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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017 Judge declines to move pot State Legislature approved explosion civil trial to Astoria new public records laws Building owner wanted lawsuit heard locally Brown praises reform plans Associated Press By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian A Multnomah County Cir- cuit Court judge has denied a motion by local property owner Richard Delphia to relocate a civil trial over an explosion at a marijuana pro- cessor in one of his buildings from Portland to Astoria. Delphia owns a building at the corner of Portway and Industry streets, where he leased space in the basement to Higher Level Concentrates. The marijuana processor was gutted by an explosion and subsequent fire in October. Jacob Magley, a contrac- tor working for Higher Level who was burned in the fire, sued the company and its owners Jason Oei and Wil- liam “Chris” West in Mult- nomah County Circuit Court in January. He claimed the two were making and con- suming butane hash oil when the explosion occurred. Oei and West have been indicted by Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Mar- quis on charges of felony assault and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. Civil liability Delphia and five of his companies were sued for premises liability and vio- lations of employment law. Two of his companies have since been dismissed from the lawsuit. Delphia’s attorney filed a motion in April to move the case to Clatsop County, where he argued that all the actions giving rise to the law- Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Multiple agencies responded to an explosion and fire in October at Higher Level Concentrates in Uniontown. suit occurred. Magley’s attor- ney argued the venue in Mult- nomah County was correct because that is where West and Oei’s companies each have agents that receive court processes. Delphia, 87, argued that it would be difficult for he and his partner, Carol Gearin, to travel to Portland for a trial. Magley’s lawyer contested Delphia’s claim, using as evi- dence articles showing Del- phia and Gearin traveling to Hawaii and the couple’s involvement with animal shelters. Circuit Court Judge Kath- leen Dailey met with the par- ties in the lawsuit, heard argu- ments and read pleadings before denying Delphia’s motion to change the venue. Co-defendants Magley’s lawsuit included a wide swath of individu- als and companies associated with Oei and West’s opera- tion, including Delphia as the landlord. Three of Oei and West’s companies were named in the lawsuit. Local marijuana W A NTED store Sweet Relief Natural Medicine, which leases space in Delphia’s building, was sued along with parent com- pany G.O. Enterprises for premises liability. Butane supplier Under the Bridge Cigarettes and related company UTB Invest- ments, which helped finance the build-out of Higher Level and provided butane gas, were sued for violations of employer liability law, prod- ucts liability and general neg- ligence. Owner John Harp- er’s lawyer has filed a motion arguing that any defects with the butane sold to Higher Level rest with the distrib- utor or manufacturer of the product. Clatsop Post 12 NO FRIDAY DINNER Due to Kitchen and Cook Maintenance ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 STARTS THURSDAY, JULY 13! CLOSING! A Tribute to J ULIE L EONHARDT beginning Friday, July 14th 4867 Birch Street Astoria nce a t s i s s n i A Jo mal th i n A p o Clats ly 15 u J , y a at Saturd s y a D r e for Hamst ia! 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