The businesses owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family are seeking to at least temporarily block a courthouse auction of the Greenbrier Sporting Club, a group of private residences alongside the historic resort.
A lawyer representing the Greenbrier Sporting Club Development Co. filed a motion for preliminary injunction Wednesday in Greenbrier County. This follows up on an initial filing on behalf of the Justice companies last week.
“A preliminary injunction to permit the orderly adjudication of the parties’ claims in this complex matter is not only prudent, it is what the law requires,” the Justice filing contends.
The Justice motion is in reaction after public notice by Carter Bank & Trust to auction the Greenbrier Sporting Club on the courthouse steps March 5 to satisfy a multi-million dollar debt from Justice and his family.
This latest filing also spells out more specifically what’s up for sale at The Greenbrier Sporting Club, including the lodge and the golf course.
To much acclaim, Justice’s family purchased the iconic Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009.
Over much of the past year, Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Va., has been moving to collect $300 million in debts that were personally-guaranteed by Justice, his wife Cathy and their son Jay, who runs the family’s coal operations.
The loans, which had come due last April 15, applied to several branches of the family’s business network, including Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, Greenbrier Golf and Tennis Club and Greenbrier Sporting Club.
The Justice filing in Greenbrier Circuit Court objects that a deed of trust that applies to the property is valid only up to $250 million. The filing also points toward a separate Justice claim in federal court contending Carter Bank is liable for up to $1 billion for unfair business practices. The Justice businesses contend the auction shouldn’t occur until the federal dispute is made clear.
The Greenbrier Sporting Club is a private club offering memberships to people who buy real estate surrounding The Greenbrier resort. The Greenbrier Sporting Club Development Company is the real estate arm owned by the Justices.
The Justice filing specifies that the property up for auction includes The Summit and The Lodge, which are shared facilities owned by the Sporting Club ,where dining and recreational activities are available to members, and The Snead golf course, which is also owned by the Sporting Club for the use of members.
Also potentially up for auction are lots at the Sporting Club owned by the development company.
“The Shared Facilities are essential to Sporting Club members’ enjoyment of their Sporting Club residences and to value of those residences,” the Justice filing contends. “The Shared Facilities are also essential to the Development Company’s ability to successfully market and sell the Lots.”
Auctioning the properties would damage the overall value, the Justice filing maintains: “The Shared Facilities are the principal amenities available to Sporting Club members, and if they become unavailable as the result of a sale, the value of members’ residences would plummet immediately.”
Lawyers for the Justices contend the public interest weighs heavily in favor enjoining the sale.
“The Greenbrier and its affiliated entities, including The Greenbrier Sporting Club, are the lifeblood of Greenbrier County’s economy, directly employing nearly 2,000 people and indirectly supporting hundreds or thousands of additional jobs,” wrote the Justice lawyers.
“The proposed sale directly jeopardizes the jobs of nearly 200 employees who work at the properties Defendants seek to sell and would harm the broader business of The Greenbrier as a whole.