New Bremen dairy plant still in operation

NEW BREMEN — A Route 812 kosher dairy plant continues to operate, even as two companies wrestle for control of the Lewis County Dairy Corp. facility.

State Supreme Court Judge Joseph D. McGuire in Lowville on Aug. 3 granted Toobro LLC, Hewlett Neck, a preliminary injunction giving it control of the plant and essentially kicking out the dairy's previous operators, Ahava of California. The ruling stemmed from a complaint by Toobro that it was unlawfully evicted June 28 from the plant.

However, Judge Edward D. Carni of the Fourth Department Appellate Division in Syracuse on Aug. 7 issued a stay of Judge McGuire's decision while it's under appeal, returning control to Ahava of California, according to court documents filed Thursday in the Lewis County clerk's office. A hearing on the appeal is set for Wednesday.

Attorney Robert L. Rimberg, on behalf of Toobro and Lewis County Dairy, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit claiming Ahava of California is improperly processing milk with an inactive state Department of Agriculture and Markets license and using labels with Toobro's name.

"Defendants are doing everything in their power to disparage Toobro's name in the milk industry," the suit said.

Judge McGuire on Thursday issued an order requiring Ahava of California to refrain from using Toobro labels but did not stop the company from processing milk, as had been requested by Mr. Rimberg.

A state Department of Agriculture and Markets spokeswoman — when contacted two weeks ago for a previous story on the plant — suggested production could continue under Ahava's inactive permit, since it was not suspended or terminated, and state inspectors would still regularly monitor product quality. Attempts Friday to get updated comments from the state office through telephone and e-mail messages were unsuccessful.

Toobro's new lawsuit seeks $10 million for numerous alleged violations, including breach of contract, identity theft, fraud, libel and slander.

Toobro in February purchased the assets of Ahava Entities, including the New Bremen facility and a kosher plant on Main Street in Ogdensburg, through two financial institutions that had liens on Ahava through Chapter 7 bankruptcy of that company's owner, Moise A. Banayan.

However, Ahava of California, operated by Mr. Banayan and his brother, Fariborz, continued to occupy the New Bremen plant through a lease agreement with Lewis County Dairy.

Toobro on March 1 entered a five-year agreement to lease the plant for $30,000 per month. However, attorney Leo L. Esses, representing Ahava, claimed the agreement was fraudulent.

The plant employs about 50 people.