A federal judge has agreed to bump back deadlines in a battle for control of The Greenbrier Hotel.
The federal judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Frank Volk, had originally scheduled an evidentiary hearing at 9:30 a.m. May 11.
On Friday, attorneys on both sides of the dispute filed a joint request to modify the existing court schedule.
In a Saturday court entry, the judge indicated general agreement.
And in a filing today, the judge set revised deadlines, including an evidentiary hearing for 9:30 a.m. June 8.
So although the question at the heart of the matter is an emergency request to name a third-party receiver to serve as caretaker of the property, it’s all being delayed by about a month.
The adjustments, both sides say, are aimed at streamlining the judicial process and ensuring both sides have adequate time to address complex issues before a formal evidentiary hearing in June.
The business organizations owed by the family of U.S. Senator Jim Justice are being sued by White Sulphur Springs Holdings, a newly formed affiliate of TRT Holdings, parent company of Omni Hotels & Resorts.
TRT Holdings is owned by Texas billionaire Robert Rowling, whose son Blake serves as the company’s president. Omni operates more than 50 luxury properties.
White Sulphur Springs Holdings bought nearly $300 million in first-lien debt on The Greenbrier and related properties and then moved for receivership of the historic hotel, essentially asking the federal court to appoint a third-party caretaker.
Lawyers for the hotel chain owners moved for the receiver to be appointed on an emergency basis, maintaining that the hotel collateral is at risk because of deferred maintenance and additional mounting concerns.
The judge’s latest scheduling order sets a deadline for White Sulphur Springs Holdings to file an amended complaint and an amended motion for the appointment of a receiver and injunctive relief by May 1, which is this Friday.
If attorneys for The Greenbrier want to provide a motion to stay, they are supposed to do that by May 8, next week.
Response briefs to the amended motions are supposed to be filed on or before May 22.
Any replies are supposed to be filed on or before May 29.
Then a prehearing conference is set for 11 a.m. June 1 in Charleston.