A marijuana company is suing the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park, claiming its licensing process was "rigged" by elected officials and city administrators.

Despite new Hazel Park ordinances that meticulously outline the licensing requirements and selection process, MPM Companies claims Hazel Park didn't follow it's own rules, according to the civil lawsuit filed in Oakland County Circuit Court in late August by attorney Brian Etzel of the Williams, Williams, Rattner and Plunkett law firm.

Messages seeking comment were left with several city officials.

The lawsuit says Hazel Park operated under a "veil of secrecy" throughout the selection process. It posted a notice for a Saturday, June 16 work session to review the applicants the day prior, and City Council selected the winners in a series of unanimous votes during a special meeting held with short notice the following week.

While regular City Council meetings are usually recorded on audio and video, the lawsuit says neither recording method was used at either meeting, and based on exhibits submitted in the lawsuit, details entered into the minutes are scant.

The minutes don't name the businesses or representatives that were awarded licenses and only recorded their application numbers.

The ordinance allots for a total of 20 licenses, including four licenses each for five business types: a growing facility, processing facility, dispensary, testing and transportation.

A single business may hold licenses for multiple of the five operating categories.

If there are more applicants than licenses available, the ordinance says City Council should "rank the applicants in order," based on various factors, with preference given to plans including new construction.

While there were 62 applicants, according to the lawsuit, based on the minutes from the selection meeting, there was no discussion about rankings.

"That's what they did in their heads," the lawsuit claims former Hazel Park City Attorney Janet Drumm said when asked about the ranking list. "They did not write anything down. They were told to just do it in their heads."

The lawsuit says representatives from MPM Companies approached City Councilwoman Alissa Sullivan following the selection meeting and she indicated she was "uncomfortable" with the way licenses were awarded.

She also advised the representatives "'to not upset the city manager (Ed Klobucher),' warning that MPM Companies 'did not want to get on his bad side," the lawsuit claims.

Prior to the licensing meeting, City Council also voted to increase the number of licenses from four to six in the categories of growers and processors. Based on a review of minutes, the reason for the increase isn't clear.

The lawsuit says a representative from the city personally texted one of the license recipients on June 20 to notify him the license would be awarded at a special meeting the following day. The text was sent to the licensee before notice of the meeting was publicly posted, the lawsuit claims.

MLive has sought comment from the Hazel Park city manager, City Attorney Melissa Schwartz, Sullivan and the attorney representing MPM companies.

"I can't really comment on it to this point," Hazel Park Mayor Michael Webb told MLive. "We are doing our due diligence and working through the lawsuit."

The lawsuit is asking presiding Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl A. Matthews to issue and injunction stopping Hazel Park from issuing marijuana licenses and requiring the city to select licensees in accordance with the city ordinance.