Overview of the Sanders vs. Bardstown Bourbon Company et. al. Complaint

by Chris Blatner

Bardstown, KY - Complaint filed February 10, 2026

Sylvia E. Sanders, a longtime human resources executive, is suing The Bardstown Bourbon Company and its private-equity owner, Pritzker Private Capital, along with three executives, Mark Wiley Erwin, Peter Marino, and Christian A. Brickman.

In the complaint, Sanders says she worked as the company’s Vice President of Human Resources from 2019 until she was terminated in May 2024. She says she repeatedly raised concerns about what she describes as discriminatory behavior, workplace misconduct, and legal and compliance problems. She claims the company praised her work for years, then turned on her after she put her complaints in writing.

Sanders says she sent Mark Erwin (CEO of BBCo) a formal written report on March 25, 2024, accusing him and company leadership of discrimination and retaliation. The complaint says Erwin first scheduled a meeting to discuss the report, then cancelled it on March 28, 2024. Sanders says the meeting was never rescheduled, and instead Erwin told her she would go through a 60-day transition that would end with her termination. The complaint also says Erwin later emailed her a separation agreement on April 13, 2024, with the subject line “Separation Agreement,” and described a “Transition period” that ran from 4/15/24 to 6/14/24, with 6/14/24 listed as the “official date of termination.”

Sanders says she then escalated her concerns to Pritzker Private Capital. The complaint says she emailed Christian Brickman at Pritzker on May 6, 2024, with the subject “Complaint regarding termination,” and attached her earlier report. The complaint says that two days later, representatives from Pritzker showed up at the Bardstown facilities without warning, met with Erwin for most of the day, and then Sanders was escorted off the premises that same day. The complaint says she was placed on leave through May 17, 2024, when her employment was then terminated.

After those events, Sanders brings a wide set of legal claims. She alleges gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, retaliation, breach of contract, defamation, and other claims. She asks for damages and requests a jury trial.

What happens next (based on what the complaint asks for and how civil cases usually move):

• The complaint directs that the defendants be served through their lawyers.

• The defendants typically get a chance to file an answer or motions asking the judge to dismiss some or all claims.

• The complaint also includes a jury demand, which signals Sanders is asking to have a jury decide key factual disputes if the case reaches trial.

Remedies Sanders is asking the court to award:

• All actual, general, and compensatory damages

• Punitive damages

• Her costs and attorneys’ fees

• Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest

• Any other relief the court finds fair and appropriate

• A jury trial on all issues that can be tried by a jury

What Sanders says she reported to Erwin in her March 25, 2024 letter (as described in the complaint)

The complaint describes Sanders’s March 25 report as raising, among other things:

• Claims of discrimination and retaliation directed at her and other women in senior roles.

• Concerns about “widespread discriminatory animus and slurs,” including “blatant racism, agism and sexist/gender bias,” and “illegal identity-based decision-making.”

• Allegations about workplace alcohol and drug issues, including people being under the influence at work and under-age employees being served alcohol during work hours.

• Claims involving safety and reporting issues, including alleged falsification of safety and incident records and regulatory reporting.

• Other alleged misconduct the complaint ties to company culture and compliance.

Additional complaints Sanders says she raised in her May 6, 2024 letter to Brickman (as described in the complaint)

The complaint says Sanders told Pritzker leadership that she believed:

• Her firing followed a written complaint about gender bias and was retaliation.

• The company faced “financial and regulatory exposure,” including:

  • “Pervasive gender bias”

  • “Lack of compliance with Kentucky’s Alcohol Beverage Control”

  • “Wage and Hour violations”

  • “Lack of due diligence in background checks and drug testing”

  • “Potential violation of Kentucky’s distillery regulations”

• She also raised concerns tied to workplace safety reporting, saying she believed safety records were being reported incorrectly and that she had pushed for OSHA logs to be corrected.

Specific complaints against Erwin

• The complaint says Erwin was a main cause of “illegal, unethical” conduct and discrimination at the company (or allowed it through poor leadership).
  “SANDERS was also required to repeatedly raise serious concerns to BBC, by and through ERWIN, and others… regarding intentional and systemic concerns of wide-spread discrimination, illegal and unethical activities… taking place within BBC… primarily caused and condoned by ERWIN and/or caused by ERWIN’s lack of competency and/or leadership capabilities in a private sector business.”

• The complaint lists a broad set of problems Sanders says she reported to the company “by and through ERWIN,” including discriminatory slurs and alleged compliance issues.
  “Incidents that were reported to BBC, by and through ERWIN… regarding ERWIN’s inappropriate conduct and/or involvement… included, but were not limited to, widespread discriminatory animus and slurs; improper protected classification jokes and commentary; blatant racism, agism and sexist/gender bias; illegal identity-based decision-making; employees arriving, or becoming, while working, under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and not being properly disciplined…; falsification of mandatory occupational health… documentation and regulatory-mandated reporting; theft of company product; a hit and run alcohol-related accident; omission of Human Resources altogether from mandatory reporting…; and employees, including under-aged employees, being served the CORPORATE GROUP’s alcohol during work hours including encouraging under-age drinking.”

• Age-based hiring (CFO search).
  “In one such discriminatory incident, involving illegal age-based hiring practices, during BBC’s search for an individual to fill the position of Chief Financial Officer, ERWIN made the specific statement that he refused to hire one of the qualified candidates based, entirely, on the candidate being ‘too old.’”

• Race- and gender-based hiring (General Counsel search).
  “In another such discriminatory incident, involving illegal race- and gender-based hiring practices, contrary to both the hiring authority, and Human Resources, ERWIN refused to select the best-qualified (and more cost-effective) African-American General Counsel candidate, selecting, instead, a lesser-qualified Caucasian male candidate that required additional expenditures related to out-of-state travel accommodations.”

• Mistreatment of an African-American employee after hiring (race-based).
  “In yet another display of ERWIN’s discriminatory animus, this time based upon race, even though an African-American candidate was allowed to be hired, ERWIN took direct actions designed to deride and degrade the employee, directly related to the individual’s minority status.”

• Transgender-related slur/derogatory remarks in an all-employee meeting.
  “Additionally, during an all-employee meeting with the GR employees, in discussing the engagement of PRITZKER as an equity partner, ERWIN proceeded to make derogatory comments and slurs regarding Jennifer Pritzker, the transgender relative of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker… assuring the GR employees, in a derogatory fashion, that they need not worry; that it was not ‘that he/she Pritzker.’ [Emphasis by Erwin during derogatory commentary].”

• Gender-biased insult about a female marketing director (including a partially stated slur), plus “pushy woman.”
  “In another incident involving gender bias, in or about August, 2021, ERWIN engaged in direct discriminatory animus based on gender, involving Laurel Altman, former Marketing Director, starting to call her a ‘pushy bitc..,’ before attempting to catch himself and stating to SANDERS ‘aren’t you glad I stopped myself,’ and then referenced her conduct as being that of a ‘pushy woman.’”

• Yelling at Sanders and warning her not to accuse him of being a sexist.
  “ERWIN immediately cut Plaintiff off, commenced yelling at her, and stating that he hired SANDERS, and Ingrid, and that SANDERS had better not accuse him of being a ‘sexist.’”

• Calling another woman a “pushy woman” and pushing for her termination after she raised concerns about a supervisor.
  “Abruptly thereafter, ERWIN suddenly complained that Berry was, like so many other women, a ‘pushy woman,’ and insisted that she, likewise, needed to be immediately terminated.”

• Terminating that employee anyway, allegedly to cover up discrimination, and “without any legitimate business reason.”
  “Despite SANDERS advising… and despite Plaintiff cautioning about the inappropriate and unequal disciplinary actions… and that Berry should not be abruptly terminated simply because she raised concerns regarding Heneman, Berry was abruptly terminated by ERWIN, in or about April, 2022, without any legitimate business reason and directly related to ERWIN’s attempt to cover up the ongoing discrimination.”

• Handling of CFO Ingrid Gentry: alleged gender discrimination, including the claim she was fired for being “too emotional.”
  “ERWIN also engaged in similar conduct with Ingrid Gentry, BBC’s former Chief Financial Officer, when she pushed back on ERWIN’s ongoing gender discrimination…”
  “ERWIN ultimately terminated Gentry because she was purportedly too ‘emotional,’ referring, once again to an employee’s gender in making personnel-related decisions…”

• Trying to abruptly terminate VP Kimberly Bennett without caring about reasons or discrimination concerns.
  “In yet another instance… in December, 2023, ERWIN insisted, in the presence of both SANDERS and MARINO, that he wanted to abruptly terminate Bennett, did not care about any legitimate business reason, did not care about any concerns over gender discrimination raised by SANDERS, and did not care that he lacked any proper basis for doing so.”

• Continuing effort to force Bennett to resign, and allegation that she was later forced out.
  “ERWIN continued to engage in a concerted effort to force Bennett to resign her position and, based upon information and belief, Bennett has since been forced to resign her position, and has alleged that ERWIN, and the CORPORATE GROUP, engaged in gender-based discrimination and retaliation against Bennett and similarly-situated female employees, including Plaintiff.”

• A February 2024 meeting where Erwin allegedly lectured female VPs that he was not biased.
  “In February, 2024… ERWIN gathered Susie Garvin, Hannah Diaz, and SANDERS together, in the presence of MARINO, in order to lecture the female Vice Presidents about how ERWIN ‘was not biased toward women at BBC’ and doesn’t engage in ‘gender bias.’”

• Telling Sanders to “stop talking about that stuff” when she raised discrimination concerns.
  “ERWIN’s only response to the concerns raised by SANDERS, was that SANDERS ‘stop talking about that stuff’ because ‘I need you.’”

• The complaint quotes Sanders’s report as directly accusing Erwin of discrimination and retaliation, and describes his treatment of senior women.
  “Finally, the March 25, 2024 report pointedly accused ERWIN of both discrimination and retaliation, stating:
  This is you punishing me for being an outspoken woman…. You cited [another female employee’s] pushiness… When I tried to suggest you might be acting with bias, you yelled at me… You fired Ingrid. You told me you interviewed my replacement. You have talked about firing Hannah, Susie, and Kim – all the senior female leaders in the company… You like women who take your orders and do not offer opinions unless asked.”

• Cancelling a meeting and allegedly lying about being out of town.
  “On March 28, 2024… ERWIN abruptly notified SANDERS that the meeting was to be terminated and rescheduled, claiming he was not able to return from a trip. However, SANDERS later learned that ERWIN had lied about being away, and was actually at home…”

• Telling Sanders she would be put on a 60-day transition ending in termination, saying she was not the “right fit anymore.”
  “Instead of meeting with SANDERS… ERWIN notified SANDERS, in the presence of Mike Sikorski, CFO, that she would undergo a 60-day transition at the end of which her employment would be terminated… that she was suddenly not the ‘right fit anymore.’”

• Sending a Release of Claims and attaching her report “to ensure” she understood why she was not the “right fit anymore.”
  “The following day, ERWIN sent SANDERS, via e-mail, a formal Release of Claims to sign, and attached the Formal Report to the Release to ensure that SANDERS understood why she was not the ‘right fit anymore.’”

• Safety-record falsification incentives tied to Erwin’s compensation (alleged motive).
  “Upon information and belief, ERWIN’s compensation and/or bonus structure is partially based upon BBC’s safety record, thereby resulting in incentives designed to falsify such mandatory records…”

Important quick references in the complaint

• Exhibit A (begins on PDF page 49)
  What it is: BBC’s Employee Handbook (the complaint quotes it for BBC’s equal employment opportunity, open-door, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies).

• Exhibit B (begins on PDF page 93)
  What it is: The PPC Manual (a PRITZKER/PPC policy document the complaint quotes for “transparency,” “direct communications,” governance structure, and anti-discrimination/anti-retaliation expectations).

• Exhibit C (begins on PDF page 138)
  What it is: A November 2023 letter BBC issued to Sanders recognizing her as “an essential part of the BBC team,” which the complaint says Erwin accompanied with a handwritten note.

• Exhibit D (begins on PDF page 141)
  What it is: The complaint treats Exhibit D as tied to Sanders’s March 25, 2024 “Formal Report” to Erwin (a written report raising concerns including “gender bias,” “discrimination,” “retaliation,” and other issues).

• Exhibit E (begins on PDF page 151)
  What it is: A Release of Claims Erwin allegedly emailed Sanders “the following day” after the 60-day transition message, with her Formal Report attached to it.

• Exhibit F (begins on PDF page 171)
  What it is: Sanders’s May 6, 2024 email to Brickman (PPC) entitled “Complaint regarding termination,” attaching two documents: (1) a complaint she asked Brickman to review, and (2) the document she previously sent to Erwin that she says was followed by her termination.