Lemon Packers Sued Over Alleged Excess Shipping : Commerce: U.S. attorneys say four members of the Sunkist co-op at times sent more citrus than allowed by law.

Federal authorities have filed civil suits against Sunkist Growers Inc. and four packinghouses, alleging they made excess shipments of lemons at various times between 1987 and 1989 in violation of U.S. regulations.

Sunkist, based in Sherman Oaks, is a grower-owned cooperative of citrus farmers and packinghouses that packs, advertises and sells the farmers’ crops. Besides Sunkist, the defendants in the suit include Oxnard Lemon Co. in Oxnard and Saticoy Lemon Assn. in Ventura.

The suits were filed last week in federal court in Fresno by U.S. Atty. George L. O’Connell. They allege that the defendants shipped more lemons than allowed under the federal Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act.

Under the act, packers’ weekly shipments in California and Arizona are determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture based on recommendations from the Lemon Administrative Committee, a panel of growers and handlers.

Sunkist’s cooperative represents about 65% of the two states’ citrus production. The allotments are designed to “provide for an orderly market” in citrus and to prevent cyclical gluts and scarcities in the crops’ availability, said Sunkist spokesman Curt Anderson. Critics, however, say the agreements often promote artificially high prices.

The suits allege that Oxnard Lemon, Saticoy Lemon and the other defendants were shipping more lemons than allowed, and that Sunkist not only was aware of the allegedly high shipments but also “facilitated that conduct by preparing documents with false dates,” O’Connell said in a statement.

Oxnard Lemon declined comment on the suits, and Saticoy Lemon deferred comment to Sunkist. Anderson denied any wrongdoing on Sunkist’s part, saying “none of the forms were filled out by Sunkist.”

He also said Sunkist has “nothing to do” with the packinghouses’ shipment allowances, and that “we always encourage our houses to abide by the weekly allotments as they’re specified.”

Daniel Bensing, assistant U.S. attorney in Fresno, said the suits seek damages equal to the then-current market value of the alleged excess shipments. Although a precise amount of potential damages has yet to be determined, “our best estimate is over $100,000 in each of the four cases,” Bensing said.

O’Connell, noting that similar regulations also apply to the sale of navel and Valencia oranges, said “our investigations are continuing and additional cases may be filed against other handlers.”