Reedley, California farmer Cesar Mora has been giving away more than 100,000 pounds of white nectarines since Monday after a food marketer and distributor, Giumarra Brothers Fruit Co., sued him claiming exclusive rights to the variety known as Monalise. Thousands of people visited Mora’s orchard this week as family members and volunteers bagged fruit under “No Nectarines Wasted” shirts to prevent the harvest from rotting. Giumarra filed the lawsuit in 2023 and says in court filings that Star Fruits Diffusion owns all rights to Monalise and Giumarra holds sublicensing rights for testing, production and sale; a trial is scheduled for later this month. Mora has accused Giumarra of unfair and fraudulent business practices and said he chose giveaways so the fruit would not go to waste and so people could enjoy it. Giumarra told AP that the dispute is a disagreement over two written agreements that will be resolved in court on the facts. The case highlights tensions between individual growers and companies that secure exclusive rights to new plant varieties and will be decided at trial later this month.
