The cannabis industry is no stranger to controversy, but few cases have drawn as much attention as the recent multimillion-dollar verdict involving Bright Green. As debates continue about corporate governance, shareholder rights, and the future of cannabis production, the company finds itself at the center of a national conversation. Many industry observers say the legal battle could shape how similar disputes are handled in the future, especially as companies like Bright Green navigate bankruptcy, mergers, stock volatility, and large-scale cultivation ambitions.
Nov. 15 A Cibola County jury this month awarded a business consultant more than $104 million after it found that the New Mexico-based cannabis producer Bright Green Corp. wrongly deprived him of 5 million shares in the company.
The jury handed down its verdict on Nov. 4, finding that the company's CEO had tried to claw back the shares initially given to John Fikany, a Michigan business consultant, to secure a lease agreement with Acoma Pueblo and federal approvals for a massive medical cannabis growing operation near Grants. Fikany's attorney, Eric Sirotkin, called the $104.6 million jury award the largest employment-related verdict ever awarded in New Mexico.
Sirotkin also said that the value of the shares shot up after Bright Green withdrew Fikany's ownership of the stock, with the price ultimately peaking at $58 a share.
Fikany claimed that after he negotiated the lease agreement with Acoma Pueblo and secured approval with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the deal fell through "due to additional, unagreed-upon demands" made by the company's principals.
Representatives of Bright Green and their attorneys were not immediately available for comment.
In February, Bright Green filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Mexico. Fikany said in a written statement that he felt validated by the jury's verdict after a "disheartening" six-year legal battle.
"When I began working with Bright Green, I was excited for the opportunity to help people live longer and healthier lives," Fikany said. "I was also looking forward to partnering with the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico. I hope this outcome provides reassurance to employees in similar situations."
In 2018, then-CEO John Stockwell hired Fikany through an "oral agreement and handshake deal" to work for Bright Green as its incoming CEO, 13th Judicial District Judge George Eichwald wrote in a 2024 order.
Bright Green first applied for a New Mexico medical marijuana license in 2015 to grow "pharmaceutical-grade" cannabis, Eichwald wrote. But the company struggled to secure the required approvals with Acoma Pueblo and the federal government, he wrote. In the company's 2020 lawsuit, Bright Green alleged that Stockwell offered Fikany a $1 million bonus and 5 million shares in the company on condition that he secure the deal with Acoma Pueblo and the required federal approvals.
The judge found that Bright Green failed to prove that Fikany's ownership of the shares depended on him securing the deal.
"Fikany's ownership of five million shares is established through the unambiguous terms of the exchange agreement, the signed and registered stock certificates, his placement on the company's books and records as the owner of five million shares," Eichwald wrote.
"In the face of this undisputed evidence, neither Bright Green Corporation nor John and (current CEO) Lynn Stockwell can muster admissible and reasonable evidence disproving John Fikany's ownership of five million shares of stock in (Bright Green)," Eichwald wrote. A 13th Judicial District Court jury apparently agreed with Eichwald when it handed down the Nov. 4 verdict.
Fikany's attorney said his client first learned that Bright Green had withdrawn his ownership of the shares when the company filed a lawsuit in 2020.
"Bright Green brought the lawsuit first to declare that he didn't own the 5 million shares just before it went public," Sirotkin said Friday in a phone interview.
"Remarkably, that's how he learned his shares had been canceled," Sirotkin said. "It seemed pretty vindictive and unfortunate."
Rise and fall of share price
After the shares were cancelled, Bright Green began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2022, with its value eventually rising to $58 a share. In May 2023, Bright Green announced it had received approval from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to begin cannabis cultivation at its 100-acre campus near Grants.
Bright Green claimed to be the first publicly traded company to become federally authorized to grow cannabis. The approval allowed them to begin operations at a 22-acre greenhouse in Grants and to begin construction of two larger greenhouses, the company said.
Despite the promising start, Bright Green soon experienced setbacks. By September 2024, Nasdaq had suspended trading for the company. Before the suspension, the company's stock price had dropped to 15 cents a share.
According to Green Market Report, an outlet covering the cannabis industry, Bright Green's first quarter 2024 earnings showed no earned revenue and a deficit of $48 million.
Bright Green announced in September that it is merging with PharmAGRI Capital Partners, a U.S. pharmaceutical firm, with Lynn Stockwell serving as CEO. Stockwell said the company intends to complete an initial public offering by the end of the year.
