The current ownership of The Greenbrier says it holds the upper hand in an emerging fight for control of the historic hotel versus an affiliate of a national resort chain.
White Sulphur Springs Holdings, which is affiliated with Omni hotels, filed in federal court late last week to move The Greenbrier to receivership, potentially wresting control from U.S. Senator Jim Justice and his family.
The limited liability company, White Sulphur Springs Holdings, earlier this month bought almost $300 million in first-lien debt from the Justices’ longtime lender, Carter Bank & Trust.
Overnight, The Greenbrier issued a statement via spokesman Cam Huffman. The statement suggests the lawsuit was actually filed to prevent the Justices from paying off the debt that is owed.
“Contrary to prior media reports, The Greenbrier was and is in compliance with its obligations under the loans formerly held by Carter Bank and now purportedly held by the parent company of Omni,” the statement said.
“TRT Holdings is a predatory out-of-state company that has filed a baseless court case in an attempt to prevent The Greenbrier from paying off the TRT loans and to steal The Greenbrier from local ownership. We look forward to our day in court and to exposing TRT’s unlawful and malicious conduct.”
COMMENTARY by T.J. Meadows: What’s Next for Justice and The Greenbrier?
White Sulphur Springs Holdings LLC filed a federal motion late last week to put the historic hotel owned by the Justice family into receivership.
“The track record of these Defendants more than justifies this request,” wrote lawyers for the company, White Sulphur Springs Holdings, a corporate cousin to the Omni resort and golf chain.
The motion filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia outlines the many years of debts for Senator Justice, his family and the hotel property.
READ: Greenbrier Receivership Complaint
Beyond seeking a receiver, the motion requests a permanent injunction to prevent the Justice family from further interfering with the property or its financial records.
“Given the interrelatedness of the various businesses owned and operated by the Justice Party Defendants, evidence of financial malfeasance and potential fraud at any company owned and operated by the Justice Party Defendants and their affiliates is of paramount concern to WSSH,” the lawyers wrote in the court filing.
“This is especially true as WSSH has reason to believe that the Justice Party Defendants have been and continue to divert significant sums of money from Greenbrier Resort Defendants to support other unrelated business interests to the detriment of WSSH’s collateral.”
Justice and his family bought the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs out of bankruptcy in 2009.
Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Va., was the major lender, and financial conflict between the bank and the Justice family over and over during the past decade. Carter regularly reported that the loans were considered “nonaccrual status,” drawing no interest payments and that the debt had become an anvil.
Earlier this month, Carter Bank sold the loans to “an unaffiliated third party,” according to a filing last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The loan principal was $209.48 million, and Carter received $289.48 million in cash in the transaction.
The company that bought the debt was newly formed White Sulphur Springs Holdings under the authority of TRT Holdings, which owned and operated by Dallas billionaire Robert Rowling and his son Blake.
TRT’s best known asset is the luxury hotel group Omni, which operates more than 50 unique hotels and resorts across North America, known for authentic local experiences, personalized service and a distinct loyalty program.