Lawyers for the University of California were unable to derail a lawsuit accusing UC Davis of scuttling a lucrative, decades-old agreement to breed new varieties of fruit for California’s strawberry growers.
The ruling by Alameda Superior Court Judge George Hernandez Jr. means the lawsuit filed by the California Strawberry Commission remains intact. Hernandez, following a 15-minute hearing, reaffirmed a tentative ruling he issued the day before.
The commission’s lawsuit accuses UC Davis of scrapping a research relationship that has spawned more than a dozen varieties of strawberries consumed around the world. The Davis-bred varieties are sold by top brands such as Dole and California Giant and account for about half the strawberries grown in the state.