Lawsuit alleges marijuana tech firm Tilt Holdings broke law with solicitations

(This story has been updated to include a response from Baker Technologies.)

Tilt Holdings, a Massachusetts-based company specializing in cannabis technology, faces a possible class action lawsuit over its marketing tactics.

Los Angeles residents Richard Komaiko and Marcie Cooperman filed suit against Tilt Holdings alleging the company violated federal law by spamming them and other customers with unsolicited text-message marketing.

Denver-based software firm Baker Technologies, a Tilt subsidiary that targets retail stores, also was named in the action.

On Monday, Baker Technologies wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily that it plans to “present a vigorous defense against this lawsuit.”

Baker Technologies’ products include online ordering, customer loyalty, messaging and analytics for more than 1,000 dispensaries in 24 states and Canada.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, alleges that Tilt – which also provides cultivation and support solutions – and Baker violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The 1991 law prohibits any company from making unsolicited calls or sending uninvited text messages to possible clients.

The complaint alleges that at least 108 telemarketing texts sent to Komaiko from San Francisco-based dispensary Purple Star MD between Nov. 2, 2017, and April 17, 2018, read: “DELIVERY SPECIAL!! From 11:30-4:30 ONLY – ALL DELIVERIES 15% OFF!! Order online or by Phone…”

Baker Technologies stressed in its email to MJBizDaily that messages “are sent only to customers who have signed up to receive them at dispensaries; those customers are also given the opportunity to opt out from future messages at any time.”

The company added that it believes it “adheres to all applicable federal guidelines and is compliant with all TCPA guidance.”

The complaint alleges several thousands of other potential plaintiffs could have received illegal and unsolicited texts.

San Francisco-based Eaze Solutions was slapped with a similar suit in May 2018.

Tilt, whose portfolio includes a licensed producer in British Columbia, trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange as TILT.

For a link to the lawsuit against Tilt, click here.

Bart Schaneman can be reached at barts@mjbizdaily.com