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Borba cousins sue: this time, each other(Bakersfield Californian, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 9--Who knew cows could be so contentious? * * * The Borba cousins -- Kern's leading dairy luminaries -- are suing each other over fallout from a $42 million-plus deal they made last year. In brief, cousins George Jr. and James each seek roughly $3.5 million from the other and lob some nasty allegations along the way, court documents show. The dispute concerns a lease agreement for land used to grow feed. If you're new to town and don't recognize the name, know this: the Borbas literally changed Bakersfield's landscape when they arrived in the late '90s with plans for twin megadairies south of Taft Highway, paving the way for other Chino-area dairymen to head north. Clout? They have enough to affect freeway placement. Part of Bakersfield's future South Beltway was moved south in 2005 after George Jr. said it would interfere with dairy operations. Together, the cousins endured years of environmental litigation that ultimately changed the way Kern County permits dairies. After they built their twin 14,000-cow dairies on a contiguous patch south of Taft Highway, the housing bubble hit. James wanted in. With partner D.R. Horton, the national homebuilder, he hatched plans hatched for Gateway, a 16,500-home development that would have brought Bakersfield city limits to Interstate 5. We all know what happened to the housing market. Last January, after Gateway had fizzled, James wanted to sell his dairy fast, court filings from both sides show. THE SUITS The deeper trigger of the legal tiff is hard to pinpoint, and it's unlikely the publicity-shy cousins or their lawyers will spill guts to the newspaper anytime soon. Neither George Jr. nor his attorney, Andrew Haut of Bakersfield, returned messages Thursday. A phone number listed in court filings for James no longer worked. His attorney, Robert Dowd of Hanford, would only say everything was in the court documents. Those documents hint at deeper tensions but leave much unsaid. Escrow was supposed to close last February, both sides agree, but dragged on until July. James sold the dairy and surrounding land, totaling more than three square miles, for a little over $42 million. A now-contested lease deal for 769 acres to the west was included in the final agreement. What caused the deal's delay -- and what happened in the interim -- is at the heart of a lawsuit filed by George Jr.'s side Sept. 30 and a countersuit from James' attorney filed last month. George Jr.'s side, which includes his wife, father, mother and their family partnership, alleges: --James held on to nearly $1.5 million in payments from the Land O'Lakes dairy cooperative that should have gone to George Jr.'s side; --Escrow was delayed because James "lacked or claimed to lack" money to close and because he was going through a divorce; --James was overpaid for his cows -- he got more than $16 million, rather than the agreed-upon $14.4 million -- in exchange for the lease deal; --James' actions were done "with the intent to vex, defraud and oppress" George Jr.s' side. George Jr.'s side wants the alleged cow overpayment, coop money and nearly $400,000 in improvements to the leased acreage. Total before damages and attorney fees: nearly $3.6 million. OTHER SIDE James' filings paint a different picture, of course, alleging, among other things: --George Jr.'s side "purposely" delayed closing escrow "in order to force" James to accept an unfair price for cows and equipment still in negotiation; --James' side was damaged by the other side's breach of contract and "tortuous conduct;" --that "no contract was created" because George Jr.'s side "unduly influenced" James into agreeing to the deal. The cross suit seeks more than $3.5 million for grain contracts and feed inventory plus damages and legal fees. The case, filed in Kern County Superior Court, is being heard by Judge William D. Palmer. A hearing is currently slated for the end of March. To see more of The Bakersfield Californian, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bakersfield.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Bakersfield Californian Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |