- New filings accuse the company backed by Marc Andreessen and Reid Hoffman of forcing farmers to sell up.
- Solano County farmers say Flannery Associates targeted them with pressure tactics and litigation.
The company that wants to create an entirely new city in California, and that's backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, has been accused of coercing farmers into selling their land.
In a court filing this week, farmers in Solano County said Flannery Associates used pressure tactics to acquire land for the new city, including evicting farmers who refused to negotiate and using expensive litigation to force residents to sell up.
Backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights including investor Marc Andreessen and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Flannery has bought up 52,000 acres of land in northern California with the aim of building a brand-new utopian city.
The allegations appeared in response to a lawsuit submitted by Flannery in May accusing landowners in Solano County of fixing prices and overcharging the company for land.
The defendants, including some families who say they have been farming the land for upward of 100 years, have hit back and accused Flannery of "hounding" local residents, canceling leases, and playing farmers against one another.
They compare Flannery's actions to "mobster tactics," citing Californian Congressman John Garamendi. In one instance, the lawsuit said that Flannery attempted to purchase a plot of land owned by eight groups of descendants of the same family.
When all but one of the groups refused to sell, Flannery adopted a "divide and conquer" strategy by acquiring the one-eighth share and suing the other owners, using the threat of expensive and lengthy litigation to force them into selling, the suit said.
A Flannery spokesperson told Insider that the company had specific evidence of price fixing and that it had made settlement offers to the remaining defendants.
"Over the last few months, a small group of individuals have engaged in a targeted campaign to slander Flannery Associates, claiming that Flannery has sued local Solano County farmers who did not want to sell their property. This is completely false," the spokesperson said.
Flannery Associates has been quietly buying up thousands of acres of land in northern California since 2018 and has spent $800 million so far according to court documents.
Jan Sramek, the CEO of Flannery's parent company California Forever, told TV station KQED that the group is aiming to build a retro-themed "city of yesterday," and renderings depict a utopian community with a focus on sustainability and accessibility.
However, the group has faced skepticism and opposition from developers and locals. Sacramento-based real estate developer Mark Friedman told The New York Times that he doubted the plans would ever get off the ground, and Princess Washington, mayor pro tempore of Suisun City, said the group is trying to create "a city for the elite."
Silicon Valley investors have long been interested in the idea of building futuristic "smart cities," and the latest plans come as many become increasingly disillusioned with San Francisco's rising levels of crime and homelessness.