Pleasantville marketing consultant Daniel Kashman has settled a dispute with a pet cannabis products company that he claimed stole his work.
Kashman petitioned Westchester Supreme Court on Nov. 18 to order Altmed Pets LLC to turn over documents and answer financial questions for use in an arbitration case against Altmed.
He needed pre-arbitration discovery, according to the petition, to identify who stole his intellectual property and by how much he was damaged. He also asked the court to appoint a neutral arbitrator because Altmed “has refused to participate in the arbitration selection process.”
But on Dec. 5, Kashman’s attorney, Michael R. Gordon, withdrew the petition, stating in a letter to Westchester Supreme Court Justice Gretchen Walsh that the parties have resolved the dispute.
He left open the possibility of reinstating the action, “in the unlikely event the terms of the settlement agreement are not satisfied.”
Altmed operates as Pet Releaf in Littleton, Colorado and promotes its products as “plant-powered pet health.” It sells hemp oils and other cannabis merchandise to treat pain, discomfort and anxiety in cats, dogs and horses.
Kashman struck a deal in May 2021 to provide Altmed with marketing services. They agreed to specific projects over the following 12 months, according to the petition, costing $385,000, plus other tasks to be paid at $150 to $250 per hour.
Kashman says he was also supposed to be appointed to Altmed’s board of advisors and to receive a 1% equity interest in the business.
Altmed “consistently praised” Kashman’s work, the petition states, and the company never complained or challenged any of his work.
But Kashman claimed that Altmed delayed payments for work and failed to transfer stock to Kashman.
He also claimed that someone at Altmed took digital files that were stored on a shared data drive and then blocked his access to the files.
Kashman had asked the court to order Altmed to produce documents, restrain the company from destroying financial information, and appoint Montauk attorney Joseph DiBenedetto to mediate the dispute.
The withdrawal letter does not describe the details of the settlement, but says implementing them will take a few months.
Altmed co-founders Steve and Alina Smith and Chelsea Gennings did not reply to an email asking for their side of the story.
