update its shareholders as further developments arise.
The Company also wishes to announce that Vice President of Finance Jason Anderson has left the Company; we wish him every success in his future endeavors.
About Abattis Bioceuticals Corp.
Abattis is a specialty biotechnology company with capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiaries of cultivating, licensing and marketing proprietary ingredients, bio-similar compounds, patented equipment and consulting services to medicinal markets in North America. The Company is positioned to capitalize on the fast growing trend toward marijuana legalization in the United States and for medicinal use in Canada and international jurisdictions, by supplying and partnering with companies to employ its mass cultivation systems, extraction equipment/technology, and strategic marketing support to licensed growers. The Company also has an extensive pipeline of high-quality products and intellectual property for the rapidly expanding botanical drug market. We follow strict standard operating protocols, and adhere to the applicable laws of Canada and foreign jurisdictions. For more information, visit the Company’s website at: www.abattis.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Mike Withrow”
Michael Withrow, President & CEO
For further information, contact the Company’s at (604) 336-0881 or at news@abattis.com.
NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY ORACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks various risk factors discussed in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time.
SOURCE: Abattis Bioceuticals Corp.
MAPH Enterprises, LLC | (305) 414-0128 | 1501 Venera Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33146 | new@marijuanastocks.com
