California Berry Cultivars LLC has released a statement on the latest development in an ongoing legal dispute with Watsonville, Calif.-based berry grower Driscoll’s.
The lawsuit stems from Driscoll’s allegations that California Berry Cultivars infringed Driscoll’s patents on four of its strawberry varieties and supposedly interfered with Driscoll’s contracts with nurseries and breeders in connection with California Berry Cultivars’ breeding program. In April, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District granted summary judgment in favor of California Berry Cultivars.
Driscoll’s announced in May that it has filed a protective appeal to challenge the ruling.
In a recent news release, California Berry Cultivars said that Driscoll’s “mischaracterizes the circumstances of the litigation and demonstrates a profound disrespect for the District Court and our judicial system.”
This follows an April announcement from California Berry Cultivars about the court’s ruling that favored the company and resulted in a dismissal of Driscoll’s interference claims.
“After five years of litigation and extensive discovery, including significant document production and multiple witness depositions, the federal District Court found Driscoll’s claims to be so lacking in legal or factual support that they did not merit a trial, and so the Court granted CBC judgment as a matter of law,” California Berry Cultivars said in a news release.
Driscoll’s said the appeal reaffirms its commitment to defending its intellectual property.
“CBC has consistently operated with integrity in its breeding programs and has successfully developed and commercialized numerous strawberry varieties in compliance with settled law,” California Berry Cultivars said in the release. “CBC remains focused on innovation.”
