Judge OK’s sale of Uncle Nearest’s Martha’s Vineyard property

Receiver may sell Edgartown property, but proceeds cannot go to Farm Credit while underlying lawsuit remains pending

3:41 p.m. June 15, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

A federal judge has cleared the way for the court-appointed receiver in the Uncle Nearest case to sell a Martha’s Vineyard property tied to the company for $2.595 million, but ordered that none of the proceeds go to Farm Credit Mid-America while the underlying lawsuit remains pending.

U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. granted Receiver Phillip G. Young Jr.’s expedited motion Monday, June 15, finding the proposed sale met the legal requirements for a private sale of receivership property.

The property, located at 471 West Tisbury Rd. in Edgartown, Mass., is part of the receivership estate in the federal case filed by Farm Credit Mid-America PCA against Uncle Nearest Inc., Nearest Green Distillery Inc., Uncle Nearest Real Estate Holdings LLC, and other defendants.

Young was appointed Aug. 22, 2025, to oversee Uncle Nearest and related entities while the case proceeds. The ruling marks another court-approved move to liquidate non-income-producing assets during the receivership.

Sale price nearly matches appraisal

Three court-appointed appraisers each valued the Martha’s Vineyard real estate at $2.6 million. The proposed sale price is $2.595 million, or about 99.8% of the appraised value.

Federal law requires a court-supervised private sale of real property to meet certain safeguards, including an appraisal, public notice, an opportunity for higher bids, and a finding that the sale benefits the estate. Atchley found those requirements were met.

The sale also includes furniture, furnishings, accessories, and household supplies located on the property. The court waived a separate appraisal requirement for those items, noting the receiver’s position that furnishings are customarily included in Martha’s Vineyard real estate sales and that none of the personal property had been shown to be exceptionally valuable.

Before approving the sale, the court required public notice and an opportunity for overbids.

The receiver published notice in the Vineyard Gazette on May 22 and May 29, as well as on the newspaper’s website from May 22 through June 5. Interested buyers had until June 5 to submit an overbid with proof of ability to purchase.

No timely overbids were received.

The court also considered two backup offers, each for $2.595 million. Because neither exceeded the proposed sale price by the 10% required under federal law, they did not prevent approval of the sale.

A separate offer from Nubian Sage Enterprises LLC, also did not block the sale. That offer sought to purchase 100% of the membership interests in UN House MV LLC, the receivership entity that owns the property, rather than the property itself. Atchley found that the offer was structured differently and did not qualify as a competing offer for the real estate.

Weavers argued property had brand value

Defendants Fawn and Keith Weaver opposed the sale, arguing the Martha’s Vineyard property was more than a house on an island.

They said the property served as a brand-building asset near Oak Bluffs and helped Uncle Nearest market its products, maintain relationships with key partners, and strengthen its presence in a historically important community.

The receiver disagreed.

Young described the property as non-income-producing, geographically separate from Uncle Nearest’s operations, and not historically tied to the company’s origins. He also told the court that none of the potential purchasers of Uncle Nearest had expressed interest in acquiring the Martha’s Vineyard property.

Atchley wrote that the court understood the Weavers’ position and did not doubt that the property provided some benefit to Uncle Nearest. But he found that those benefits did not outweigh the ongoing costs to the receivership estate.

The judge also found that selling the property now, rather than later, was in the estate’s best interest because it would prevent additional expenses from continuing to accrue.

Proceeds must stay with estate

Although the sale was approved, the court imposed an important limitation on the funds.

Atchley ruled that no sale proceeds may be released to Farm Credit Mid-America while the underlying claims in the case remain pending.

Any proceeds not used to satisfy the first lien held by Planet Home Lending, LLC, must be held and used for the benefit of the receivership estate.

The receiver was also authorized to sign any deeds, titles, or bills of sale necessary to complete the transaction.

The order clears one asset for sale, but leaves the central Farm Credit dispute unresolved.