Shareholder Delegate's Petition to Enforce Demands for Information

(February 13, 2004)

A petition was filed in the state court of California on February 13, 2004 to enforce the shareholder Delegate's January 12, 2004 demands for information relating to matters presented for voting at the annual meeting scheduled for February 23, 2004.  The proceeding, like the demand itself, followed the provisions of Sections 1601-1505 of the California Corporations Code.  A copy of the petition is available from the link below.

The proceeding was initiated after repeated efforts, by the Delegate and then by the Delegate's attorney, to obtain a good faith response from the company.  Shortly after the proceeding was initiated, the attorney representing Farmer Bros. sent a letter to the Delegate's attorney stating that some of the documents demanded by the Delegate would be attached to an SEC filing "no later than February 16, 2004."  The company's attorney acknowledged the company's obligation to provide all the other demanded information, but argued that it should be provided only if the recipients agreed to consider it confidential and "material," and therefore be restricted from buying or selling the stock of Farmer Bros. until such time as the company may make the all of the disclosed information public.  He did not explain why the company's management, who were necessarily aware of all the confidential and "material" information, had been free from such restrictions in the past year's frequent and substantial stock transactions.*

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* Requests for copies of the February 13, 2004 letter from the company's attorney, Eric S. Waxman of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, may be sent to farm@shareholderforum.com.