Justice for Flat Tail

My name is David Marliave, and I am the co-owner / founding brewer at New Spring Beer; formerly Flat Tail Brewing. In 2010, I joined a team of existing brewery and restaurant owners with the goal of building a world class regional brewery and pub located in the heart of the Willamette Valley: Corvallis Oregon. Over the next ten years of operation we succeeded in building a business with multiple national and international medals, a bar full of dedicated regulars, and a staff comprised largely of long term employees more passionate about brewing and serving than we ever could have hoped for.

While we met goal after goal, milestone after milestone, we were never able to realize the financial stability and profitability we expected, and in 2019, we finally realized why. It took more than four years to tell our story in front of a jury, forced to stay silent about our plight the entire time. Finally though, in June of 2023 a twelve person jury returned a unanimous verdict, finding our former business partners liable for a multitude of charges, ultimately resulting in the loss of over $500,000 in company funds.

Despite the victory, our battle rages on, as we must now pursue these individuals through bankruptcy court to have any chance of collecting the vast sums of money owed to us. Paying for four years of massive legal fees has only been possible thanks to countless hours worked at multiple jobs, generous help from family members, patient lawyers, and innumerable sacrifices by the Johnston and Marliave families. At this juncture however, we need help from you to continue our fight. We have been advised that the next faze of bankruptcy court could last nearly a year, with new fees and costs accrued monthly in addition to the funds already owed. While our starting goal is high, it represents less than 10% of our current legal fees. Don’t think that means this money wont still have a great impact. Any donation no matter how small is a huge step towards finally reaching the end of this herculean trial, keeping New Spring Beer alive, and perhaps even the return of a much loved downtown Corvallis staple.

- All funds will be used to finance the continuation of the Flat Tail lawsuit, case 19CV29021

- At the end of this case, if we are able to collect the money we are owed by the defendants, any remaining funds will be available for continuing or expanding New Spring, or potentially even the return of Flat Tail Brewing, with a renewed focus on charitable and community benefit

- While we don’t have much to offer in return currently, the ability to finance the remainder of our suit will allow us to restart Flat Tail’s long standing tradition of charitable giving, starting with the new “Raptor Princess Project” launching at the same time as this GoFundMe. Follow @NewSpringBeer on Instagram and facebook for details and updates

- For more details on the lawsuit, and the last four years for the Johnstons and Marliaves, check out this New School Beer article: https://newschoolbeer.com/home/2023/7/flat-tail-brewing-founder-wins-more-than-half-million