SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — California Forever’s lawsuit against Solano County farmers will continue in court, according to a judge’s ruling Friday which rejected a request to dismiss the case entirely.
The lawsuit, filed in May of 2023, alleges dozens of farmers, family trusts, ranchers and other individuals engaged in an "illegal price-fixing conspiracy regarding the sale of their properties."
Flannery Associates LLC, the company behind California Forever, quietly purchased tens of thousands of acres in Solano County from 2018 to 2023, resulting in over $800 million spent and becoming the county’s largest landowner. Their plan is to make a new “walkable community” within the county.
They're seeking $510 million in damages citing: overpayment of properties and lost profits from being unable to purchase properties, according to complaint Flannery Associates LLC v. Barnes Family Ranch Associates, LLC, et al.
Frank Gevurtz, a professor at the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, says while price fixing conspiracies typically target something a lot of people buy, it’s possible to happen in many other cases.
“If you got a big enough buyer and it makes sense to agree not to undercut each other in selling the land, it doesn't matter there's just one buyer,” he said.
U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley denied the motion to dismiss writing, in part, “statements do reveal there was some sort of agreement among Defendants to fix the price of land in Solano County.”
Those statements are emails and texts alleged between some of those listed in the lawsuit talking about how much to price land at to keep Flannery from “play(ing) owners against owners,” wrote one defendant in a text, according to court documents.
“(Flannery’s) hyper aggressive behavior seems to indicate that we are in a very good position and it is best not to engage with them at this point,” wrote one defendant in an email to others, according to court documents. “No one is suggesting that we don't sell, the question is when and at what price.”
Flannery’s lawsuit alleges they offered landowners up to 32,000% more than what they bought their land at and farmers countered the offer by “demanding even higher payments.”
Solano County landowners have told ABC10 in the past that they wished not to sell to preserve their family history, heritage and nearby communities made from the land.
ABC10 requested comment from California Forever, attorneys representing them and every lawyer representing the farmers in this case but did not hear back from anyone. Jan Sramek, Flannery Associates CEO, previously told ABC10 he cannot comment on pending litigation.
