Michael Hiltzik: A legal conflict brings a sour note to the sweet history of California strawberries

The California strawberry may look like any other fruit, if redder and juicier than most. But that appearance conceals surprising drama - lawsuits galore bearing accusations of thievery and collusion, all supposedly in the name of creating a sweeter berry with a longer shelf life.

And now, years after California growers thought conflicts over the fruit finally had been put to rest, yet another lawsuit threatens their hard-won peace.

Late last month, the leading brand in supermarket strawberries, Driscoll's, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that its proprietary berry varieties had been stolen by a company founded by the most celebrated breeder in the business and used in its own breeding program.

The lawsuit's target is Douglas V. Shaw and his firm, California Berry Cultivars (CBC). As it happens, Shaw was a key figure in the last legal fight to roil the industry - a years-long conflict between him