SEATTLE – A superior court judge for the state of Washington dismissed all claims brought against the primary defendant in a lawsuit blaming CCELL vaporizers and related THC cartridges for the plaintiff’s vaping-related illness.
Charles Wilcoxen, a Puyallup Tribal Police officer, filed the suit in September 2019, charging Canna Brand Solutions, Conscious Cannabis, Rainbow’s Aloft, Leafwerx, MFused, and Jane’s Garden with contributing to the lipoid pneumonia for which he spent three days in the hospital. Wilcoxen used a vaporizer manufactured by CCELL and cartridges manufactured or sold by the respondents to alleviate pain and stress.
In his order, Judge Michael Schwartz dismissed “all claims asserted by Plaintiff against Canna Brand…without prejudice and without costs or fees to any of the parties to this litigation.”
“We stand by our high quality and customizable CCELL vaporization products,” said Canna Brand Solutions Founder and President Daniel Allen. “We feel vindicated in this case by the judge’s decision, which shows the claims against our company and products were completely unfounded from the beginning.”
Wilcoxen filed the lawsuit less than two weeks after falling ill, at the height of the “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury” (EVALI) epidemic. Wilcoxen v. Canna Brand Solutions LLC, et al., is thought to be the first EVALI-related suit in the United States.
