Wilmington brewery drops defamation suit against former employee after written apology
A Wilmington brewery has dropped a defamation lawsuit against a former employee after he offered a profuse written apology.
In January, Wilmington's Edward Teach Brewery and its owner, Gary Sholar, filed a civil lawsuit against Erik Van Peterson, a former employee of Edward Teach who is now an employee at Wilmington's Flying Machine Brewing Co., seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
The suit accused Peterson of affixing labels containing QR codes to Edward Teach products at two Harris Teeter stores in Wilmington. The QR codes, the lawsuit said, linked to Facebook pages containing what the brewery called defamatory statements about Sholar.
An apology sent to the StarNews by Edward Teach Brewing attorney Thomas Varnum of Wilmington's Brooks Pierce law firm and signed by Peterson reads, in part, as follows.
"I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Edward Teach Brewery and its employees for the rash and misguided actions I took a couple of months ago when I tampered with several of their products in grocery stores here in Wilmington … I want to be clear that I acted alone and nothing I did was in any way connected to my current employer.
"My actions were motivated by Madonna Nash's public Facebook posts about Edward Teach Brewery and its owner. I made the mistake of assuming she was telling the truth about what she claimed happened that night in the ETB taproom. But I was not in the taproom that evening nor was Madonna Nash. I admit I don't know whether anything she said in her post is true."
In late December, a viral Facebook post made by Nash, a Brunswick County musician, accused Sholar of assaulting her daughter, the singer Asia Daye, who was performing at Edward Teach when the incident occurred, and of throwing chairs inside his establishment.
Daye's friend, Paige Grant, confronted Sholar after he attempted to sing with Daye while she was performing. The situation devolved into a heated argument in which Sholar and Grant exchanged profanities and Sholar kicked Grant out of the brewery. Nash and Daye have repeatedly declined to speak on the record with the StarNews.
The post inspired a local boycott of Edward Teach Brewing and led a number of area stores to drop its products.
In March, Sholar pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from the November incident, including failing to superintend a business for which an Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission permit has been issued and allowing disorderly conduct on the brewery's premises. Two counts each of assault on a female and communicating threats were dismissed.
Peterson's apology goes on to say, "I am grateful for the opportunities provided to me when I worked at (Edward Teach). I truly believe they employ good people and make good beer. The brewery had every right to sue me for what I did, and I'm grateful to them for dropping the lawsuit against me …
"Next time I will not believe every sensational thing I read online. I'd like to encourage local stores and bars to restock Ed Teach's beers, and I hope people will buy and enjoy them."
A written statement from Edward Teach Brewing reads, "We accept and appreciate Mr. Peterson’s apology. We know that, like many others, he was misled by Madonna Nash’s false and defamatory Facebook posts. This incident has damaged our business and hurt our employees and their families. We hope it makes everyone think twice about believing unverified accusations online."
A lawsuit filed by Edward Teach Brewing and Sholar against Nash is still active. It accuses her of defamation and of damaging the brewery's business. The suit seeks damages of more than $25,000 and an injunction barring Nash from what the brewery calls continued defamation.
Nash's original post, which was pinned to the top of her Facebook page for weeks, appears to have been taken down and no longer appears in her past posts.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's Edward Teach Brewing drops suit against former employee
