MOCKSVILLE, NC. — The North Carolina Business Court sanctioned Brakebush Brothers Inc. for failing to produce documents in a timely manner.

Brakebush sued several insurance companies in a dispute over the amount of insurance proceeds payable after a fire at a chicken plant in Mocksville, NC, that occurred Dec. 14, 2017.

The plant, formerly owned by House of Raeford Farms, is now operated by Brakebush. The fire occurred as House of Raeford was in the process of selling the plant, the court documents noted.

“The company began rebuilding the damaged plant before selling the operation to Brakebush Brothers in July 2018 with rebuilding not yet completed," a House of Raeford spokesperson told MEAT+POULTRY. "House of Raeford received payment from insurance carriers for the construction they completed, and the company assigned any future proceeds from insurance carriers to Brakebush as part of the sale. Three of the insurance carriers would not accept assignment of future proceeds to Brakebush, so House of Raeford agreed to join the lawsuit to assist Brakebush in acquiring any proceeds they were due.”

The insurance companies claimed that key evidence for the case was withheld and presented a week after discovering its existence. The key documents disclosed consisted of 112 pages of handwritten notes by Carey Brakebush, a Brakebush executive, regarding the fire loss and rebuild.

The insurance companies contend that the notes are critical to the case since Carey Brakebush was “the principal architect of the rebuild of the Mocksville plant and the individual who was at the center of preparing the insurance claim at issue here.”

In addition to Carey Brakebush’s notes, the insurance companies claim the poultry processors withheld evidence from Steve Mixon, former Mocksville plant manager who passed away amid the ongoing litigation.

The assortment of evidence, referred to as the “Mixon Materials,” included pictures and videos of the Mocksville plant taken by Mixon.

Regarding the Mixon Materials, the processors attest that they “reasonably and in good faith believed that all of Mr. Mixon’s photos were produced,” noting that metadata reflects at least 200 of his photos were produced earlier.

The court ordered that the defendants will be permitted to reopen the disposition of Carey Brakebush for the sole purpose of examining him regarding the withheld materials. The court also ordered Carey Brakebush’s iPad to be produced for a third-party forensic examination.

This article has been updated to reflect a statement from House of Raeford Farms.