LIC v. Alexandre Family Farm
On September 30, 2024, Legal Impact for Chickens filed an animal-cruelty suit against Alexandre Family Farm for pouring salt into cows’ eyes, dragging disabled animals across concrete, starving cattle, and more. The well-known dairy has several thousand cattle and sells its milk at Whole Foods. But an April 2024 exposé by charity Farm Forward revealed “systemic deception, cruelty, and animal abuse” at Alexandre. Farm Forward put the exposé together with the help of rancher whistleblowers.
Alexandre calls itself “America’s First Certified Regenerative Dairy” and advertises its products as certified organic. Yet the Regenerative Organic Alliance condemned Alexandre’s “wrongdoings” and noted that the Alliance had already suspended Alexandre’s certification based on the Alliance’s own investigation. The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA) has also spoken out against Alexandre’s cruelty.
LIC filed its complaint in California’s Humboldt County Superior Court. The complaint seeks an injunction to protect Alexandre’s cattle.
On February 7, 2025, Alexandre filed a demurrer. LIC responded in opposition to Alexandre’s demurrer on March 3, 2025. LIC’s brief explained: “The complaint alleges in great detail that animals suffer illegal abuse at the hands of defendants, who have a pattern and practice of starving and dehydrating cattle, dragging disabled animals across concrete, and pouring salt into cows’ eyes. This conduct violates animal protection laws that LIC is authorized to enforce. This Court is empowered to hear this case, and, if the Court ultimately deems appropriate, to enjoin such cruelty.”
On March 14, 2025, the Humboldt County Superior Court heard oral argument. Judge Timothy Canning presided. LIC’s Equal Justice Works fellow, Isabella Nilsson, argued for LIC. She explained that the complaint alleges ongoing strange and unusual animal abuse by Alexandre. Also in attendance were LIC’s co-counsel, the compassionate and knowledgeable Megan Yarnall and Frank J. J. F. Martin of Eureka-based Janssen Malloy LLP.
In a victory for animals and for the rule of law, the Humboldt County Superior Court overruled defendant Alexandre Family Farm’s demurrer, allowing LIC’s cruelty case to proceed. See Legal Impact for Chickens v. Alexandre Family Farm, LLC, 2025 WL 1928044 (Cal.Super.).
The well-reasoned eight-page ruling acknowledged LIC’s power, as a California society for the prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCA), to prevent cruelty through civil litigation: “[T]he Court finds that an SPCA filing and prosecuting a civil action to enjoin violations of animal cruelty laws . . . is one of the multiple avenues for the enforcement of California’s animal cruelty laws.”
Alexandre then filed an answer. Next, on July 3, 2025, Alexandre petitioned the California Court of Appeal for the First District for a writ of mandate against the Humboldt County Superior Court itself. Alexandre asked the appellate court to intervene in the LIC v. Alexandre lawsuit by ordering the Superior Court to change its mind and dismiss the case after all. This appeared to be an attempt to avoid litigation on the question of whether Alexandre is, in fact, committing illegal animal cruelty. So LIC retained a powerful team of California appellate lawyers: Robert Roth, Susan Horst, M.C. Sungaila, and Melanie Gold of the Complex Appellate Litigation Group (CALG). Susan previously served as the writ attorney for the First Appellate District, and is one of the only practicing attorneys in California to have devoted virtually her entire career to appellate writs.
Photo by Coolcaesar
And on August 4, 2025, LIC filed its Preliminary Opposition to Alexandre’s Petition for Writ of Mandate with the appellate court. LIC explained: “More than 120 years ago, the Legislature created a statutory scheme that appoints humane societies and SPCAs to assist overworked law enforcement agencies in enforcing animal welfare laws.” LIC is such a humane society and SPCA. Thus, as LIC’s brief explained, the Humboldt County Superior Court correctly allowed this animal cruelty case to proceed.
The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the Sierra Foothills moved to submit a joint amicus brief supporting LIC’s position on September 2, 2025. The SPCAs explained: “Because local law enforcement agencies are often overburdened with cases and unable to focus sometimes on even the most egregious acts of animal cruelty, the California Legislature has expressly granted societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals around the state the right to assist in that enforcement.” Sonya Z. Mehta of Siegel, Yee, Brunner & Mehta and Bruce Wagman of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila authored the brief.
Caru Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Caru SPCA) moved to submit an amicus brief to support LIC’s position as well, on September 4, 2025. Caru stated: “While enforcing laws relating to animals is an issue of public interest, the legal issue raised by the trial court’s ruling and presented by the petition has already been addressed by an appellate court, so there is no significant issue of law raised here.” Specifically, Caru recounted the published appellate ruling in Caru v. Anthony, where the Court of Appeal acknowledged Caru’s own power to enforce laws relating to animals. Attorney Cristina Kladis of the Animal Legal Defense Fund authored Caru’s brief.
Also on September 4, 2025, LIC filed an answer to a group of bull-riding and ag industry entities who weighed in on the case. LIC explained that the superior court’s ruling leaves “lawful operators” unaffected, while creating an opportunity to address “Alexandre’s unlawful practices and the resulting animal injuries and deaths.”
Happily, on September 11, 2025, the California Court of Appeal summarily denied Alexandre’s writ petition! The case will now return to Humboldt County Superior Court to determine whether Alexandre illegally neglects and abuses its cattle.
Stay tuned.