california foreverA high-tech billionaire-backed effort to build a new city on hundreds of acres in the Bay Area has led to legal disputes between the project's backers and many families who have long lived in the developer's area. It faces many challenges, including: I want to build it.
Last May, California Forever's parent company, Flannery Associates, sued some of those families, accused it of engaging in a “price-fixing” conspiracy and demanded $500 million in damages. The farmers accused California Forever of deploying “strong-force tactics” to pry their land.
Now, it appears a California judge has sided with the tech billionaire.Sacramento Judge Troy Nunley denies landowners' efforts to have California Forever's lawsuit thrown out of court, Mercury News report Monday. Mr Nunley claimed messages exchanged between property owners two years ago provided “direct evidence” of price manipulation.
These messages have been shared in court, and include messages from one landowner to another saying California Forever developers should not be allowed to “bully the last property owner.” Also includes text messages. The same landowner argued that “the remaining property owners need to agree on what we want to sell the property for” so California doesn't become “owner versus owner.”
Nunnery gave other examples. One email exchange involving a landowner described it as “very aggressive behavior.” [by California Forever] It seems to indicate that we are in a very advantageous position and that it is best not to engage with them at this time. ” The same owner also said: “I'm not saying no one will sell. The question is when and at what price. Several other major landowners in the area are also essentially taking their time and getting involved. I have not.”
Mr. Nunnery's refusal to waive the lawsuit does not necessarily mean California Forever will win the lawsuit. Allegations that California Forever tried to bully longtime residents out of their land led to a series of incidents. controversial town hall meeting There, local residents publicly yelled at the project's CEO, Jan Sramek. Residents accused the project developers of being untrustworthy and seeking to profit from the local community.
Gizmodo has reached out to California Forever for comment on the latest updates on the lawsuit and will update this article if we hear back.
Even if the recent court ruling is good news for the project's developers' lawsuit, will it actually help them achieve their long-term goal of building a new city out of just a few hundred acres of Bay Area farmland? It is unclear. The CF Project is currently trying to convince Solano County residents. Support the creation of ballot initiatives That would allow local residents to vote in November. The project has been accused of tricking local residents into signing petitions supporting the initiative, a charge the developers deny.
A version of this article first appeared on Gizmodo.
