Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Court documents provide further updates in the ongoing Landan/Haymarket saga.

By any objective standard, the terrain has shifted since this story first arose, and it continues to do so. This is why I'll continue providing updates.

There is some good news for Haymarket Whiskey Bar as its owner, Matthew Landan, awaits the resolution of lawsuits pertaining to allegations of rape.

We Asked A Whiskey Pro To Pick America’s Most Important Whiskey Bars, by Christopher Osburn (Uproxx).

“Great whiskey, particularly great bourbon, isn’t meant to be fancy. Whiskey has historically been a working-stiff’s drink, and bars like Haymarket are there to remind us of that. It has the eclectic feel of a fan-boy’s fantasy basement bar — coupled with an impressive collection of whiskey that spans the economic spectrum. It’s in Louisville, so bourbon prevails.”

Meanwhile, court documents provide further updates.

Haymarket bar owner allegedly compared rape assault allegations to 'civil rights struggles', by Jason Riley (WDRB)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – When Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner Matthew Landan first learned he had been accused on a Nov. 13 Facebook post of raping a woman, he sent a group text to his employees comparing his plight “to the civil rights struggles of African-Americans,” according to court records.

In records filed as part of Landan’s defamation lawsuit against two women who accused him of sexual assault and two former employees who allegedly staged a walkout forcing the temporary closure of the NuLu bar, attorneys for the employees claim Landan “made light” of the allegations and compared his situation to the civil rights struggle.

“I don’t care how many f---ing trolls are on the farm Its (sic) like Public Enemy used to say a nation of millions can’t hold us back,” Landan allegedly texted his employees, according to the documents.

This update came on the heels of revelations that violence has been directed against Landan since the rape story broke.

The NuLu bar owner accused of rape on social media said he's been attacked.

Landan has said he has been assaulted and his property vandalized since the original Facebook post. Someone threw a condiment in his face during a bourbon event last weekend, he said.

The words "Rape Van" was also spray-painted on his white van.

"It has taken a toll. He has to worry about where he parks his vehicles and changing locks on his house multiple times," attorney Andrew Horne, who represents Landan said on Wednesday. "Each time he's taken a step outside the litigation to move forward and basically get back to normal, he's gotten pushback."

A similar update on the same day (March 8) appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner mocked sexual assault accusers, former employees say, by Bailey Loosemore and Darcy Costello

Two former Haymarket Whiskey Bar employees say their ex-boss made light of multiple sexual assault accusations levied against him on social media last fall, referring to the claim that he defecated on a woman as "literally shit."

The employees' claim was made in a court document filed Thursday — two days after the bar's owner told Courier Journal he was the victim of several petty crimes, including the painting of the words "rape van" on his personal vehicle.

The document is part of a lawsuit filed by bar owner Matthew Landan against the two employees as well as two women who've publicly accused him of sexual assault.

Landan has previously accused the employees of orchestrating a walkout of Haymarket workers that forced the bar to close, then making a "lowball" offer for the business.

Now, employees Eric Snider and Christopher Maggio say Landan invited them to make an offer in a text message that stated: "If you want to put an offer on the table for the bar I'll listen."

Landan reopened the bar on Nov. 29, the same day he filed the lawsuit.

Previously:

Update: "Attorney for Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner presses alleged victim for details about sexual encounters."

Landan: "I have never sexually assaulted anyone, regardless of where they made their claims."

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