Carpinteria homeowners’ class action lawsuit against cannabis grower gets legal green light

CARPINTERIA, Calif. — A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against a Carpinteria-based cannabis grower, allowing local homeowners to proceed to trial.

The ruling, issued Wednesday, marks a significant shift in the legal grounds available for class-action lawsuits against cannabis growers and could have statewide implications.

“This ruling will send shockwaves throughout California’s cannabis industry, particularly in Carpinteria,” said Robert A. Curtis, lead trial attorney and partner at Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP. “For too long, cannabis growers have profited from marijuana cultivation while ignoring their obligation to control the foul odors their operations produce. This case is about holding them accountable and ensuring that impacted neighborhoods have a voice.”

Lionel Neff, a board member of the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, compared the ruling to “a rainbow at the end of a storm” in a report by local investigative journalist Melinda Burns.

“Now, it’s beyond a glimmer of hope,” Neff said. “It’s a realization that we have real progress. It’s a new day.”

The class-action lawsuit, filed by residential property owners living within one mile of cannabis growing operations along Casitas Pass Road, seeks damages for “the persistent and pervasive cannabis odors” emitted from the nearby farms.

An image included in the lawsuit illustrates the proximity of some plaintiffs’ homes to large-scale cannabis grows. The image depicts a thin yellow line measuring approximately 0.08 miles, indicating the distance between the plaintiffs' residences and the cultivation sites.

During Wednesday’s court proceedings, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle rejected arguments from cannabis growers, including claims that odor and nuisance issues did not apply to all members of the suit. The judge ruled that a unified legal claim was valid and noted that some growers’ ongoing failure to install required carbon filtration systems strengthened the case for class-action certification, according to the law firm representing the plaintiffs.

Attorneys for the Carpinteria homeowners said the initial hearing for the case is scheduled for March 5, 2026.

“The upcoming trial will demonstrate, once and for all, that the people of Carpinteria should no longer suffer under the stench of cannabis invading their homes and devaluing their properties,” Curtis said. “This is about justice, accountability, and reclaiming the right to live in a clean and odor-free community.”

Members of the coalition said the ruling benefits everyone living within a mile of the cannabis businesses.

“I believe this is a win for Carpinteria and all its citizens,” said Jules Nau, a coalition member. “We have put in a lot of work as an organization to support this community and make sure the growers are doing the right thing by their neighbors.”

Nau clarified that the coalition is not opposed to the cannabis industry but wants to eliminate the odor, which is also noticeable at Carpinteria High School and Cate School.

“I smell it, too,” Nau said. “It depends on the time of day, but it’s mostly because they vent their grows in the morning when people wake up, when kids go to school, and at night when families are preparing dinner. Instead of smelling their meals, they smell cannabis.”

Your News Channel reached out to attorneys representing the listed defendants, including Fresno-based Valley Crest Farms LLC—one of the companies named in the lawsuit, according to the California Secretary of State’s business registry. As of publication, the attorneys had not responded to requests for comment.

In court documents, Valley Crest’s attorneys called the plaintiffs’ arguments for class-action status “wildly overbroad.” In Burns’ investigative report, Patrick Toole, an attorney for Valley Crest, said he did not know whether his client would appeal Anderle’s ruling.

Curtis said the case is likely to go to trial next March unless a settlement is reached before then.