SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — Flannery Associates, investors in the proposed city of California Forever in Solano County, have gathered nearly 60,000 acres of land in the area and have become the largest land owners in the county.
Some farmers are still holding out and say they refuse to sell their historical land. One of the biggest holdouts in Rio Vista is McCormack Sheep and Grain with 3,700 acres near Rio Vista. They’ve farmed the land since the 1880s.
Albert Medvitz and his wife Jeanne McCormack left their lives on the east coast to continue her family legacy.
“[We grow] the kinds of crops that when the Ukrainian War broke, people were concerned. Wheat, barley, they are fundamental crops around the world and what we grow goes into the world food system,” said Medvitz.
They turn over 1,500 tons of wheat or barley a year.
Around 4,000 sheep live on the property during peak lambing season and they’re a main meat supplier to Niman Ranch. In September, Niman recognized them for 30 years of partnership.
“Three of the farms around me under lawsuit, they are also suppliers to Niman and that’s causing major supply chain issues,” said Medvitz.
Medvitz says his neighbors are being sued for their land by Flannery Associates LLC., the money behind the proposed California Forever plan.
Their ranch is less than five miles from Flannery Road where Flannery Associates made its first purchase and decided its namesake. They're the land making the California Forever project disconnected along the Sacramento River.
Medvitz says he and his family are worried they'll be sued next.
“In one of the lawsuits we are described as having relation with those who are being sued in a federal lawsuit,” said Medvitz.
He’s referencing a suit filed in May by Flannery Associates LLC against multiple farmers, ranchers, family trusts and multiple individuals, accusing them of engaging in "illegal price-fixing conspiracy regarding the sale of their properties." View the entire lawsuit embedded below.
Albert Medvitz and Jeanna McCormack are referenced as “neighbors and friends of conspirators” in the lawsuit.
Flannery Associates first approached them in 2021 with a $20 million offer.
Medvitz says the meeting was cordial — they had a nice lunch with the real estate agent saying why they wouldn’t sell.
“It’s extremely important land for agriculture, especially with climate change because it doesn’t take as much water to farm out here and it has a deep heritage especially for my wife Jeanne,” said Medvitz.
Two months later, Flannery Associates increased the offer 50% to $30 million.
“Some people benefited. They were ready to sell, they got a windfall and that’s fine,” said Medvitz.
As for if there's any amount that would make them sell?
“It’s like asking the Pope if he would give up being a priest for $2 billion,” said Medvitz.
When ABC10 spoke to CEO and founder Jan Sramek at the end of September, he told us they were done buying farmland, but many deals had not closed. As far as the lawsuits are concerned, “we cannot comment on pending litigation,” said Sramek.
Selling wouldn’t just end the McCormack family legacy, but also another generational family they lease land to for a vineyard. Farming in the region is interconnected with sharing resources and equipment, so if his neighbors being sued don’t continue to exist, it will be harder for family farms to continue.