By DUANE SHERRILL | Special to The Times

CHATTANOOGA — Keith and Fawn Weaver of Nearest Green have new representation in their federal receivership case and are challenging recent claims by their creditors who want outlying enterprises like Humble Baron to be brought into the financial litigation. They maintain the plaintiff’s legal wrangling has cost their companies over $1 million in lost business and they may end up filing suit to get that money back.

“While the receiver who was specially charged with administering all assets of receivership could not find sufficient facts to warrant him taking a position as to whether any non-defendants should be brought into receivership, Farm Credit (the plaintiff in the action against Nearest Green) jumped in with a series of unsupported allegations with no evidentiary support and frivolous claims to expand receivership that are not supported by applicable law, all with an apparent intent to inflict financial harm on these separate business interests of Fawn and Keith Weaver,” the Weavers claimed in their most recent filings before U.S. Eastern District Court in Chattanooga.

The companies that are reportedly at the root of the issue are Humble Baron, Inc., Grant Sidney, Inc., Nashwood, Inc., Classic Hops Brewing Co., Shelbyville Grand, LLC, and the Weaver Interwoven Family Foundation. The Weavers maintain the public mention of trying to involve those separate companies into receivership, like is the present fate of Uncle Nearest, has hurt businesses for the companies as some entities are reportedly now afraid to do business with them.

“Farm Credit’s effort has been successful in that the non-defendants (Humble Baron and others) estimate that this efforts by Farm Credit to put these non-defendants into receivership has caused a financial loss in excess of $1 million,” the Weavers claim, noting they are reserving the right to seek financial remedy against the plaintiff for that financial harm.

At odds is the plaintiff’s belief that the non-defendant entities are connected to Nearest Green. The Weavers say they are not connected and should be left out of receivership.

Uncle Nearest is presently under the control of a receiver (Columbia attorney Phillip G. Young, Jr. of Thompson Burton, PLLC) who is trying to steady the financial ship for Uncle Nearest after it was revealed the company was millions of dollars behind in payments as it owes over $100 million to Farm Credit Mid-America. It was also alleged the former financial officer had overestimated the stock of barrels of whiskey by over $21 million–a stock which Farm Credit was using a collateral.

While the court placed Uncle Nearest under federal scrutiny, the plaintiffs have maintained that other companies under the Weaver influence should be brought under federal oversight. The Weavers do not agree and maintain the mere allegations are financial hurtful.

“Farm Credit’s lack of evidentiary support for its allegation is apparent because they have filed zero documents in support of expanding receivership to include the additional entities,” the filings before the court maintain with the Weavers noting that neither Fawn nor Keith Weaver are “obligators” on the Farm Credit debt. “Naming the Weavers personally as defendants in this case was completely unnecessary and was done for the apparent purpose of injuring the reputations of the Weavers and harming their business interests.”

Along with questioning the actions of Farm Credit in trying to include outside companies to receivership, the Weavers have streamlined their legal team for the long haul.

“Based on the appointment of the Receiver, the Weavers and Adams and Reese, LLP have mutually agreed to terminate their engagement, and the Weavers now request that Michael E. Collins and Manier & Herod., P.C. be substituted as their counsel of record,” they requested. The court has accepted their request for substitution of counsel. •

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