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Planet K's owner has filed a federal lawsuit over its store in the Austin suburb of Cedar Park.
In the suit, Planet K owner Michael Kleinman accuses the city of trying to force the closure of his Cedar Park store by cutting off its water service and hounding it with complaints. He argues that smoking accessories sold by the shop are permissible because hemp consumption is now legal.
Since the store opened in November, Cedar Park has repeatedly hit it with complaints, according to a copy of the petition posted by news site MJBizDaily. Kleinman argues the citations amount to "intentional acts of harassment" to "force Plaintiffs to shut down Planet K Cedar Park because the city simply does not want a Planet K Gifts store in its town ..."
This isn't the first legal throwdown for Kleinman, who turned a late-2000s pissing match with the city of San Marcos over his right to display a junked vehicle turned into a cactus planter into lengthy court battle. It only ended when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case on appeal.
Kleinman also tangled with San Antonio in 2020 over the city's pandemic stay-at-home order, arguing his outlets should be classified as "convenience stores" since they sold items such as food and toilet paper.
Planet K operates more than 20 locations, including six in San Antonio, according to its website.
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