Farm Will Appeal Ban on Christmas Tree Sales
Cicero Farms will return to court to try to persuade an appellate judge to lift the ban on its Christmas tree sales at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, attorney Harold Kippen said Tuesday.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday.
The judge said Joe Cicero did not have the right to sell trees on the property because it was not allowed under his lease agreement with the Los Angeles Community College District.
That lease calls for the sales of produce grown on the property.
Kippen said Cicero will claim that he would face irreparable harm if the restraining order is enforced because he has ordered $120,000 worth of trees and has spent another $30,000 or so putting up lights and erecting a motorized sleigh ride.
Stu Miller, owner of one of the largest Christmas tree companies in the state--Miller & Sons--prompted the court action by filing lawsuits against Cicero and the college district, citing unfair competition.
One of Miller’s 40 lots is across the street from the Cicero operation.
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