Bardstown Bourbon whistleblower fights distiller’s move to strike discrimination lawsuit
The whistleblower who filed a discrimination lawsuit against Bardstown Bourbon Co. last month is fighting the distiller’s move to strike the complaint from the public record.
Sylvia Sanders, Bardstown Bourbon’s former vice president of human resources, said in her latest filing that the allegations in the complaint against various people, including some who are not being sued, “are the core of the case.”
Bardstown Bourbon is not seeking to have the case dismissed, but argues some pieces of the lawsuit should not have been included. The motion is scheduled to be heard in Nelson Circuit Court on March 18 at 9 a.m.
Sanders alleges she was fired in 2024 after reporting a pattern of discrimination “in order to attempt to cover up the egregious misconduct, illegal activities, and boorish behavior on the part of the Defendants.”
On Feb. 13, she sued Bardstown Bourbon Company, parent Lofted Spirits, Lofted CEO Mark Erwin, BBC president Peter Marino, Pritzker Private Capital Investment Partners and PPC operating partner Christian Brickman, accusing them of gender discrimination and retaliation.
Bardstown Bourbon disputes the allegations and has said they “believe these claims are without merit.”
Bardstown Bourbon filed its motion to strike the complaint earlier this month, alleging Sanders was bound by a confidentiality agreement from her role as head of human resources. The company said Sanders’ filing improperly included “gratuitous allegations ... designed in this way to facilitate local and national media interest” such as “confidential experiences at BBC.”
But Sanders’ attorney, James M. Morris, argues that BBC cannot plausibly argue that the facts describing what Sanders investigated, what she reported, to whom she reported it, and how defendants reacted are “immaterial” or “impertinent” to her firing.
The memo Sanders wrote for Erwin outlining issues within the Bardstown Bourbon culture was even attached via email to her notice of termination, her attorney said.
Sanders said she was fired after delivering the memo, which she thought she was compiling at Erwin’s request, that included numerous issues she had identified in the company.
After she was fired, she attempted to go over Erwin’s head and delivered the information to Bardstown Bourbon Company’s owner, Pritzker Private Capital, which was also named in the lawsuit.
Pritzker Capital is owned by the prominent wealthy real estate family that includes Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. Gov. Pritzker is not actively involved in the company.
In her lawsuit, Sanders outlines a discriminatory pattern of behavior in which at least six female executives were either fired or forced out during Erwin’s tenure. She also detailed wide-ranging allegations of sexism, racism, transphobia, falsified safety records, state alcohol violations and more.
