Lawyers for West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s family last week sought to prevent a Virginia bank from auctioning off the land surrounding Justice’s White Sulphur Springs resort Greenbrier Sporting Club as a way to recover over $300 million on defaulted business loans, the Associated Press reported.
In a complaint filed on February 7 in the Greenbrier County Circuit Court, attorneys for the Justice family asked for an injunction on behalf of Greenbrier Sporting Club, arguing that the auction could “severely damage” the club and the Greenbrier Resort and jeopardize thousands of jobs.
The attorneys asked that the court block the auction until it could address claims made by the Justice family against the Virginia-based Carter Bank. A federal lawsuit against the bank was filed by the Justice companies in November.
The Justice companies allege that they had tried to steer their banking away from Carter Bank on four occasions between 2021 and 2023 but the bank “blocked and sabotaged” the efforts.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in January, Carter Bank said it would “aggressively” pursue the $302 million in principle, interest, and fees the Justice’s companies owed the bank.
The bank published the legal notice of auction on February 6 announcing that the auction on land at Greenbrier Sporting Club would take place on March 5 outside of the Greenbrier County Courthouse.
Greenbrier Sporting Club is a residential community and private equity club that first opened in 2000. Governor Justice purchased the property out of bankruptcy fifteen years ago. From 2010 to 2019, Greenbrier hosted a tournament for the PGA Tour.
Last Wednesday, the governor told reporters that his family companies were pushing back on Carter Bank which he described as “beyond belief terrible.”
Justice, who owns multiple companies including coal mines, had dozens of properties auctioned off in 2023 to pay outstanding real estate taxes.
