DENVER–The long saga of Fourth Corner Credit Union and its efforts to begin serving the marijuana industry in this state continues to get a bit longer.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has ruled that Fourth Corner Credit Union must reapply for share insurance coverage in order to serve the cannabis industry after it amended its business plan and field of membership.
The ruling came as part of a lawsuit Fourth Corner filed against NCUA after earlier being denied deposit insurance.
As CUToday.info reported here, earlier this year Fourth Corner Credit Union had asked a federal court to deliver a faster resolution in its case against NCUA over share insurance coverage after it received conditional approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to serve legal marijuana businesses in Colorado.
Moot Suit
The most recent court ruling found the amended business plan and FOM rendered Fourth Corner's suit against the NCUA as moot.
"[W]hile there may be a controversy over whether defendant can insure a credit union intending to serve marijuana-related businesses, plaintiff is not currently one of those credit unions, and thus, the controversy is not live," the court ruled.
Fourth Corner has been pursuing litigation against NCUA since 2015.
The changes to its business plan made by Fourth Corner included limiting service to individuals and companies that support the legalized marijuana industry, such as accountants, lawyers and landlords, but not state-licensed dispensaries directly. Fourth Corner has said as part of its amended plan that it would service marijuana-related businesses only if federal law permits it.