By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Dismissal push: Vape hardware makers argue consumers lack standing and the complaint fails to plausibly allege a price-fixing conspiracy.
- Market distinction: Defendants say they sell empty hardware, not cannabis-filled products, placing consumers outside the market.
- Cannabis complication: Federal illegality could undermine revived claims under California’s Cartwright Act.
Several vape manufacturers and distributors are asking a federal judge in California to dismiss consolidated consumer antitrust claims, arguing that the plaintiffs lack standing and have not plausibly alleged a price-fixing conspiracy.
On Feb. 20, Shenzhen Smoore Technology Co. Ltd. and Smoore International Holdings Ltd., along with distributor defendants 3Win Corp., Jupiter Research LLC, Canna Brand Solutions LLC, and Greenlane Holdings Inc., filed motions in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to dismiss the latest amended complaint in In re: CCell Closed Cannabis Oil Vaporization Systems and Components Products Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 3161.
The multidistrict litigation consolidates several direct- and indirect-purchaser actions focused on closed cannabis oil vaporization systems and related components sold under the CCELL brand. Plaintiffs allege that the defendants agreed to impose minimum resale prices, restrict the sale of competing products, and share pricing and customer information, resulting in artificially inflated prices for retailers and consumers.
Defendants counter that they sell empty vaporizer hardware and components — not cannabis-filled products — which they describe as a distinct downstream market. Because consumers purchase cannabis oil cartridges rather than the hardware itself, defendants argue that the plaintiffs are too remote from the alleged hardware market to assert federal antitrust claims.
The motions also contend that the complaint fails to identify specific prices charged at various levels of distribution, quantify market shares, or plausibly allege that competition was foreclosed in a defined relevant market. Defendants further argue that revived claims under California’s Cartwright Act seek damages tied to cannabis products that remain illegal under federal law.
The MDL was established in late 2025 to coordinate multiple class actions involving CCELL vaporization systems and related components. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria has not yet ruled on the dismissal motions.
