On Monday, Phylos Bioscience, Inc. filed an action against Silver Lion Farms, LLC in the District of Oregon. The complaint alleges a violation of the federal Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and breaches of state law arising out of a contract between the parties pursuant to which, Phylos avers, Silver Lion agreed to purchase hemp seeds from Phylos.
In its complaint, Phylos alleges that Silver Lion agreed to purchase $2,954,250 worth of hemp seeds of two varieties: AutoCBD and F1 hybrid seeds. According to Phylos, the contract provided for the purchase of 14,625,000 AutoCBD seeds for $1,462,600 and 8,775,000 F1 hybrid seeds for $1,491,750.
At the time of delivery, Phylos claims, Silver Lion’s co-founder and president Gian Khalsa falsely stated to the Phylos representative, Sage Haegen, that Silver Lion’s CEO had made an agreement with the Phylos CEO that Silver Lion need only accept “approximately” 4.3 million F1 hybrid seeds and no AutoCBD seeds. Phylos further avers that Haegen relied on the false statements and delivered only the 4.3 million or so F1 hybrid seeds.
Phylos alleges Haegen had no phone service at the place of delivery and accordingly could not confirm what Khalsa stated. After later communicating with Phylos, Phylos claims that Haegen returned to Silver Lion to collect the seeds back but that a security officer refused the request. Phylos alleges that Silver Lion “ has neither accepted delivery nor paid for the remaining seeds it is obligated to purchase…” and that Phylos has “never agreed to partial performance.”
The first two causes of action allege infringement of certificate under the PVPA, which, as described by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “… provides legal intellectual property rights protection to breeders of [certain] new varieties of plants…”. The website further notes that “The Plant Variety Protection Office administers the … PVPA … by issuing Certificates of Protection.”
The alleged infringement occurred “at least” because of the ”transferring of possession of … protected seeds, without authority, using a scheme of deceit and fraud…” and because Silver Lion “has expressed an intent to engage in propagation and production using seeds protected by the … certificate.” The second cause of action is for declaratory relief relating to the validity and scope of its certificate. The remaining causes of action are for breach of contract and related tortious conduct under state law.
The prayer for relief includes multiplied damages under the PVPA and punitive damages.
Plaintiff’s counsel is Klarquist Sparkman LLC .
