Judge pauses proposed Martha’s Vineyard sale
11:22 a.m. March 16, 2026
DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor
A federal judge has paused the proposed sale of a Martha’s Vineyard property tied to the Uncle Nearest receivership, ruling that required pre-sale steps under federal law have not yet been completed.
In a March 16 order, U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. put on hold the receiver’s motion to sell the property at 10 Codman Spring Road in Edgartown, Mass., along with all personal property located there. Receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. had asked the court on Feb. 25 to approve the sale.
The order does not reject the sale outright. Instead, Atchley said the court cannot approve the proposed private sale until statutory requirements are completed, including appraisals, notice, and a hearing.
Federal law gives a receiver broad authority to sell receivership property, the court said, but that authority is still governed by specific procedures for court-approved sales. Because the proposed transaction includes both real and personal property and is being pursued as a private sale, it is subject to 28 U.S.C. § 2001(b).
Before the sale can be approved, the court said it must appoint three disinterested appraisers, conduct a properly noticed hearing, ensure the proposed sale price is at least two-thirds of the appraised value, and allow for the possibility of a bona fide offer at least 10 percent higher than the proposed private-sale price.
Atchley said the court cannot waive those requirements and noted that failing to follow them can render a sale void.
To move the process forward, the judge ordered the receiver to submit, within 14 days, a list of at least five proposed appraisers, along with their qualifications and estimated timelines for completing an appraisal of the Martha’s Vineyard property. Farm Credit Mid-America, along with defendants Fawn Weaver and Keith Weaver, will then have five days to file either notices of no objection or written objections to the proposed appraisers’ qualifications or disinterestedness.
After that, the court said it will appoint three appraisers, or direct the receiver to submit additional candidates if needed, and enter further orders necessary to complete the pre-sale process. That will lead to a properly noticed hearing on whether the proposed sale should be approved.
The judge also declined to modify Section 2001(b)’s requirements for the personal-property portion of the proposed sale, citing both the structure of the transaction and the local custom on Martha’s Vineyard of including related furnishings in real estate sales.
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