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ALRB litigation update: appeals, Wonderful Nurseries developments and new Kern County complaint
Summary
The board’s litigation counsel summarized multiple pending appeals and new filings, including developments in Wonderful Nurseries litigation and a recently filed Kern County complaint, Chavez et al. v. ALRB.
The Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s litigation counsel reported multiple active cases and recent developments in both state and federal litigation.
Laura, the board’s litigation counsel, said several appeals are moving through the courts, including the board’s and the United Farm Workers’ appeals of a superior court preliminary injunction order in the Wonderful Nurseries matter (case numbers FO88515/FO88520). The board and UFW filed opening briefs on Feb. 7, and Wonderful Nurseries’ answering brief was due March 10 with a reply 20 days later, counsel said.
Laura described a separate federal case—Wonderful Nurseries v. ALRB, U.S. District Court case number 1:204-CV-01601—where Wonderful notified UFW on Feb. 12 that it would reduce its workforce significantly by 2026. In light of that notice, the United Farm Workers withdrew its request for MMC, and counsel said the deputy attorney general representing the board is assessing the impact on the lawsuit. The board has opposed a motion by a group of Wonderful employees represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to intervene; the opposition was filed Feb. 18 and a hearing is set for March 17, as is a hearing on Wonderful’s motion for a preliminary injunction, counsel said.
Counsel also reported a new state-court action: Chavez et al. v. ALRB, filed Feb. 21 in Kern County Superior Court as case number BCBDash25Dash10649. The complaint—filed by the same employees who sought to intervene in the federal matter and represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation—alleges the majority support petition process violates provisions of the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution’s First and Fourteenth Amendments. Counsel said the board has not been served yet in that Kern County action and has no briefing scheduled.
On an earlier matter, counsel said the ALRB’s appeals in the case listed as FO88632/FO88639 (ALRB v. Superior Court of Kern County) have been fully briefed as of December and there was no new action to report.
Counsel provided filing dates and upcoming hearing dates and said some responses and oppositions have been submitted with additional dates set by the courts.
