$38 million verdict leaves 2 farming giants pleased in Fresno County breach of contract trial
A Fresno County jury has awarded $26 million to the Assemi Brothers farming company and nearly $12 million to its rival, Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds, in a protracted breach of contract lawsuit.
The Assemi Brothers sued Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds in 2019 alleging Wonderful retaliated against the Fresno company after it announced plans to build its own pistachio processing plant and leave Wonderful’s cooperative.
The Assemi Brothers company, owned by Farid, Farshid and Darius of Fresno, were among more than 900 growers who supplied Wonderful with their pistachios.
Founded by billionaire businessman Stewart Resnick, Wonderful is the world’s largest grower of tree nuts.
During the trial, witnesses described how the once-friendly relationship between Resnick and Farid Assemi began to fall apart in 2018 over plans to break away from Wonderful.
Resnick’s lawyers, however, alleged the Assemi Brothers didn’t end the business relationship cleanly, still owing Wonderful pistachios. The jury agreed.
“We are pleased the jury recognized that the Assemis breached their grower contracts with Wonderful and by the jury’s decision to award Wonderful nearly $12 million in damages,” said Seth Oster, a Wonderful company spokesman.
Wonderful/Assemi verdict in less than a day
Although the trial involved 24 days of testimony and hundreds of exhibits, it took the jury less than a day to reach a decision on Wednesday.
Attorney James Bennett, who led the Assemi Brothers legal team from the Norton Law Firm in Oakland, was pleased with the outcome of this trial.
“We are gratified and thankful for the jury and their service,” Bennett said. “We think the jury was correct, at least to the extent of the award to us.”
Oster said Wonderful’s lawyers with Greenberg Traurig of Los Angeles plan to appeal.
“We believe the decisions they reached on three other co-op claims, however, are flawed and not supported by the evidence presented,” he said in a statement.
Unfair competition trial
The legal battle between the two farming companies is not over yet. A second trial, this one to be decided by Judge Jeff Hamilton, will decide the allegation of unfair competition.
Ladan Assemi, a member of the family who attended the trial, thanked the Norton Law firm and the jury.
“We as a family are pleased the truth came out,” she said.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 5:36 PM.
