Tommy Chong and the comic's son were sued Monday by a licensing company that alleges the pair cut them out of the profits generated from a marketing plan the plaintiffs established to sell marijuana products and accessories.
Evergreen Licensing LLC and its founder, Brian Vecchio, name Tommy and Paris Chong as defendants in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, along with Jon-Paul Cowen, described in the complaint as a business associate of the Chongs.
Representatives for the defendants could not be immediately reached for comment on the suit.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages on allegations of breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment.
Chong was chosen to help market the Evergreen project because he is a "well-known and longtime proponent of the legalization and responsible use of cannibis," the suit states.
But after three years of development and spending $1 million on the project, Chong and Cowen conspired to "take it all away, even hacking into Evergreen's Gmail account in order to misappropriate social media sites that plaintiffs created for the project," according to the suit, which alleges that the defendants "cut plaintiffs entirely out of the picture, the project and the revenue and profits the project was going to generate and is generating."
Although Chong "cultivated the public image of a trustworthy, pot- smoking, laid back, good guy," the plaintiffs found out "to their chagrin and injury ... that he was anything but that type individual in his business dealings with them," the suit says.
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The 79-year-old Chong co-starred with Cheech Marin in the 1978 film "Up in Smoke," which is credited with establishing the stoner comedy genre.
