A Tennessee judge has dismissed Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver’s petition for bankruptcy.
The Lexington Herald Leader reported that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight held an expedited hearing on Thursday (March 19) on motions by the whiskey brand’s receiver, Phillip H. Young, and Kentucky lender Farm Credit Mid America to dismiss. Those motions were granted, and in a decision delivered by the bench, the case was dismissed.
The Black-founded brand started by Fawn and her husband, Keith Weaver, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday (March 17) after a nearly yearlong battle with its lender, Farm Credit Mid-America, which led to the company being placed under a receivership. Weaver also said to her followers on social media that she was suing Farm Credit for defamation, alleging the lender has been “circulating false accusations, including claims of missing inventory, financial misconduct, negative cash flow, and insolvency.”
Weaver is claiming that Farm Credit has orchestrated a smear campaign against her company. The lender initially claimed in July that the Uncle Nearest brand defaulted on $108 million in loans minus interest and that $2 million of those loans were used on a property in Martha’s Vineyard. Now it says that Uncle Nearest needs to pay up $200 million and is insolvent.
Weaver is fighting back against these claims. Her legal counsel in New York said in a statement that Farm Credit allegations against Uncle Nearest “are contradicted by the very records already in the accuser’s possession.”
Weaver has also stated that the receivership had been dissolved, which is inaccurate. No ruling from a federal judge has determined this, per the Lynchburg Times.
The Uncle Nearest founders also filed a separate defamation suit against Farm Credit in the state of New York, this one over lost contracts, withdrawn investments, partnerships, and business opportunities due to Farm Credit’s claims about their company. The whiskey brand claims that they are seeking damages and a permanent injunction that would prevent Farm Credit from making more false statements about the company and would require the creditor to make any necessary retractions or corrections.
