A California farmer who drew nationwide attention for giving away thousands of nectarines has lost a key court fight over who controlled the crop, after a Fresno County Superior Court jury ruled against him in his dispute with Giumarra Brothers Fruit Company.
Cesar Mora, a grower from Reedley, had already been ordered last week to remove and destroy his nectarine trees. On Thursday, his weeks-long trial against the Southern California-based fruit company came to a close.
Mora has argued that produce giant Giumarra prevented him from packing or selling the stone fruit during an ownership dispute, even though he says he personally cultivated the crop for roughly 10 years.
The legal battle has been moving through the court system since 2023.
“Giumarra claims ownership of the variety of fruit Cesar grows and has sued him for breach of contract,” a GoFundMe page created for Mora states. Mora has challenged both the company’s ownership claim and the legitimacy of the contract, while pursuing his own allegations against Giumarra for fraud and misrepresentation.
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After about three hours of deliberations, jurors returned a verdict rejecting Mora’s claim that Giumarra failed to honor promises allegedly made to him in exchange for growing the company’s white nectarines.
Giumarra, meanwhile, maintained that Mora broke their agreement by selling fruit to a different supplier.
In the end, the jury found that Mora had violated the contract, but it also concluded he should not be required to pay damages to Giumarra Brothers.
“I’m done. I mean, they came knocking on my door,” Mora told ABC30 Action News. “So, how can I have a company that’s going out and trying to find small growers to sign them up for programs like this where all they do is harm me? They didn’t do many any favors. They didn’t do me any good.”
Mora’s lawyers told the TV station they will appeal. Mora was given until the end of October to destroy his nectarine trees.
Mora’s giveaway drew massive crowds, leading to a temporary shutdown by the California Highway Patrol for safety concerns as lines of cars piled up trying to get to the farm, KMPH reported.
