Justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, including Justice Andrew Horton, left, stand after hearing oral arguments in December 2023. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ruled in favor of a Maine cannabis company, allowing it to continue its lawsuit against the town of Kittery over its licensing process for recreational marijuana stores.

High Maine LLC asked the state’s highest court in September to reconsider a superior court justice’s dismissal of the suit, which alleged the city’s lottery-style system of awarding these licenses was unfair. The court ruled on Thursday that the company’s appeal was sufficient and sent the case back to York County Superior Court to continue proceedings.

The lawsuit alleges that Kittery’s selection system unfairly allowed another company with a “defective application,” called GTF Kittery 8, to stay on the waitlist to apply for a license.

High Maine would have been higher on the list if the town had removed GTF, which the company said broke the town’s rules by filing two pre-applications for the same area and proposing a location that is within 1,000 feet of a school.

The York County Superior Court dismissed the complaint in January, saying that High Maine didn’t have standing to sue. But the supreme court said Kittery’s “alleged defects in the process” had “directly and negatively” affected the company.

The ruling states that if High Maine wins the case, its application could be brought to a “significantly better position” compared to the other applications on the waiting list.

While this isn’t the first time recreational cannabis companies have complained about Kittery’s controversial lottery process, it is the first complaint to reach the high court.

Sweet Dirt, an Eliot-based cannabis company, has questioned the legality of the process, saying in March 2022 that companies that can afford to buy multiple pre-applications get more spots on the waitlist, or more chances to win.

But the Office of the Maine Attorney General investigated Kittery’s method and, later that month, told the town’s attorney that it didn’t plan to pursue legal action.