Reedley Farmer's Nectarine Fight Goes to Fresno Jury as Public Rallies Behind Him

FRESNO, Calif. — A breach-of-contract lawsuit over a specialty white nectarine variety went before a Fresno County jury this week, pitting a Reedley farmer against the Los Angeles produce company that sued him — even as thousands of people showed up at his farm to take free fruit and donate to his legal defense.

Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co. sued grower Cesar Mora in 2023, alleging he violated a licensing agreement covering the Monalise white nectarine by selling his 2023 crop to a packer the company hadn't authorized, instead of delivering it to Giumarra as required under the deal. Court records show the agreements at issue required Mora to pay Giumarra a per-tree royalty plus a percentage-based production royalty and sales commission on the fruit, with Giumarra holding exclusive rights to select the packer and buyer. Mora has acknowledged making the sale but disputes Giumarra's underlying ownership claims over the variety and whether the contract is enforceable; he has countersued for fraud.

The pretrial rulings have largely gone against Mora. A judge rejected two of his key defenses in May and dismissed two of his counterclaims as untimely, and the court granted Giumarra's request for attorney's fees earlier this year. That fee award has since spiraled into a separate contempt dispute: Giumarra alleges Mora hasn't paid more than $12,600 owed, and a judge ordered Mora to appear and address the matter after Giumarra sought a contempt finding. Mora has proposed paying $500 a month instead.

Outside the courtroom, Mora has taken the fight public. After this year's Monalise harvest came in with no legal way for him to sell it, he began posting videos explaining the dispute and invited the public to take the fruit for free rather than let it rot. An estimated 6,000 people visited over one week and took home roughly 182,000 pounds of nectarines, and a GoFundMe campaign supporting his legal costs has raised more than $51,000, with its fundraising goal revised upward four times.

Mora told the Los Angeles Times he'd rather people enjoy fruit that would otherwise go to waste. Giumarra has not engaged with the online campaign, characterizing the dispute publicly as a straightforward matter of contract interpretation to be resolved through litigation.

The case is Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co. v. Cesar Mora, Fresno County Superior Court case number 23CECG03466. Case docket: https://trellis.law/case/23cecg03466/giumarra-brothers-fruit-co-vs-cesar-mora