Nursery owners settle with tenants who lived in illegal structures on the property.

The owners of a Royal Oaks nursery accused of housing workers in makeshift dwellings and tax evasion agreed to settlement terms on Aug. 3, bringing a three-year-long court saga to its end.

Husband-and-wife Nicolas and Ana Ruvalcaba, owners of Ruvalcaba Nursery on San Miguel Canyon Road, agreed to pay $450,000 to their former tenants and serve time in home confinement.

In May 2023, authorities reportedly discovered the nursery was housing 270 people in squalid conditions.

Nearly 30 tenants sued the Ruvalcabas, alleging dangerous housing conditions. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office got involved in March 2024 when it filed criminal and civil charges against the Ruvalcabas, with felony counts of tax evasion, as well as misdemeanors for failing to secure workers comp insurance and counts related to housing conditions on the property.

The civil and felony cases stalled in 2025 and earlier this year when Nicolas Ruvalcaba’s attorneys argued that he was not fit to stand trial, as he is facing a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. On July 30, William Pernik, the attorney representing Nicolas Ruvalcaba, withdrew the motion for a mental health diversion after multiple warnings from Monterey County Superior Court Judge Mark Hood about further delays.

The Ruvalcabas had earlier pled not guilty to the charges, with Nicolas writing in court documents, “We have not done any act which causes harm.” A trial was scheduled to begin on Aug. 3 until the couple agreed to the settlement. They also pled no contest to tax evasion and failing to secure workers compensation insurance, among other charges.

Attorney Leigh Rodriguez, representing the Ruvalcabas in the civil case put forward by the tenants, declined to comment. Pernik, representing Nicolas Ruvalcaba in the felony case, did not respond to a request for comment as of press time. The Aug. 3 order by Judge Ian A. Rivamonte states the two sides agreed to a “compromise and settlement… for the purpose of furthering the public interest.”

According to the settlement, the nursery owners must pay each of the 10 couples in the lawsuit $45,000, in addition to more than $300,000 in penalties to the California Franchise Tax Board, County of Monterey agencies and the court.

The order also states that if 95 percent of the $127,678 civil penalty to the court is not paid by Oct. 28, then the court will appoint a receiver to sell the Ruvalcabas’ property in order to pay the fine.

The Ruvalcabas are also barred from constructing a structure without a permit and allowing people to live in buildings that have not been approved by the County of Monterey, as is the law.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29 at Monterey County Superior Court. According to court documents, the DA’s office will recommend a four-year probation term and 240 days in home confinement for Nicolas Ruvalcaba, and 40 days of home confinement for Ana Ruvalcaba.