Status of the Case - CA Raw Milk (AB 1735)

May 13, 2008

The Fund has appealed a decision by the San Benito Superior Court that denied the issuance of an injunction that would have enjoined the enforcement of AB 1735 until a trial could be heard on the matter. The Fund has filed an original Brief and a Reply Brief to the State’s brief that are now pending before the Sixth District Court of Appeals located in San Jose, CA. The Fund expect the Court of Appeals to schedule an oral argument in the matter during the summer and expects a decision to be issued sometime during the fall.

In the meantime, while the preliminary injunction matter is before the Court of Appeals, the Fund will likely be conducting depositions of the California Department of Food and Agriculture expert witnesses who testified at the preliminary injunction hearing before the trial court in San Benito County. If no decision is forthcoming from the Court of Appeals in the near future, the Fund expects to complete discovery in the trial court before the end of fall. A trial date has been set in the trial court of San Benito County for December 14, 2009. If no decision is rendered by the Court of Appeals before that time, the Fund expects to proceed to trial on the matter and obtain a decision from the San Benito County Superior Court on the constitutionality of AB 1735. - - Gary Cox, General Counsel, FTCLDF