A Canadian cannabis giant is taking one of its former investors to court, alleging a post-buyout eruption of threats, legal saber-rattling, and reputational attacks that could torch the company’s stability. In a Thursday complaint filed in Denver state court, Fire & Flower US Holdings Inc. demanded an injunction to muzzle an ex-shareholder who they say is waging a vendetta after selling most of his stake in the business.
The Toronto-based company claims Albert Sheeler, a onetime investor who signed a July 2024 share buyout agreement, has launched a rogue crusade to strong-arm counterparties into prematurely exercising a buyout option for his remaining shares — all while threatening RICO litigation and leveling accusations of mental health exploitation.
An Agreement Signed in Ink, Now Set Ablaze in Court
According to the suit, Sheeler agreed to sell 600,000 shares of Fire & Flower to the company and six additional parties and to grant them a buyout option on the rest. The agreement, which also included a sweeping release of past claims and a no-disparagement clause, was designed to close the book on all disputes between Sheeler and the company — or so they thought.
But barely weeks after the ink dried, Fire & Flower says Sheeler reignited tensions, circulating a draft lawsuit that accuses the buyout parties of contract breaches and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The would-be suit, never filed but allegedly brandished like a sword, demands a whopping $7 million for claims that purportedly pre-date the agreement — in direct violation of its terms.
