CA farmer giving away 125,000+ pounds of nectarines amid lawsuit: 'They left me no other option'

REEDLEY, Calif. -- A California farmer is being sued for trying to sell his nectarines, so instead, he's giving them away for free.

Already this week, thousands of people have shown up to third-generation farmer Cesar Mora's small orchard in Reedley, California, bright and early to collect buckets full of free nectarines.

It comes after Mora posted several videos on social media, explaining why he's giving away the crop.

"These are my white flesh nectarines that I've been growing for the last 10 years. I should be picking them right now, but I'm not, all due to a giant ag corporation who has been preventing me from doing anything with this crop," Mora said in a video he posted to his Instagram account '@NoNectarinesWasted,' which had over 866,000 views as of Tuesday afternoon.

That corporation is the Giumarra Brothers Fruit Company, a leading supplier of fresh produce based in Los Angeles.

Nearly three years ago, the company sued Mora for allegedly breaking their contract when he stopped sending his fruit to them and sent it to another company instead.

A legal complaint filed by Giumarra's attorneys states Mora was granted rights to grow and sell the Monalise White Nectarine Variety when he signed an agreement with them in 2017.

In a cross-complaint, Mora and his attorneys argued that Giumarra engaged in unfair business practices.

"I followed all their process and did my part, delivered great fruit to them. But I was never able to get a return or make any money, really, I was farming at a cost, at a loss, at just their benefit," said Mora during an interview with Action News.

That's when Mora says he decided to market the nectarines elsewhere.

But before long, Giumarra began sending him cease and desist letters, and he says when he tried to go back to the company, they rejected him.

"They left me no other option than to leave it on the tree and to let it rot away," Mora said.

Instead of allowing another season to pass with a wasted harvest, Mora decided this year to give away more than 125,000 pounds of fruit for free.

So far, Mora's attorneys estimate between 2,000 to 3,000 people have come to pick the nectarines.

Many of them say they don't want to see them rotting on the ground another year.

"I don't think food should go to waste, especially if it's nice and ripe and just because of a lawsuit. It's unfortunate that happened last year," said Alejandra Madrid, who showed up to Mora's orchard for fruit Tuesday morning.

A Fresno-based attorney representing Giumarra sent a statement to Action News, which reads:

"Giumarra Bros. Fruit Co. remains committed to serving our growers with integrity, honoring our contractual obligations, and safeguarding the proprietary programs that provide value to our grower partners. Litigation involving Mr. Mora remains ongoing and we will provide additional comment as appropriate."

The legal case is set to go to trial on July 20.

Mora says he will continue giving away nectarines until they are all gone at his orchard located at 21500 E Parlier Ave in Reedley.