City files lawsuit against certified farmers market's insurance

Jan. 30—Vendors have expressed concern over the future of the Yuba-Sutter area's longest-running certified farmers market after a lawsuit was lodged by Yuba City against the event's insurance company.

In August 2019, a man allegedly tripped on the sidewalk at the Yuba City Certified Farmers Market — which operates every Saturday morning from March through October around the Town Square fountain at the corner of Plumas and B streets in Yuba City — which led to him suing the city for damages.

Interim City Manager Diana Langley said the permit obtained by the farmers market to operate at the location requires it to protect the city from accidents that occur during the event, which is why the market's insurance company was brought into the case.

"The city understands that the farmers market obtained insurance that names both the farmers market and the city as insureds," Langley said. "As such, we expect the city and the farmers market will work cooperatively and the matter will ultimately be resolved with no negative impact on the operation of the farmers market."

Details regarding the lawsuit were not provided, though it's rumored the city is suing the insurance company for several million dollars.

Market Manager Desiree Silva declined to comment for the article, though she confirmed that a decision on whether or not the market will continue into the future will likely be decided by the outcome of the lawsuit.

Sutter County farmer Paul Spoto has been a regular vendor at the market for the last decade. He said he doesn't believe the market or the manager should be held liable for something the city should've been responsible for, seeing that the original tripping incident occurred on city property.

"I believe the city should drop the suit, and I'd like to encourage anyone who is a market enthusiast to reach out to the city and encourage them to drop the suit, by phone, email or by attending the virtual public meetings, in order to ask the city to take sole responsibility for the incident," Spoto said. "Otherwise, there may not be a market in 2021."

Yuba City Mayor Marc Boomgaarden said the actions taken by the city are to make sure the farmers market's insurance company steps up to cover their share of the claim. He said the lawsuit isn't suing anyone specifically, rather the city is working with the insurance company to find a solution.

"We aren't trying to put the farmers market out of business or specifically deny a claim," he said. "We feel, at this point, as an additional insured, the farmers market's insurance has a role to play in this."

Cherie Stephens, owner of Stephens Farmhouse, has been a vendor at the market for over 30 years. She said it would be a tragedy for the city to lose the event.

"It's not only something that is an outlet for local farmers, such as myself, but even for people that dabble a little bit, it's an outlet for them to sell. They might be more of a backyard gardener but they can still make somewhat of a livelihood off of it," Stephens said. "...It allows people, for one day a week, to open a storefront for a very small amount of money. You can't get that kind of exposure somewhere else for what we pay in a stall fee."

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