The Santa Barbara Independent
In a case that could have broad implications for commercial cannabis growers, Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle ruled on Wednesday that the neighbors within a one-mile radius of Valley Crest Farms, a cannabis greenhouse operation in the Carpinteria Valley, can collectively seek damages for the pervasive smell of pot invading their properties.
The class-action lawsuit against Valley Crest was filed at the Santa Barbara Courthouse in 2023 by the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, a countywide nonprofit citizens’ group; William Hahn and Danielle Dall’Armi, owners of the Rose Story Farm, a commercial rosebush operation next to Valley Crest; and Chonnie Bliss Jacobson, a neighbor who lives half a mile away.
Valley Crest, a nine-acre “grow” at 5890 Casitas Pass Road, has been harvesting cannabis every week for more than five years, the plaintiffs say. In court documents, they seek relief from what they describe as the “awful smells and noxious odors and chemicals that they are being assaulted with on a daily basis in their homes.” The stench of cannabis, they allege, has lowered their property values, driven away their tenants, reduced their business incomes, and interfered with “the quiet use and enjoyment of their property.”
Anderle’s ruling certifies the “class” or “community of interest” in the case as the homeowners within a one-mile radius of Valley Crest. To be eligible, they must have purchased their homes before January 19, 2016. To claim damages, they must be able to show how the cannabis operation has affected their property values and “enjoyment of their property.”
Lionel Neff, a coalition boardmember, likened the ruling to “a rainbow at the end of a storm.” The coalition, he said, has been fighting for stiffer regulation of the cannabis industry for the past seven years.
“Now, it’s beyond a glimmer of hope,” Neff said. “It’s a realization that we have real progress. It’s a new day.”
In court documents, Valley Crest’s attorneys called the plaintiffs’ arguments for class action “wildly over-broad.” Patrick Toole, an attorney for Valley Crest, said Wednesday he did not know whether his client would appeal Anderle’s ruling.
The managing member of the Valley Crest Farms LLC is listed in state records as Philip Fagundes of Parlier, California. Fagundes also is listed as the manager of Greenbrier Holdings LLC, an investment company with a cannabis manufacturing facility in Parlier. On its website, Greenbrier advertises “Premium Cannabis Grown in the Coastal Valley of Santa Barbara.” Fagundes comes from a dairy farming family that produces milk for Horizon Organic in the Central Valley.
A jury trial in the case has been scheduled for March 5, 2026 — if it is not settled before then.
23CV03885-MotionA First for California
Wednesday’s ruling marks the first time that a California judge has certified a class action related to cannabis odor. Robert Curtis, an attorney for the coalition, called it a “landmark legal victory.”
“It’s monumental,” he said. “This ruling will send shockwaves throughout California’s cannabis industry, particularly in Carpinteria. For too long, cannabis growers have profited off the cultivation of marijuana while thumbing their noses at their obligation to control the foul odors their operations produce.”
There may be as many as 100 homes within a one-mile radius of Valley Crest, Curtis said. Within 30 days, he said, he will present the judge with a list of residents who will get notices in the mail, telling them how they can participate in the class-action lawsuit against Valley Crest, going forward.
Curtis said the plaintiffs chiefly want the greenhouses to be equipped with carbon filtration systems known as “scrubbers,” an expensive, state-of-the-art odor-control technology that has been shown to get rid of most of the smell of pot before it can escape through the vents on a greenhouse roof.
Like most other cannabis operations in the Carpinteria Valley, Valley Crest is equipped only with a “vapor phase” or “misting” system that sets up a curtain of perfumed mist from perforated pipes on the greenhouse roofs. It is designed to neutralize the smell of pot after it escapes from the vents into the outside air. But the Rose Story Farm plaintiffs said the ever-present spray had caused oils and chemicals to settle on their landscaping.
Curtis said all of the plaintiffs deserved to be compensated “for the misery they have had to live in since Valley Crest started operating its facility.” The owner, he said, could face much higher potential damages as a result of Wednesday’s ruling.
“The price of poker just went up,” Curtis said.
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