Litigation Support Desk
Your damages claim deserves a defensible foundation.
Anecdotal pricing and stale invoices don't survive cross-examination. Cannabis Benchmarks® and Hemp Benchmarks® — IOSCO-aligned, cited by the WSJ, listed on Nasdaq, built on the same methodology as S&P Global Platts — give your argument a foundation no opposing expert can dislodge.
The longitudinal depth courts require for credible damages modeling and "but-for" analysis. No competitor can backfill it.
The "Shadow Market" problem is costing your clients real money.
In cannabis and hemp disputes, opposing experts routinely introduce anecdotal quotes, news blogs, and non-standardized rate cards. Without an independent market anchor, your argument — however well-constructed — is exposed.
Invoices submitted in crop loss claims, royalty disputes, insurance negotiations, and insolvency proceedings routinely reflect prices from weeks or months prior. Cannabis wholesale prices shift materially week to week. A valuation anchored to a stale invoice isn't just imprecise — it's a liability waiting to be exposed on cross-examination.
A single undifferentiated price ignores spreads that are not marginal — they are material:
- Indoor vs. Outdoor: Indoor cannabis flower prices run 100%–250% above outdoor-grown flower
- Packaged vs. Bulk: Pre-packaged retail units carry a 115% premium over the same product sold in bulk
- Derivatives vs. Flower: Trim, Fresh Frozen, and Biomass price at 8%–25% of flower value
Every one of these spreads varies by state. An expert who testifies to a blended number isn't simplifying the market — they're misrepresenting it.
Daubert requires that expert methodology be testable, peer-reviewed, and generally accepted in the relevant field. Most cannabis pricing witnesses cannot satisfy a single prong. Cannabis Benchmarks® publishes a documented assessment process — outlier elimination, minimum transaction thresholds, IOSCO-aligned statistical framework — built on the same standards as S&P Global Platts, and operated by a team that originated there. Review the full methodology →
Without intervention, the court would have accepted a 'liquidation haircut,' potentially leaving the lender with pennies on the dollar based on an inaccurate fire-sale narrative.
— NLDS Secured Lender EngagementCannabis is a $64M litigation support market with no established independent benchmark provider — until now. The Litigation Support Desk fills the gap no commodity-pricing firm has addressed.
Four reasons this data survives the courtroom.
Built on the same methodological rigor as S&P Global Platts and Argus Media — adapted for the realities of state-by-state cannabis markets.
Unbiased Price Reporting
Status as a third-party Price Reporting Agency — neither buyer nor seller — insulates expert testimony from "self-serving data" challenges during cross-examination.
11 Years of Weekly Price History
Litigation frequently concerns events years prior. Weekly price history dating to April 2015 enables credible "but-for" analysis and trend normalization no competitor can match.
Product & Grow-Type Specific Pricing
Distinct volume-weighted assessments for indoor, greenhouse, and outdoor cultivation — plus Trim, Fresh Frozen, Biomass, and Distillate — eliminate the "blended price" vulnerability that undermines opposing experts.
Methodology Documentation Built for the Courtroom
IOSCO-aligned methodology narratives, peer recognition from Nasdaq, CME, and WSJ, and in-field price reporter validation produce the "replicability and peer recognition" courts require under Daubert. Every data export can be accompanied by a signed methodology declaration. The full assessment methodology is publicly documented and independently verifiable at cannabisbenchmarks.com/methodology.
Every stage of the case, covered.
From initial damages scoping through deposition and trial testimony — structured to match where you are in the litigation lifecycle.
Case Strategy Kit & Certified Historical Database
Two-stage entry point for pre-litigation support. The Case Strategy Kit delivers a spot price snapshot and historical summary to validate the damages opportunity before committing to full expert work. The Certified Historical Database provides the complete state-level, grow-type-specific price export — with a Certificate of Authenticity, methodology statement ready for opposing counsel disclosure, and a preliminary damages assessment situating the benchmark data within the context of the specific claim.
- Litigation ROI check — damages scoping snapshot
- State- and grow-type-specific price history export
- Spot, high, low, and shaded-range charts
- Certificate of Authenticity & methodology narrative
- Protective treatment protocols for proprietary data
Expert Report & Damages Analysis
Full written report with market-based damages calculation or rebuttal, signed opinion, and supporting appendices — drafted for legal scrutiny from day one.
- Affirmative or rebuttal expert report
- Canopy, yield, and THC/CBD value-add analysis
- Lost profits & lost business value modeling
- State-specific legal standards alignment
Opposing Expert Rebuttal
Systematic dismantling of plaintiff or defense pricing theories — identifying material flaws in damages models that survive general scrutiny but fail under expert review.
- Volume-weighting & source diversity analysis
- Royalty theory narrowing (crude oil vs. finished product)
- Hemp biomass value challenges
- Supplemental report if deposition reveals gaps
Expert Testimony
CFO- and GC-credentialed principals available for deposition prep, live deposition, arbitration, and trial testimony — backed by binders of verified, court-ready evidence.
- Deposition preparation & counsel calls
- Live or remote hearing testimony
- Cross-examination stress-testing
- Post-testimony supplemental opinions
Receivership Mark-to-Market Feed
Receivers and trustees owe a fiduciary duty that requires defensible asset valuation. Independent benchmark pricing provides the "Shield of Reasonableness" that protects against undervaluation claims from creditors — and prevents a low-value insider transfer.
- Weekly or monthly mark-to-market inventory valuation
- Court reporting support for asset sale justification
- Performance benchmarking vs. state market averages
- ABC & receivership state coverage (CA, MA, MI, WA, OR, IL and more)
- Affirmative expert report for court-approved distributions
Real engagements. Proven outcomes.
Six case types, both sides of the table, cannabis and hemp — plaintiff, defense, and creditor. The track record is the differentiator.
PG&E Fire Victim Trust — Cannabis Crop Damages
Counsel retained the Litigation Support Desk to license Cannabis Benchmarks price data, prepare market-based damages visuals, and support a claimant-side declaration and testimony through multiple appeal hearing stages.
Rebuttal to opposing pricing assumptions sustained through appeal. Revised expert opinion delivered post-hearing.
Cannabis Company — Royalty Damages Rebuttal
Defense counsel needed to narrow a claimant-side royalty theory from finished-product revenue to the value of extracted crude oil only. NLDS built the damages model, filed the rebuttal report, and supported deposition defense through 66+ confirmed billable hours.
Material flaws in plaintiff's damages analysis identified and documented. Supplemental report issued post-deposition.
Hemp Biomass Damages — Arbitration Rebuttal
In a compressed August 2024 drafting cycle, NLDS delivered a final rebuttal challenging the claimant's hemp-biomass damages theory, followed by live arbitration testimony in October 2024.
Unrealistic operational hypotheticals challenged on drying capacity and CBD compliance grounds during live testimony.
Missouri Cultivator — Lost Profits & Enterprise Value
Retained by counsel to quantify lost profits and lost business value for a cultivator whose Missouri license application was disrupted. Analysis included EBITDA modeling, terminal value, and Missouri-specific legal standards alignment.
Expert report delivered with full damages model, comparable-company benchmarks, and scenario refinement for settlement discussions.
500-Acre Hemp Eradication — Kern County
Retained to quantify damages from the alleged wrongful eradication of ~500 acres of hemp. Work spanned affirmative report, rebuttal, and deposition support — matching APN records, THC test results, and plant-destruction records to Hemp Benchmarks pricing.
Affirmative and rebuttal reports delivered. Deposition support and live testimony prep completed through March 2026.
MSO Insolvency — $12M Valuation Gap Closed
A secured lender faced an MSO entering ABC proceedings. Debtor pricing was based on stale, unverified, blended invoices. NLDS deployed proprietary Cannabis Benchmarks data and forensic yield analysis to establish defensible FMV — preventing a fire-sale outcome.
Court-approved valuation adjusted significantly upward. NLDS methodology recognized as industry standard during proceedings.
Transparent rates. Clear value.
Expert witnesses with CFO- and GC-level credentials command top-of-range rates — and should. Documented engagements average 141–289 billable hours. Against a seven-figure damages claim, a $15K–$40K full-service engagement isn't a cost — it's a force multiplier.
Applied to the final invoice. Engagements begin upon execution of the retainer and a signed engagement letter. Rush surcharges (50% premium) apply to 48–72 hour turnarounds.
What no other provider can replicate.
A new entrant cannot backfill eleven years of weekly transaction data from a confidential Price Contributor Network. These credentials took years to build — and they show in the courtroom.
Neither buyer nor seller. No position in the market. The only argument that survives a bias challenge.
Pre-dating every competitor. The longitudinal depth required for credible trend analysis and "but-for" modeling.
Listed on Nasdaq, referenced by CME, cited by WSJ — the "indicia of reliability" courts look for under Daubert.
CFO-level financial modeling plus GC-level methodology defensibility. Most providers offer one. This desk offers both.
Cannabis Benchmarks® and Hemp Benchmarks® are powered by the same Price Contributor Network of licensed market participants. One confidential contributor base. Two markets covered with equivalent rigor.
Jurisdiction-level granularity for multi-state operators, interstate disputes, and state-specific legal standards.
Decades-old commodity reporting standards applied to cannabis markets. Half the Cannabis Benchmarks team originated from S&P Global Platts. The methodology isn't modeled after theirs. It's built by the same people.
Formal protocols keep proprietary benchmark data out of the public domain — protecting your engagement and the data source simultaneously.
The right fit for four distinct situations.
Plaintiff, defense, insurance, or insolvency — the data works for all sides.
Plaintiff's Litigation Counsel
- Crop loss, fire damage, wrongful seizure
- Contract breach or royalty dispute
- Insurance dispute or M&A valuation disagreement
- Defensible market foundation for damages claims
- Data that survives Daubert by design
- Expert testimony — plaintiff side
Defense Counsel
- Responding to inflated crop loss claims
- Royalty dispute or insurance payout challenge
- Rebuttal report assignment
- Equally credible counter-source
- Market data tested in arbitration and state proceedings
- Cuts through inflated valuations
Insurance Carriers, Adjusters & Forensic Analysts
- Crop loss claim intake or business interruption dispute
- Fire, theft, or HVAC failure events
- Litigation co-engagement requiring damages modeling
- M&A due diligence or business valuation
- Independent benchmark for claims validation
- Kelley Blue Book equivalent for cannabis pricing
- Granular data for financial modeling and court-ready damages support
Receivers, Trustees & M&A Advisors
- Receivership appointment or ABC proceedings
- Bankruptcy-adjacent proceedings
- M&A deal requiring inventory or revenue validation
- Court-credible pricing reference
- Protects fiduciaries from undervaluation claims
- Defensible FMV — prevents fire-sale outcomes
Your next expert disclosure has a deadline.
The Litigation Support Desk operates on the timeline of litigation — not the timeline of a subscription service. Reach out before the disclosure window closes.