California Landowners Accused of Price-Fixing in Lawsuit

A lawsuit accusing a group of California landowners of conspiring to inflate the price by hundreds of millions of dollars has defense lawyers scrambling to defend the claims.

According to Reuters, the land-owning families, some of which have been farming the area of Solano County, CA for over 100 years, are being accused of price-fixing which caused lost profits for the plaintiffs.

Attorneys representing the landowners argued against the claims on the basis of key U.S. antitrust laws such as the Sherman Act, claiming that the landowners were within their rights to discuss negotiations with buyers and pricing.

Read more: NY Bus Company Accuses Rivals Of Price-Fixing Scheme

“Flannery’s complaint is a square peg in the round hole of antitrust law,” said an unnamed defense lawyer. “What legitimate commercial purpose requires such massive, concentrated property ownership within Solano County? Flannery will not say.”

With U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley set to consider whether to dismiss the case or extend the trial on August 24th, the evidence that Flannery, represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, can provide will be paramount to either preserving or dismissing of the lawsuit.

Source: Reuters