The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, led by Gov. Jim Justice and his family, today announced that it has reached an agreement with credit collection company that was moving ahead with a foreclosure sale of the historic resort.
Under the agreement, Beltway Capital will receive a specific amount to be paid in full by October 24, 2024, according to a statement distributed by the Justices. The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, owned by Justice and family, has already secured this funding, according to the statement.
Beltway reserves its rights if the Justice family fails to perform, according to the announcement. Upon full performance, all issues concerning The Greenbrier and the associated Glade Springs resort in Raleigh County are concluded.
The announcement does not provide further details about where the Justices acquired the funding support to reach the agreement with the credit collection company. It also does not describe whether other financial strains for the hotel, such as healthcare premiums for employees or sales taxes, could be resolved.
Justice addressed the deal during a statewide media briefing today in response to a question from WOWK television reporter Mark Curtis, but the governor was light on detail. He described being subject to confidentiality requirements but did not say with who or why.
He did say, “We acquired the funds. It’s going to cost our family a bunch of money.”
At the end of his briefing, Justice circled back to the topic and said, “The last little while has been really difficult because we got put in a spot that, gracious goodness, you talk about something coming out of left field, we really didn’t expect this one.”
He concluded, “In our own way we’ve saved The Greenbrier again, and that makes me real happy. So we’re going to keep doing good stuff, and there’s great days — and you mark it down; Jim Justice is telling you now — there’s great days in front of The Greenbrier. Wait and see.”
The Greenbrier Hotel had been announced for auction on the courthouse steps at 2 p.m. August 27 — this coming Tuesday — because of default on the terms of a longstanding loan through the financial giant JPMorgan Chase. A few weeks ago, JPMorgan sold loan documents including the deed of trust to a credit collection company, a McCormick 101, which is associated with Beltway Capital.
Lawyers for The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, owned by the Justice family, filed for a preliminary injunction to halt the forced auction of the historic resort. A hearing had been scheduled for 9 a.m. this Friday in Greenbrier County court, but it has now been canceled.
Jim Justice gained goodwill and steps toward statewide name recognition when he bought The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in spring of 2009. Justice, a two-term governor, is now a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate and is considered the frontrunner because of his broad name identification and West Virginia’s recent voting trends.
Justice in several recent public statements has contended the forced sale of The Greenbrier has been politically motivated, saying his election on Nov. 5 could tip the majority of the U.S. Senate.
Justice was a top signatory on a Dec. 29, 2023, forbearance agreement that gave the Greenbrier Hotel Corp. more latitude on its loan payments in exchange for other concessions that constituted greater risk of default. Then in April, a default notification was sent to Justice’s home address.
The next bang was set off by the credit collection company McCormick 101 at the beginning of August when a legal advertisement placed in the West Virginia Daily News in Lewisburg let the world know The Greenbrier would be set for auction on the county courthouse steps later this month, with cash from the highest bidder as the ask.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the company that provides the resort’s health insurance informed employees this week that they are at risk of losing coverage because The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation fell four months and millions of dollars behind on premiums. The Health Fund says the owners are delinquent on $2.4 million in health premium contributions, with another $1.2 million in premiums soon due. The due date for payment is this coming Tuesday.
The insurance company alleged The Greenbrier collected premiums from employees but did not pass the money along. The amount of employee health insurance premiums paid by employees of The Greenbrier but not remitted to their insurance company total $612,000, according to Peter Bostic of the Greenbrier Council of Labor Unions.
“The Greenbrier’s delinquency has put our members’ health care benefits in severe jeopardy and is morally and legally wrong,” Bostic stated earlier this week. “Our members have met their obligation by working hard every day and paying their portion to The Greenbrier. The Greenbrier has neglected its obligation to its employees.”
The state Tax Department still has several sales tax liens on The Greenbrier. Two of those amounting to $897,615 were released in recent weeks. The Greenbrier still has five liens remaining, adding up to $2,752,907.
Merchants collect sales taxes from customers but that’s never their money. It’s the customer’s money flowing to the government with the merchant in a middle role to pass those collections — or remit them — on to the tax official.
Overdue property taxes for The Greenbrier Hotel and four related businesses are listed at $2.2 million with the county courthouse.
In response today to a broader question by WSAZ reporter Curtis Johnson about the financial problems of Justice’s family businesses, the governor said the characterization isn’t fair.
“To be brutally honest, I would tell you we’ve gone through our bumps, that’s for sure. And we’ve gotten behind. But we’ve somehow, some way caught up,” Justice said. “I don’t know many businesses that don’t have great times and some tough times.”