Heber Springs dispensary owners file suit over fraud, legal malpractice November 9, 2022 By Griffin Coop Two owners of a Heber Springs dispensary filed a lawsuit this week against Alex Gray and Nate Steel over allegations of fraud and legal malpractice. Marshall Wright, who served in the legislature alongside Steel, is a plaintiff in the suit along with Josh Landers of Benton. The pair are part-owners of Enlightened Cannabis for People of Heber Springs along with Regina Thurman and Sandra Garcia, according to records from the state Medical Marijuana Commission. Wright is listed as a partner with the defendants in the law firm of Steel, Wright, Gray PLLC, according to the firm’s website. Wright’s pages on LinkedIn and Ballotpedia list him as a partner at Sharpe, Beavers Cline and Wright of Forrest City. Defendants in the suit are Steel, Wright, Gray PLLC; Capitol Law Group LLC; Steel; and Gray, who is the chief strategy officer of Good Day Farm Arkansas. Here’s a link to the lawsuit The attorney for Wright and Landers, Scott Poynter, did not return an email seeking comment. Gray provided a comment via text. “We categorically deny any wrongdoing and are unclear as to what they allege we did wrong or what harm was caused,” Gray said via text. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Gray and Steel solicited them to serve as owners and members of certain business entities in order to apply for licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries. The suit says the plaintiffs agreed to have the defendants represent them but Gray and Steel “did not meet the professional standards and duty of loyalty they each owned [sic] to plaintiffs.” The suit says the defendants prepared dispensary license applications but did not “properly advise plaintiffs of the applications’ contents.” The suit says that, after receiving the license, the defendants did not properly advise the plaintiffs about their dispensary, operating agreements or management agreements. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants made false and misleading statements. The plaintiffs filed the suit in St. Francis County and have asked for a jury trial.
