The minority owner of Fairport Brewing wants to dissolve the company following a turbulent year that included the majority owner's alleged irresponsible behavior on social media, shifting of focus to another craft beverage and financial misdeeds.

Paul Guarracini, who owns 49 percent of the farm brewery, filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court on Sept. 5 against Fairport Brewing majority owner Tim Garman. In the filing, Guarracini said he is seeking a "judicial dissolution" or "an equitable buyout after a judicial accounting of the assets and income" of the brewery.

In August, Garman and Fairport Brewing announced plans to move the brewery's production space on Turk Hill Road near the tasting room in the village of Fairport to University Avenue in Rochester.

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Guarracini is currently in the process of opening a new brewery, Sager Beer Works, 46 Sager Drive, which is just a few blocks from Fairport's new production space on University Avenue.

Garman declined comment but issued a statement that read, "While we strongly disagree with Paul's characterization of events, including that of his termination, we recognize that Paul contributed to FBC over the years he was here and so we are committed to reaching an amicable resolution for both him and our company. We think we can reach an outcome that is positive for all parties involved. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on making great products and growing our business."

Guarracini, who left the brewery in October 2017, asserts in legal filings that the brewery was forced to move after its landlord threatened to evict it.

Up until October, Guarracini served as head brewer at Fairport Brewing. He left the company on Oct. 15 and was fired in a letter from Garman four days later.

Much of the tension arose over disagreements over Garman's use of the brewery's social media accounts. It all began with a flap over the release of Fairport's New England-style India pale ale, Fluffy, in August 2017.

Guarracini's filing refers to two separate incidents of alleged inappropriate behavior on social media — "The Fluffy IPA Incident" and "The Facebook Incident."

Originally, the beer cost $16 per four-pack at the brewery's tasting room. "It was much anticipated" and "hyped," court documents noted. Garman "was conspicuously distanced from business decisions, choosing to avoid or ignore" phone calls, texts and emails, court documents said.

Guarracini said he was responsible for pricing the beer, but Garman came in later and raised the price by $8, court documents said. The beer had already been advertised at a lower price and some people had even purchased it for that much.

Guarracini said he offered two free cans to anyone who was overcharged. And then the beer had to be sold at a lower cost of $8.80 to the brewery's distributor because "it was not moving from the shelf at its higher price."

In the Facebook incident, court filings stated that Garman used the brewery's account to "call out, demean, and otherwise attempt to minimize a patron who left a less-than-stellar review" on the page.

A Yelp review following the Facebook review said the brewery "had terrible beer, terrible ownership, terrible business practices and treats customers … well terribly." This is according to an exhibit provided in the lawsuit.

In the Facebook responses, Garman questioned the reviewer's qualifications to review beer.

Guarracini said he left as a "direct result of the breakdown in the relationship with his partner."

He said that they purchased "multiple pieces of equipment to enable on-site wholesale beer production and packaging."

But Garman launched Timbucha, a kombucha drink, "using equipment owned by FBC, and subsequently began selling the drink on premises at the taproom without appropriately compensating FBC at the same time," court documents read.

Guarracini said the kombucha line goes against the intended purpose of FBC, which was to "brew and sell local craft beer, and to eventually scale operations to develop a wholesale business."

Guarracini alleged that there is a "hidden bank account" used by the Fairport Beverage Co., maker of the kombucha line, that is "being unjustly benefited by the use of and enjoyment of assets, capital, and rental space" of Fairport Brewing Co.

Guarracini said he was locked out of the bank accounts and denied access to finances to determine if "further malfeasances have occurred" under Garman's management.

In another section of the lawsuit, Guarracini accuses Garman of misusing money to bankroll a failed plan to expand the taproom in Fairport and then fund the brewery's move to University Avenue.

Guarracini stated that FBC was allegedly being evicted from its Turk Hill space. This was outlined in an email in late April. "He reported that the property manager and Tim had a conversation that the space the brewery is operating was not equipped to be handling drainage like the brewery needed," attorney Katerina M. Kramarchyk from Pullano & Farrow wrote to Garman's attorney, Christopher Pratt.

In early 2018, Guarracini and his attorneys spoke about the possibility of "discussing the potential for a payment arrangement, the terms of which are negotiable," Kramarchyk wrote.

On April 6, Garman agreed to repay Guarracini within 90 days, but he failed to do so, according to one of the exhibits. "FBC is not in a financial position to pay Guarracini," the lawsuit stated.

During this time, FBC attempted multiple times to gain approval for the expansion and renovation of its tasting room in the village of Fairport. The brewery was denied on multiple occasions.

Guarracini alleges that the brewery is failing financially. In April, he received notice from a brewery vendor that the brewery had unpaid invoices from January. The following month, Guarracini stated that he received notification Garman had failed to pay for insurance for the brewery.

Court documents show that Guarracini originally asked Garman for $200,000 for his 49 percent share of the business. Through Pratt, Garman countered by offering $50,000 to be paid over the course of 10 years. Guarracini's attorney wrote on May 21 that he would be willing to sell his share of the brewery for $100,000.

Garman responded, "I also understand that we were forced to move and we have been losing money every month this year and expect to lose again this, and maybe next month. Moving expenses are adding up and we are currently not producing anything."

Later in March, according to the lawsuit, Garman asked Guarracini to contribute 49 percent of a $300,000 proposed bill to expand the brewery's taproom. More counter-offers were made. But they allegedly were for smaller and smaller paybacks over a longer period of time.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com