Valley judge rejects Wonderful Company’s attempt to stop rival’s expansion. Here’s why
A Tulare County judge has rejected an attempt by the Wonderful Company to stop rival Touchstone Pistachio Company from expanding its plant in Terra Bella.
The Wonderful Company, one of the giants in the nut industry, and its affiliate Wonderful Citrus, filed legal action against the county last July challenging the validity and issuance of building permits for the project at ARO Pistachios, a Touchstone company.
Touchstone is owned and operated by members of the Assemi family, who may be better known for their philanthropy and home building. It’s also not the first time the Assemis have tangled with Wonderful’s billionaire owner, Stewart Resnick.
The two farming heavyweights are currently in litigation over millions of dollars in pistachio profits. The Assemi family claims they were owed money before they had stopped supplying their nuts to Wonderful to create their own company: Touchstone.
A jury trial is tentatively set for Oct. 11, 2022.
Judge: Wonderful concerned about competition
Last year, Wonderful officials alleged Fresno County bypassed the state’s environmental review process and illegally issued construction permits for a massive pistachio processing plant being built by the Assemi family on the west side of Fresno County in Cantua Creek.
The county and the Assemi family agreed to a settlement over the issue.
In Tulare County, Wonderful was attempting to prove that its employees who work in nearby citrus groves and pistachios orchards would be harmed by Touchstone’s expansion plans.
Touchstone plans to add additional equipment and silos to help increase it’s production capacity.
Bu Superior Court Judge Bret D. Hillman ruled on Oct. 28 that Wonderful did not have legal standing to challenge the permits and denied the petition requesting the county take action.
Hillman wrote in his ruling that even Wonderful’s attorney admitted at the hearing that there was no evidence submitted of impacts to employees living or working nearby in the record.
“None of Wonderful’s alleged concerns relating to the health of its employees or its ‘property interests’ motivated them to timely object to the Special Use Permit at the time it was issued,” the judge wrote. “...it bears noting, when a robust array of options were available to them under the law (e.g. CEQA) to raise and litigate its purported public concerns — rather, only after Touchtone presented a commercial, competitive concern did Wonderful seize on the opportunity afforded by the issuance of the Building Permits to mount its challenge.”
Officials with the Wonderful Company said Wednesday: “We respectfully do not have any comments at this time.”
Rudy Placencia, Touchstone’s executive director of operations, welcomed the decision.
“We thank the court for its dedication and careful consideration of this case. We welcome the decision as an endorsement of fair and open competition to create increased opportunities for growers throughout the region,” said Placencia.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
