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MassRoots loses headquarters following eviction proceedings

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Published: Jan 15, 2018, 3:29 pm • Updated: Jan 15, 2018, 4:01 pm

By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff

Last week, in a nearly empty fourth floor courtroom of the Denver City and County building, a publicly traded cannabis technology company lost its headquarters office.

U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Torrington on Thursday ruled that possession of MassRoots Inc.’s 5,060-square-foot office at 1624 Market St. be returned to the landlord.

The uncontested court ruling — MassRoots representatives were not present for the hearing — came nearly a month after a notice was taped to MassRoots’ offices warning eviction if past rent due wasn’t paid.

MassRoots Inc. (OTC: MSRT, 63.97 cents) has not paid rent since October at the Lower Downtown Denver space, the attorney and property manager representing Market Center Investors LLC told Torrington on Thursday, Jan. 11.

During the court proceedings, Market Center officials declined to disclose the amount owed. The “demand for compliance” notice posted Dec. 18 at MassRoots’ office indicated the firm owed $39,742 for rent due from Sept. 1 to Dec. 18, 2017.

In addition to regaining control of the office space, the landlord plans to pursue monetary damages against MassRoots and founder Isaac Dietrich. However, officials have not been successful at tracking down Dietrich’s location, attorney David P. Hutchinson told the judge.

The eviction proceedings come amid a volatile string of months for MassRoots, which developed a marijuana-centric social media site. The company expanded its reach into point-of-sale software and, most recently, dipped its toes into blockchain.

In mid-October, Dietrich was ousted by MassRoots’ board of directors — only to return in December.

During that time, MassRoots released third-quarter results showing a $7.5 million net loss and revenue of $11,500. The company and Dietrich traded shots: MassRoots sued Dietrich, who in turn laid tracks for a potential proxy battle.

The lawsuit was dismissed after Dietrich returned to the helm of MassRoots.

When reached Dec. 20 and asked about the potential eviction, Dietrich put the blame on the new leadership and the transition of leadership.

He added that MassRoots had the funds to pay the rent due, but noted that the company also could make a “strategic business decision” to not continue leasing the office space.

Dietrich could not be reached for comment late last week or on Monday. MassRoots’ main phone number, when called, had an automatic message stating it was “temporarily unavailable.”

Catch up on the entire MassRoots story

Topics: Colorado, Isaac Dietrich, massroots, real estate, tech Alicia Wallace

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Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. In her 14 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned topics such as the economy, natural foods, airlines, biotech, retail,…

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