The Weakley County Examiner

Shannon Taylor
CEO/Publisher

A former Weakley County Farm Bureau agency manager has filed a sweeping civil lawsuit in Weakley County Circuit Court accusing Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Holt, Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company d/b/a Farm Bureau Insurance, and two Farm Bureau officials of orchestrating a campaign that led to his termination following a property auction in Weakley County and included alleged political pressure tied to the 2026 governor’s race.

The complaint, filed July 15 in Weakley County Circuit Court, names Holt, Farm Bureau Insurance, Farm Bureau Board President Eric Mayberry, board member Willie German, and John Does 1-10 as defendants. Rhodes is demanding a jury trial and seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, treble damages, attorney’s fees, court costs and other relief.

According to the lawsuit, Bryant Rhodes began working for Farm Bureau in 2005 and was promoted to agency manager of the Weakley County office in 2011. The complaint states the Weakley County office consistently ranked among the top-performing Farm Bureau agencies in Tennessee and alleges Rhodes worked under multiple contracts that paid commissions on policies he wrote and renewed.

The lawsuit also alleges Farm Bureau failed to provide agents with enough information to verify commission payments and claims Rhodes, along with other Farm Bureau agents, may have been underpaid commissions for years.

At the center of the lawsuit is an April 25 property auction in Weakley County where Holt was working as an auctioneer rather than in his official capacity as Commissioner of Agriculture, according to the complaint.

Rhodes alleges he intended to purchase property located across the road from his home and claims Holt and others working the auction engaged in what the lawsuit describes as deceitful, unethical and fraudulent conduct intended to artificially increase the property’s selling price.

According to the complaint, another bidder was repeatedly pressured into making bids the individual did not want to make. The lawsuit further alleges that after the alleged bidding scheme began to unravel, someone working with Holt falsely represented that a third party had authorized bids of up to $10,000 per acre. Rhodes claims he personally knew that third party, knew no such authorization had been given and challenged the representation during the auction.

The lawsuit states Rhodes ultimately purchased the property for $9,500 per acre. After the auction, Rhodes alleges Holt confronted him as he walked home, called him childish and behaved in an inappropriate and embarrassing manner in front of others attending the auction.

Rhodes contends that over the following 48 hours Holt, embarrassed after being publicly challenged, began contacting Farm Bureau officials, board members and Rhodes’ employer. The lawsuit alleges Holt falsely portrayed Rhodes as the person who behaved unethically during the auction and used his position as Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture to pressure Farm Bureau into terminating Rhodes’ contracts.

One of the lawsuit’s most significant allegations involves the 2026 Republican gubernatorial race.

According to the complaint, Farm Bureau was already concerned about maintaining its relationship with Holt because the organization had not publicly endorsed Holt’s preferred candidate, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, for governor. Rhodes alleges Holt, who the lawsuit identifies as a spokesperson for Blackburn’s campaign, continued pressuring Farm Bureau to endorse Blackburn while simultaneously using the auction dispute as leverage against Rhodes. The complaint further alleges Holt knew Rhodes did not support Blackburn in the Republican primary.

Rhodes also alleges Farm Bureau employees attempted to persuade him to resign before ultimately terminating his contracts. According to the lawsuit, the company immediately ended his employment despite contractual provisions requiring 30 days’ written notice without cause and replaced him within a week.

The complaint further alleges Farm Bureau never sought Rhodes’ version of events before terminating him. Instead, Rhodes claims the company chose to protect its relationship with Holt while later spreading false statements that he had received multiple reprimands and had refused opportunities to apologize. Rhodes denies those allegations in the lawsuit, stating he was never disciplined and was never given an opportunity to explain what occurred at the auction.

Beyond the alleged wrongful termination, Rhodes claims Holt continued making defamatory statements throughout Weakley County and across Tennessee, damaging his reputation and making it difficult to obtain new employment. The lawsuit also alleges Farm Bureau representatives, including German and Mayberry, repeated false statements about Rhodes in an effort to justify his termination and protect both Farm Bureau’s and Holt’s reputations.

The complaint contains eight legal claims:

• Tortious interference with a contractual and business relationship against Holt.

• Procurement of breach of contract against Holt.

• Breach of contract against Farm Bureau.

• Breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing against Farm Bureau.

• Defamation against Holt.

• Defamation against Farm Bureau, Willie German and Eric Mayberry.

• Intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress.

• Civil conspiracy against Holt, Farm Bureau, German and Mayberry.

Rhodes seeks damages for alleged lost wages, commissions, profits, reputational harm, emotional distress, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and costs.

As of publication, no responses had been filed in the case. A civil complaint contains allegations by the plaintiff and does not constitute findings of fact or liability.

The Weakley County Examiner has reached out to Commissioner Holt, Farm Bureau Insurance, Willie German, Eric Mayberry and the Marsha Blackburn campaign for comment. This story will be updated as responses are received.

Editor’s Note: Because of the significant public interest surrounding this case, The Weakley County Examiner has published the complete 16-page lawsuit as a free public document on its website. Readers are encouraged to review the filing in its entirety. The allegations contained in the complaint have not been proven in court.