Generic ads' future clouded

摘要

Court rules that California growers' free speech rights are violated by mandatory assessments to state commissions, but the issue is far from settled. The nation's largest stone fruit grower has won another round in his lengthy court battle against paying mandatory assessments to fund generic advertising. Dan Gerawan, whose family has been farming in California's San Joaquin Valley for 63 years, was mighty pleased when the 5th District Appellate Court in Fresno recently reversed Superior Court decisions in free speech cases filed against the California Table Grape Commission, the California Plum Marketing Board, and the state Department of Agriculture. "There's no reason for growers to be forced by law to advertise their products," Gerawan says.