The Cannabis Place 420 Corp. Sues New Jersey Regulatory Bosses and UFCW Local 360 in Federal Court, Challenging Preempted Labor Mandates, Coercive Blacklisting, and Out-of-State Service Disabled Veteran Discrimination.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (October 6, 2026) — A federal lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Civil Action No. 26-cv-12967) taking aim at the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC), arguing that the state’s commercial licensing mandates are actively subverting the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Cannabis Place 420 Corp. (TCP)—a certified minority-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned business—alleges that New Jersey’s mandatory Labor Peace Agreement (LPA) requirements unlawfully empower a select group of “bona fide” unions to unilaterally dictate whether an independent business may exist. The suit claims these mandates strip employers of their federal rights, short-circuit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process, and force businesses to surrender economic weapons protected by Congress.
According to the Verified Complaint, TCP originally maintained an LPA with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 to comply with state licensing requirements. TCP terminated that agreement in June 2026 following ongoing disputes in which the union allegedly attempted to leverage interest arbitration through the LPA early in the bargaining process to force unfavorable provisions not practical or sustainable on TCP and later attempted to utilize the state’s regulatory authority to force those same favorable terms in private labor negotiations. When TCP subsequently sought a replacement LPA from other state-approved unions, it was met with coordinated refusals that TCP alleges were coordinated, creating an impossible regulatory Catch-22 driven by UFCW Local 360’s market influence. As a result, the NJCRC has threatened to issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) alongside the company’s upcoming license renewal.
“We fought for constitutional freedom abroad, only to return home and find New Jersey’s state government handing private union bosses absolute veto power over a Service Disabled Veteran’s right to earn a living,” said Osbert Orduna, CEO of TCP. “New Jersey’s mandate doesn’t protect workers; it creates a state-sponsored cartel that holds minority and veteran entrepreneurs hostage. We are taking this fight to federal court to dismantle this unconstitutional regime for every independent business owner in New Jersey.”
“State regulatory schemes cannot override federal labor law by empowering labor unions to hold commercial licenses hostage,” added lead legal counsel Keya C. Denner, Esq., partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP. “It is well-settled that the NLRA intentionally leaves certain aspects of private labor-management relations to be controlled by the free play of economic forces. And by conditioning a business’s legal right to operate on the continuous consent of a labor union, the State of New Jersey is regulating activity that is exclusively the jurisdiction of federal law.”
Testing the Bounds of Garmon and Machinists Preemption
The lawsuit leans heavily into established Supreme Court precedent, arguing that the NJCRC is willfully ignoring recent federal court rulings. In August 2026, the District of New Jersey found in Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. v. NJCRC that the state’s LPA mandates were likely preempted under both San Diego Bldg. & Trades Council v. Garmon and Lodge 76, Int’l Ass’n of Machinists v. WERC.
Despite this federal ruling and amid the State’s appeal to the Third Circuit, the NJCRC has continued to enforce the LPA requirement against TCP, functionally requiring the company to obtain the consent of a private third party to maintain a state-issued property right. TCP contends that if the NJCRC follows through on its stated promise to issue a formal NOV for the business’s failure to maintain an LPA, this could trigger immediate collateral consequences for TCP, including the likely filing of a “Marijuana Priority” Suspicious Activity Report by its financial institution, default on its commercial lease, and the termination of its wholesale supply contracts.
“This is no longer just about cannabis—it is about basic constitutional rights, free enterprise, and whether state regulatory bodies can be weaponized as enforcement arms for politically connected labor unions,” added legal counsel Dean Kpere-Daibo, Esq. of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP.
Commerce Clause Challenge: Economic Protectionism Against Veterans
In addition to the labor preemption claims, the lawsuit makes allegations challenging New Jersey’s overtly discriminatory Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (“DVOB”) certification practices as unconstitutional economic protectionism.
While New Jersey law mandates that 15% of cannabis licenses be awarded to certified women’s and disabled veterans’ businesses, the state strictly limits the definition of a “Disabled Veteran” to New Jersey residents. TCP’s CEO, Osbert Orduna, is an honorably discharged U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran who is certified as a Service Connected Disabled Veteran. In a Declaration filed in support of an application for an Order to Show Cause seeking a Temporary Restraining order, Mr. Orduna alleges, because he resides outside of New Jersey, denying him DVOB status amounts to unconstitutional economic protectionism. This is despite the company maintaining its principal workforce and commercial operations in Jersey City.
“We built this company to uplift our community and prove that social equity can work,” Orduna said. “Now, state regulators are trying to ruin our business because we refused to capitulate to coercive union tactics, while simultaneously denying us my earned Service Disabled Veteran owned business status simply because of where I sleep at night. This is administrative overreach of the highest order and we are asking the federal courts to intervene.”
“Veterans didn’t defend a state, they defended the nation. Holding Service Disabled Veteran owned businesses to a residency requirement tells them their service only counts in a zipcode. That’s wrong and the state should fix it!” said Leo Bridgewater the co-founder of the Service Disabled Veterans in Cannabis Association and a prominent New Jersey based cannabis activist who served three tours between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Federal Claims and Legal Action
The Verified Complaint has five major counts:
Declaratory Judgment (Count I): TCP seeks a legal declaration, consistent with Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., et al. v. New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, et al., that the LPA provisions of the CREAMM Act are preempted by NLRA..
Civil Rights Violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count II): State officials are unlawfully depriving TCP of protected property interests in its commercial licenses through arbitrary and unconstitutional administrative action..
Emergency Injunctive Relief (Count III): Seeking an immediate Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Preliminary Injunction to halt the NJCRC from issuing NOVs or taking adverse licensing actions.
Tortious Interference & Civil Conspiracy (Counts IV & V): Charging UFCW Local 360 with intentional tortious interference and civil conspiracy for blacklisting TCP across rival labor organizations to force the dispensary back into submission. The suit seeks immediate Injunctive Relief to halt the issuance of the NOV and further brings claims of Tortious Interference and Civil Conspiracy against UFCW Local 360 for intentionally disrupting TCP’s prospective economic advantage and ability to secure a replacement labor agreement.
The Verified Complaint and Mr. Orduna’s declaration also allege that New Jersey law unconstitutionally denies direct Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business (DVOB) status to non-resident combat veterans like Orduna, violating the Commerce Clause and Equal Protection principles
A National Beacon for Social Equity and Labor Innovation
Prior to this regulatory assault, TCP stood as a national model for equitable labor practices, developing and funding stipends for the first-in-the-nation, 80-hour “budtender” pre-apprenticeship program and creating opportunities for residents in economic Impact Zones.
Operating the largest free same-day cannabis delivery network in northern New Jersey across Hudson, Essex, Passaic, Union, and Bergen counties, TCP employs twenty local workers, with the majority residing in historically underrepresented Impact Zones.
TCP is petitioning the federal court for an immediate Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), a permanent declaration striking down the CREAMM Act’s LPA mandates as unconstitutional, and compensatory and punitive damages against UFCW Local 360.
About The Cannabis Place 420 Corp.
The Cannabis Place 420 Corp. is a premier adult-use recreational cannabis dispensary headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Majority-owned and operated by a Service-Disabled U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, TCP is certified by the State of New Jersey as a minority business enterprise and operates as an Impact Zone Business. TCP proudly operates New Jersey’s largest free same-day cannabis delivery service and remains dedicated to community reinvestment and workforce empowerment.
About Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP (“Constangy”) is a leading national labor and employment law firm representing employers nationwide in labor relations, regulatory compliance, and complex federal litigation. Attorneys from Constangy’s offices in Parsippany, New Jersey and St. Louis, Missouri are representing TCP.
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Legal Citation:
The Cannabis Place 420 Corp. v. New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission et al., Civil Action No. 26-cv-12967 (D.N.J. Oct. 2026)