Underwood Ranches Won $23.3M Countersuit

For nearly 30 years, a California farmer named Craig Underwood and his family business, Underwood Ranches, exclusively supplied the chile peppers used in Huy Fong Foods' popular green-capped Sriracha. Their partnership collapsed in 2017 after Huy Fong demanded more than $1 million in alleged overpayments and sued the farm. In 2019, a Ventura County jury found Huy Fong liable for breach of contract and fraud, awarding Underwood $24.8 million while granting Huy Fong $1.5 million, producing a net award of $23.3 million. Underwood Ranches then began selling its own Sriracha, while Huy Fong sourced peppers from growers in California, New Mexico, and Mexico.

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