Whistleblower lawsuit against Bardstown Bourbon to be refiled with redactions
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge denied motion to strike but original complaint sealed; plaintiff to refile redacted.
- Plaintiff says she was fired in 2024 after reporting discrimination, safety violations.
- Defendants dispute claims; Bardstown filed an NDA and Pritzker/Brickman moved to dismiss
A whistleblower lawsuit filed against Bardstown Bourbon Co. will be refiled with some information redacted.
The move comes after a March 18 hearing on the distillery’s motion to strike the complaint.
Although Nelson Circuit Judge Charles C. Simms III denied Bardstown Bourbon’s motion, the judge accepted a suggestion to seal the original complaint and refile a redacted complaint.
The compromise allowed both sides to claim a win.
“We’re pleased the court recognized the validity of our privacy concerns by ruling that the plaintiff’s original complaint be sealed by the Clerk of the Court,” said Holly Weyler, spokeswoman for Lofted Spirits, umbrella company for Bardstown Bourbon and Green River Distilling, in a statement. “The court further ordered the plaintiff to file a replacement complaint redacting individual non-parties names, as BBC requested in the Motion to Strike. This action was necessary to protect the privacy of our team members after certain information was needlessly disclosed.”
James M. Morris, attorney for complainant Sylvia Sanders, who on Feb. 13 filed a discrimination lawsuit against 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, expressed satisfaction, too.
“We are, obviously, pleased with the court’s rejection of the motion to strike based upon the facts being relevant to the complaint, and that the court followed my suggestion to simply seal the original, and file a redacted version in the docket,” Morris said in a statement after the hearing. “We look forward to getting beyond the defendants’ stall tactics and addressing the merits surrounding the egregious misconduct that is being allowed to run rampant at BBC.”
Sanders, the former vice president of human resources, alleged in her original complaint 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.”
Bardstown Bourbon disputes the allegations and has said they “believe these claims are without merit.”
Sanders outlined a pattern of discriminatory behavior, including the ousting of virtually every top female executive at the distillery during Erwin’s tenure. She also detailed wide-ranging allegations of sexism, racism, transphobia, falsified safety records, state alcohol violations and more.
Bardstown Bourbon filed a copy of a non-disclosure agreement, signed by Sanders, that focuses primarily on trade secrets and proprietary business information such as recipes, customer lists and financial data but also references human resources.
Meanwhile, Pritzker Private Capital Investment Partners and operating partner Christian Brickman filed a motion to dismiss the case against them, arguing that Sanders was not an employee of PPC and that Brickman was not involved in her firing.
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.
This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
