Flannery Associates LLC, a prominent agricultural land purchaser, has launched a substantial lawsuit against a collection of California-based landowners. This high-profile legal action arises from allegations that the defendants conspired to artificially inflate the price of real estate, resulting in an overcharge to Flannery that contravenes U.S. antitrust law. The lawsuit aims to hold the group accountable for actions that allegedly resulted in an over-inflation of the real estate market by hundreds of millions of dollars.
Background of the Case
The legal complaint, issued on behalf of Flannery by their representation, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, seeks more than $510 million in damages. The defendants named in this lawsuit include Barnes Family Ranch Associates LLC and Kirby Hill Associates LLC, among others. The properties in question are situated in the Jepson Prairie and Montezuma Hills region of Solano County, California, an area conveniently located between the major cities of San Francisco and Sacramento.
Flannery Associates’ Allegations and Losses
Flannery Associates alleges significant loss due to missed profit opportunities from land it didn’t purchase, along with overcharges for properties it did acquire. According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, had the defendants acted independently, they could have individually negotiated a sale with Flannery. This would have resulted in significant profits for each, potentially totaling tens of millions of dollars. However, the complaint asserts that the group wanted to inflate their profits into the hundreds of millions, thereby prompting this alleged conspiracy.
Parties Involved in the Lawsuit
Requests for comments on the lawsuit sent to Flannery’s legal representation at Skadden on Friday received no immediate response. Meanwhile, attorneys for the various family land trusts and estates implicated in the lawsuit have not yet made official appearances in the Sacramento-based U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Kirk Beebe, one of the individual defendants named in the complaint, who is reportedly the vice president of co-defendants Barnes Corp, Lambie Corp, and Kirby Corp, was also unreachable for immediate comment on Friday.
Flannery’s Property Purchases and Investments
Flannery, headquartered in Folsom, California, has been actively investing in rangeland properties within Solano County since 2018. The company reports that its investments in the region have totaled over $800 million to date. According to the filed lawsuit, Flannery has successfully acquired or currently holds under contract approximately 140 properties within this geographic area.
The Use of Acquired Land and the Impact of the Conspiracy
The area is known to host a variety of energy infrastructure, utility-scale commercial wind farms, and environmental conservation projects. Flannery reports that the land it has acquired is used for interstate commerce, with various energy and power entities holding contracts or proposals to operate on the land owned by Flannery in the region. In its lawsuit, Flannery has made bold accusations against the defendants, asserting that their alleged price-fixing conspiracy has significantly impacted the market. The company argues that this alleged collusion has resulted in the suppression and elimination of competition, leading to artificially high prices and fewer transactions.
The case has been officially filed as Flannery Associates LLC v. Barnes Family Ranch Associates LLC et al, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, under the number 2:23-cv-00927-TLN-AC.
