Walnut Producers of California v. Diamond Foods, Inc.

Plaintiffs, producers of walnuts, appeal the trial court’s order striking all class action allegations from their complaint. Plaintiffs claim that a class action waiver in their arbitration agreements with defendant, a walnut processor, was unconscionable. The trial court disagreed with their argument, as do we. We affirm the trial court’s order.

ALLEGATIONS

For purposes of this appeal, we assume all factual allegations in the complaint are true.

Plaintiff Walnut Producers of California (Producers) is a nonprofit cooperative marketing association. Its members áre persons and entities who grow walnuts. Its members have assigned to it all of their claims against defendant.

Plaintiff George J. Miller Ranch, Inc. (Miller Ranch), is a corporation engaged in the production of walnuts.

Defendant Diamond Foods, Inc. (Diamond Foods), is the successor by way of merger to an agricultural cooperative known as the Diamond Walnut Growers, Inc. (the Co-op). Diamond Foods had been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Co-op.

Prior to 2005, the Co-op’s members would deliver their walnut crops to the Co-op, and they would be paid on a cooperative crop pool basis based on the net proceeds…