Inside The $100M Lawsuit Rocking Fawn Weaver's Uncle Nearest
Fawn Weaver Fires Back — Inside The $100M Lawsuit Rocking Uncle Nearest
Fawn Weaver, co-founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc., the company behind Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and Tennessee’s Nearest Green Distillery, has secured a significant victory in her ongoing legal battle with lender, Farm Credit Mid-America.
Fawn Weaver gave an update on the Uncle Nearest, Inc case on Tuesday.
The lender previously accused Weaver and her husband, Keith Weaver, of defaulting on loans totaling more than $108 million tied to their businesses, which led to a court-ordered receivership in 2025. But on March 17, Weaver announced on Instagram that the receivership had officially ended following decisive legal action taken to protect the company’s legacy.
Weaver, her husband, and the company’s largest shareholder have since filed a lawsuit against the lender in the New York State Supreme Court. The suit alleges Farm Credit Mid-America orchestrated a smear campaign against the fast-growing whiskey brand by spreading false claims, including missing inventory, financial misconduct, negative cash flow, and insolvency, “despite possessing the records that contradicted every single one of those claims,” she told fans on Instagram.
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According to a press release from Weaver’s investment firm, Grant Sidney, Inc., the lender’s accusations were allegedly made to shield its own internal missteps and deflect scrutiny over how it managed the credit facility supporting Uncle Nearest, Inc.
She has filed for Chapter 11 protection to “reorganize” the company.
Weaver revealed she has assembled “10 attorneys across New York, Atlanta and New Orleans” who are reviewing evidence and are “ready to litigate.” She also shared that she filed for Chapter 11 protection on Tuesday “to reorganize” the company’s debt while protecting employees, creditors, and shareholders.
“That filing immediately stayed the earlier lawsuit. Many who read the headlines are understandably concerned about the allegations of financial irregularities,” she continued. “Frankly, if I were just reading the headlines or only the bank’s allegations, I’d be concerned too, but that’s one of the reasons I approved entering Chapter 11 this morning, because Chapter 11 requires complete financial transparency. In that courtroom, no one gets to hide behind filings without evidence or accusations without proof, and the picture that has been painted about Uncle Nearest will now have to be proven through numbers that add up, not words.”
Through the Chapter 11 process, Uncle Nearest, Inc. plans to pursue claims and counterclaims against its lender related to the disputed credit facility. The filing allows the company to maintain normal operations while addressing legal and financial disputes in court.
Court documents show approximately, “$13,188,927 in unsecured obligations. The loan at issue with Farm Credit reflects a stated principal balance of approximately $102,521,326, which the company disputes and will address through claims and counterclaims against the lender,” the lawsuit argues, according to the press release. “These liabilities stand against enterprise assets estimated at approximately $529 million.”
Despite the legal battle, operations at Nearest Green Distillery and nationwide distribution of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey will continue uninterrupted during the restructuring process.
“False accusations can travel quickly, especially when they involve the founders of a nationally recognized brand,” said James Williams, chief litigator at Chehardy Sherman Williams, who is leading this litigation with James L. Walker Jr. as New York counsel in a press release. “But when accusations are contradicted by the very records already in the accuser’s possession, there must be accountability,” Williams added.
What is the lawsuit about?
The lawsuit centers on a dispute over how a $102 million lending facility, used to fund the company’s rapid expansion, was managed. As previously reported, in 2025, Farm Credit Mid-America sued Uncle Nearest, Inc. and the Weavers, accusing both parties of missing loan payments starting in 2023 and of improperly using loan funds. According to the complaint, the lender accused the Uncle Nearest, Inc. founders of diverting money to purchase a $2.25 million property on Martha’s Vineyard and overstating the value of whiskey barrel inventory pledged as collateral. The lawsuit further claimed the company misrepresented details of the Martha’s Vineyard purchase, failed to maintain the required $1.5 million minimum cash balance under the loan agreement, and lacked adequate internal financial controls.
Before the controversy, Uncle Nearest had become one of the fastest-growing American whiskey brands in the country, breaking into Nielsen’s Top 20 super-premium whiskey rankings within just five years. Despite the company’s challenges, today, Nearest Green Distillery ranks among the most visited distilleries in the world, welcoming more than 200,000 guests annually, while the brand continues its streak as the most awarded bourbon and American whiskey for the seventh consecutive year.
The public can follow the case as it progresses on Fawn Weaver’s website.
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Fawn Weaver Fires Back — Inside The $100M Lawsuit Rocking Uncle Nearest was originally published on madamenoire.com
