SweeTango Lawsuit Settled
September 22, 2011 The hotly contested legal battle over SweeTango in Minnesota has finally come to a conclusion.
According to an Associated Press story, the lawsuit challenging the University of Minnesota’s exclusive licensing deal for its SweeTango apple is ending with a victory for the school and the Next Big Thing cooperative that markets the new variety nationwide.
The university awarded exclusive SweeTango rights to Pepin Heights Orchard in Lake City, which organized a cooperative of growers across the northern states and southern Canada to market the variety. More than a dozen other growers, mostly in Minnesota, sued last year, saying they were frozen out of a lucrative deal that unfairly denied them access to an apple developed by their own land-grant university.
The settlement, which still must be approved by a judge, would maintain the university’s licensing agreement with the cooperative. It also would allow more Minnesota orchards to lease the trees that bear SweeTango apples and for the number of trees an orchard can grow to incrementally increase during the next five years.
Click here to read the entire Associated Press/Seattle Post-Intelligence story. In addition, the following is a statement from Dennis Courtier, owner of Pepin Heights Orchard in Lake City, MN, regarding the settlement:
“Over the past year, we have stood firm in our assertion that a lawsuit against Pepin Heights and the University of Minnesota over the SweeTango apple was groundless. Pepin Heights won the license to bring this new and exciting variety to the market in a fair head-to-head competition with one of the plaintiffs. After the license was granted to Pepin Heights, the plaintiffs behind this case tried to use the courts to accomplish what they couldn’t in the open marketplace. Last December, a judge threw out the majority of the case.
“Today we are pleased to announce that the remainder of the claims will be dismissed with prejudice without the payment of any money by the defendants. This means the unfounded allegations against us will never again see the courtroom. Further, the plaintiffs have agreed to pay Pepin Heights Orchards a portion of its legal fees as a result of sanctions ordered against plaintiffs by the Court.
“The stakes in this case were enormous. By carefully managing where and how this apple is grown, harvested, and shipped, the University is making sure this apple consistently delights consumers no matter where they buy it. By establishing SweeTango as a successful variety, we know our efforts will benefit not only apple lovers, but also the University of Minnesota and Minnesota apple growers. That’s a big responsibility, and one we’ve taken very seriously in everything we’ve done.
“To that end, there’s much work to be done as we’re in the midst of the apple harvest. With this lawsuit now behind us, we at Pepin Heights, and all of our partners, are happy to be able to put our full attention back on delighting apples lovers everywhere with each and every bite of SweeTango.”
Read more about the Next Big Thing by clicking.
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