California Forever—Flannery Associates filed $510M lawsuit against farmers who refused to sell their land
In May 2023, Flannery Associates (California Forever's subsidiary) filed a $510 million lawsuit against dozens of farmers, family trusts, and ranchers accusing them of an 'illegal price-fixing conspiracy' for refusing to sell. The lawsuit named multi-generational farming families including McCormack Sheep and Grain, which has farmed 3,700 acres near Rio Vista since the 1880s. Farmers reported the legal fees were 'draining their savings and jeopardizing their farm's financial future.' Some described the lawsuits as an 'intimidation campaign.' The Solano Together Coalition (Greenbelt Alliance, Sierra Club) formed in opposition, and voters viewed Flannery Associates unfavorably by a 34-to-8% margin.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Governance | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.885 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
KQED and ABC10 documented Flannery Associates' $510M lawsuit against Solano County farmers
KQED reported that farmers who refused to sell described legal fees as 'draining their savings.' McCormack Sheep and Grain, farming since the 1880s, was named alongside dozens of other family trusts. The Solano Together Coalition formed in opposition.