The federal district court for the Central District of California again dismissed U.S. avocado growers’ claims against distributors and suppliers of Mexico-grown avocados in which the U.S. growers alleged that the defendants misrepresented the sustainability of their avocados. The plaintiffs alleged that defendants source their avocados from recently deforested land, which exacerbates water scarcity, contributes to climate change, and leads to habitat and biodiversity loss. The plaintiffs filed an amended complaint after the court dismissed their claims in September 2025. In its decision granting the motion to dismiss the amended complaint, the court again concluded that the plaintiffs did not sufficiently allege standing for a California False Advertising Law or fraud-based Unfair Competition Law (UCL) claim because they did not allege they themselves relied on the alleged misrepresentations regarding sustainability and the plaintiffs made only generalized assertions of third-party consumer reliance. The court also found that the plaintiffs’ claims of unlawful business practices and misrepresentation-based unfair business practices also failed. In addition, the court found that the plaintiffs did not adequately plead a UCL violation based on “unfair, anticompetitive conduct” in the amended complaint. The court found that the plaintiffs “have only shown injury to themselves as competitors, but not injury to competition,” with their allegations that the defendants’ sourcing practices were “exploitative” and anticompetitive. In addition, the court again dismissed the plaintiffs’ unjust enrichment claim. The court granted leave to amend their UCL claim based on alleged anticompetitive conduct but not their misrepresentation-based claims.

Greenwashing action brought by California avocado farm operators against companies that import Mexican avocados.

Kachuck Enterprises v. Mission Produce, Inc.

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

California Federal Court Again Dismissed U.S. Avocado Growers Claims Alleging Mexican Avocado Suppliers Violated Law by Engaging in Unsustainable Sourcing Practices

Filed

United States of America

California

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California Federal Court Again Dismissed U.S. Avocado Growers Claims Alleging Mexican Avocado Suppliers Violated Law by Engaging in Unsustainable Sourcing Practices

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance