Weavers appeal order expanding Uncle Nearest receivership

5:20 p.m. May 27, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Fawn Weaver, Keith Weaver, and Grant Sidney Inc. have appealed a federal judge’s May 26 order that kept the Uncle Nearest receivership in place and expanded it to include Grant Sidney.

The filing moves the dispute from the district court toward the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where the Weavers and Grant Sidney can challenge Atchley’s order.

The notice of appeal was filed on Wednesday, May 27, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The filing says Grant Sidney, Fawn Weaver, and Keith Weaver “hereby appeal” Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr.’s May 26 order to the Sixth Circuit.

The appeal follows an order in which Atchley denied the Weavers’ and Grant Sidney’s effort to end the receivership over Uncle Nearest and related entities. The judge also granted part of receiver Phillip G. Young Jr.’s request to clarify and expand the receivership, bringing Grant Sidney into the receivership estate while declining, at least for now, to add six other entities.

Atchley declined to dissolve the receivership, writing that the Weavers and Grant Sidney had failed to show the material change in circumstances required to end it. He also found Uncle Nearest “insolvent by a considerable margin.”

The judge’s order also took direct aim at Fawn Weaver’s testimony. After reviewing several disputed statements, Atchley wrote that “the Court does not find Fawn Weaver to be a credible witness.”

The notice of appeal is short and procedural. It does not spell out why the Weavers and Grant Sidney believe Atchley’s order should be reversed. Those arguments typically come later, through briefs filed with the appeals court.

The appeal adds another layer to Farm Credit Mid-America’s lawsuit against Uncle Nearest and related entities, a case that earlier court filings say involves more than $108 million in outstanding loans and a court-appointed receivership now controlling key business assets.

Michael E. Collins of Manier & Herod signed the notice for Grant Sidney, Fawn Weaver, and Keith Weaver. Farm Credit is represented by Demetra Liggins of McGuireWoods LLP. Young, the court-appointed receiver, is represented by Justin Campbell of Thompson Burton PLLC.

A notice of appeal does not automatically pause a district court order. Unless a stay is separately granted, the appealed order generally remains in effect while the Sixth Circuit process begins.

The appeal opens a new front in the case, but it does not change the immediate posture on its own. For now, the receivership remains in place unless Atchley’s order is stayed or reversed on appeal.