MIAMI, FL - After the discovery of a special tree that spawned a new species of avocado, interest in how to duplicate the buttery richness and conveniently smaller size of the new variety began to take shape. In the midst of the competition, though, things took a... shall I say... mushy turn. Allegations of tree-branch theft, clandestine cloning, and DNA tests on competitors’ produce are coming to light, as Carla’s finder, Agroindustria Ocoeña—the Dominican company that holds a U.S. patent for the Carla and argues it has exclusive rights to sell the variety—moves forward with the Miami federal court to sue Miami produce distributor Fresh Directions International. The former alleges that the latter illegally sells Carlas in South Florida from another grower.

These avocados are not knock-off avocados either—no, this is not a case of Prada versus Prado. DNA tests have proven the avocados are, in fact, Carla clones, and Agroindustria Ocoeña lawsuit suggests that the only way to accomplish this is with a grifted graft.

“The party who is importing the illegal fruit either has to stop, or license the patent from my client,” said Coral Gables lawyer Ury Fischer, who represents Agroindustria Ocoeña, before sharing that the company’s legal team visited supermarkets throughout Miami to fill the office with dozens of avocados for testing.

“We ended up eating a lot of guacamole,” he continued—rough day on the job, I bet!

Fresh Directions International has not made a comment on the incident, according to Pilot Online.

The variety is so precious to its inventor because it has become crucial to the avocado market—Carlas offer a unique availability and opportunity for suppliers and retailers to tap into its size and flavor.

“It doesn’t necessarily compete with most Florida varieties,” said Peter Leifermann, VP of Sales and Marketing for Brooks Tropicals, a distributor of Carla avocados in Florida. “It helps fill a gap in the calendar year. We are able to supply the market with green-skin avocados nearly 12 months a year.”

The lawsuit comes at a time when consumers are always looking for new ways to use the coveted green fruit. According to the news source, data from a U.S. avocado trade association expresses that 33.3 million pounds of avocados were shipped to the U.S. from the island nation last year.

You might have to wait a little longer to get your hands on Carla again, as harvests run between February and May. As to why Carla was named Carla, the patent doesn’t reveal an explanation, but the tree was seen as a beautiful new addition to the industry because it produces fruit later and longer than species that are similar.

For more news on how tight competition is steering our industry into unchartered waters, stick with AndNowUKnow.