DUANE SHERRILLEditor

Uncle Nearest and Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville have been hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit by their creditor, Farm Credit Mid-America, PCA, claiming the company has defaulted on over $100 million in loans.

The suit, filed this past week in U.S. District Court, Eastern Division, asks that a receiver be placed over Uncle Nearest and included defendants in order to protect the collateral. It was filed by the farm creditor based out of Louisville, Ky., against Uncle Nearest Inc., based out of Shelbyville which was founded in 2016. Fawn and Keith Weaver of Uncle Nearest are also named in the lawsuit.

“The collateral subject to the lender’s liens is in danger of being lost and/or materially injured or impaired to the extent a receiver is not appointed,” the plaintiff warned in asking the court to grant relief in the case. “The enhanced value and stabilization from a professional, court-appointed receiver outweighs any potential harm. Uncle Nearest will retain ownership and will be kept informed of the receiver’s work through regular reports. The marginal costs of a receiver pales in comparison to the tremendous loss of value of the collateral if Uncle Nearest continues along the current path, which proves that Uncle Nearest cannot pay the Loans, its property-related expenses and its vendors.”

The suit maintains that Uncle Nearest, among other things, failed to pay principal and interest payments multiple times and used proceeds of the loan from the lender to purchase an over $2 million home on Martha’s Vineyard. The suit also claims Uncle Nearest sold barrels – which constitute the majority of the lender’s collateral – to generate cash to pay past due obligations to parties other than the lender.”

The suit also maintains Nearest sold discounted future revenue streams for discounted rate, some for hundreds of thousands of dollars in discounts. The plaintiff also claims Uncle Nearest failed to maintain a net worth of at least $100 million in 2024 as required by the term of the loan.

“This Collateral Discrepancy was further confirmed in January 2025 when Uncle Nearest provided an updated Borrowing Base and compliance certificate evidencing that the previously reported Borrowing Base had been overstated by approximately $21,000,000,” the plaintiff noted.

The creditor claims they have tried to reach out to Uncle Nearest but have not received much cooperation, forcing them to seek relief in federal court.

“From January 2024 through March 2025, the lender sent formal and informal notices of default, requests for updated information regarding its Collateral and requests for meetings to discuss a consensual path forward, including a forbearance agreement,” the suit reads. “Unfortunately, until March 2025, these notices and requests failed to result in any resolution and were mainly met with extremely delayed responses.”

The creditor revealed that Uncle Nearest has been in default on its loans for some time.

“Uncle Nearest has been in default under the loans since as early as Jan. 2, 2024, and has continued to incur further defaults over the last eighteen months,” the plaintiff claims. “One of the most recent defaults occurred as a result of Uncle Nearest’s failure to pay the Revolving Loans in full on the applicable maturity date of July 22, 2025.”

The suit lastly asks that the court enter a judgement against Uncle Nearest so that the creditor can be made whole.

“That judgment be entered against Uncle Nearest in an amount to be established at trial but in no event less than the principal amount of $102,269,182.84 plus all other amounts due under the Credit Agreement and all other loan documents, including but not limited to, all accrued and unpaid interest, incurred attorneys’ fees and costs of collection, pre- and post-judgment interest, and any other costs incurred in collecting and enforcing any judgment entered herein, recoverable under the express terms of the contracts entered into between the parties,” the suit asks.

Uncle Nearest had not entered their answer to the allegations as of press-time. The entire suit can be in full here: