Lawyers for West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family are trying to block a Virginia bank’s plan to auction off the governor’s luxury resort to recover more than $300 million in defaulted business loans. There is.
The motion for an injunction was filed Wednesday on behalf of the Greenbrier Sports Club in White Sulfur Springs. Greenbrier County Circuit Court filings say the auction would jeopardize thousands of jobs and cause “significant damage to both the club and the Greenbrier Resort, the county’s largest employer, which has hosted U.S. presidents and royalty.” He said it would cause significant damage.
The complaint asks the court to halt the planned auction until the Justice family’s claims against Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Virginia, are addressed. Seeking a jury trial. A federal lawsuit filed by Justice Companies against the bank in November is currently pending.
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At least four times between 2021 and 2023, Justice attempted to steer its banking operations from Carter Bank to other lenders willing to repay all or part of the loans to Carter Bank. But the state court complaint says Carter Bank “blocked or impeded” the money transfer efforts.
Carter Bank announced it would “aggressively” pursue $302 million in principal debt, plus interest and fees, from companies owned by the governor’s family.
“The bank has an obligation to its shareholders and the financial system to recover all amounts owed,” the bank said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month. “In this respect, Carter Bank is no different from any other bank.”
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice during the State of the Union address on January 10, 2024 in Charleston, West Virginia. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
A message left with the bank seeking comment on the latest court filing was not immediately returned Thursday.
Carter Bank posted a legal notice in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on Tuesday announcing that a March 5 auction including land for the Greenbrier Sports Club will be held outside the Greenbrier County Courthouse in Lewisburg. did.
This sports club is a private equity club and residential community that opened in 2000. Justice purchased the resort out of bankruptcy in 2009. The PGA Tour held tournaments at this resort from 2010 until 2019.
“It’s unbelievably bad. We’re not going to put up with it anymore. We’re going to fight back,” the judge said of Carter Bank during media availability Wednesday.
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Mr. Justice, who owns dozens of companies, is also the subject of numerous court actions alleging delays in paying millions of dollars in fines owed, among other things, to unsafe working conditions at the mines. It has become.
Justice, a Republican, completed his second term as governor this year and is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin. Manchin said he is not seeking re-election.
Last year, dozens of properties owned by Justice in three counties were auctioned off to pay delinquent real estate taxes.
