\u201cI have no other option right now,\u201d he said. \u201cI hate to see good fruit go to waste so I want the community to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mora said he has asked other fruit companies to pack his fruit, but they have turned him down, in large part, because they don\u2019t want to get involved in the dispute with Giumarra, a major player in the produce industry.<\/p>\n
Headquartered in the Los Angeles area, Giumarra is one of the largest table grape growers in the U.S. The company also produces, tree fruit, avocados, citrus, vegetables, melons and berries.<\/p>\n
At issue, is a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the company against Mora, a third-generation farmer.<\/p>\n
The company alleges Mora broke their contract when he refused to send his fruit to them and instead sent it to another company. Mora signed the agreement in 2017 to grow a special, white-flesh nectarine called the Monalise.<\/p>\n
On Monday the company issued a statement: \u201cGiumarra Bros. Fruit Co. remains committed to serving our growers with integrity, honoring our contractual obligations, and safeguarding the proprietary programs that provide value to our grower partners. Litigation involving Mr. Mora remains ongoing and we will provide additional comment as appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mora said Monday he was \u201crecruited\u201d to take part in the special program that promised premium sales for growing an exclusive piece of fruit. As an incentive he alleges he was promised $1,000 an acre for agreeing to sign a contract.<\/p>\n
In exchange, Mora was required pay a royalty fee and other costs associated with being a Monalise grower.<\/p>\n
But he said the promise of producing premium sales was never fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Mora said he also discovered that his nectarines were being heavily culled at the packing house, resulting in less money in his pocket. He estimated about half of what he sent to the packing house was being culled.<\/p>\n
An average cull rate in the tree fruit industry is about 15%, said one of Mora\u2019s lawyers, Zena Sin-Zaragoza, of Chapman Zaragoza, LLP in Clovis.<\/p>\n
Mora has filed a cross-complaint against Giumarra alleging several charges including, unfair business practices, fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.<\/p>\n
In his complaint, Mora said he was shocked at how much of his fruit was being culled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than half of the fruit I sent them was being thrown out,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when I went to the packing house to go see what was going on, I saw someone collecting the coals and selling them out to somebody else. They were selling them out the back door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mora alleges in his complaint that he never received any money from those sales or a report telling him if the fruit was disposed of or sold.<\/p>\n
Mora is also alleging he was deceived by representatives of the company about the exclusivity of the fruit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I was led to believe is that this variety was a patented protected variety that someone owned. The contract I signed itself said that it is a proprietary variety that rights exist to it, and that Giumarra purchased the rights, and that I had to sign a contract to be able to plant the variety,\u201d Mora said.<\/p>\n
In his complaint, Mora also discovered that the nectarines are \u201cnot patented with any United States or European authority which has the power to legally patent, and therefore the nectarines are not exclusive to Giumarra.\u201d<\/p>\n
As his case heads to trial next month, Mora said he will continue to give away his nectarines until they are all gone.<\/p>\n
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