About a month ago, Senator Jim Justice hosted the owners of the Omni Hotels & Resorts chain for a meeting at The Greenbrier Hotel to explore possibilities for working together.
The meeting, by all accounts, had moments of strain, and lawyers for the Omni owners now allege the senator threatened his leverage over West Virginia’s courtrooms.
Justice, a two-term Republican governor now serving in the U.S. Senate, and the Texas billionaires who own Omni are in conflict over control of The Greenbrier, its 710 guest rooms, four golf courses and casino.
Justice and his family bought The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy in 2009. White Sulphur Springs Holdings, a newly formed affiliate of Omni bought nearly $300 million in first-lien debt associated with The Greenbrier in late March.
And the conversation during the April 6 meeting did not resolve the matter.
“At that meeting, the Senator and his counsel threatened WSSH if it continued collection efforts, informing WSSH that the Justice Defendants had influence over or appointed all the state court judges in West Virginia and that WSSH could not get a fair trial in West Virginia,” wrote the lawyers for the holding company in a complaint filed in federal court.
“But the Justice Defendants’ blatant disregard for the Greenbrier Resort — including the physical property, employees, and vendor relationships — forced WSSH to turn to the Court despite these threats.”
On April 9, two days after the meeting with Justice, TRT’s White Sulphur Springs Holdings filed in federal court for a receiver to be named to carry out The Greenbrier’s functions, potentially pushing the Justices aside.
A revised filing in that case is where the lawyers for TRT Holdings included the detail about Justice influence in local courthouses in West Virginia.
Steve Ruby, private counsel for the Justice family, said the TRT allegation about courtroom influence is untrue.
“This is categorically false. At no point was there any claim that a fair trial could not be obtained in West Virginia. The judges currently sitting on the circuit court in Greenbrier County were not appointed by Senator Justice, and he makes no claim to have influence with any judge, whether he appointed them or not,” Ruby said.
“The point remains: prolonged litigation will only serve to delay matters unnecessarily. We remain focused on reaching a reasonable resolution.”
On April 12 the Justices filed a lawsuit of their own in local court in Greenbrier County, claiming the resort chain owners “are attempting to snatch The Greenbrier resort from the local ownership of the Justice family by unlawful and deceptive means.”
The lawsuit was filed there, the complaint says, because that’s where The Greenbrier Hotel is located. The lawsuit also notes Greenbrier County is where Jim Justice resides. The Justices are demanding a jury trial.
The case has been assigned to Greenbrier Circuit Judge Robert E. Richardson, who was appointed in 2014, prior to Justice becoming governor. Richardson, who serves Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties was re-elected in 2016 and 2024.
During Justice’s two terms as governor, there were regular opportunities to appoint judges to the openings on benches around West Virginia. The Judicial Vacancy Commission reviews candidates and makes recommendations, and then the governor gets the final say. The judge serves the remainder of the unexpired term.
The West Virginia Democratic Party is calling on the United States Senate Ethics Committee to immediately open an investigation about Justice’s alleged comment regarding influence over local courts.
The conflicts of interest section of the U.S. Senate code of official conduct says senators cannot use their official position to advance their own financial interests or those of their immediate family.
“That allegation alone should send shockwaves through every corner of our state,” said Mike Pushkin, a state delegate who is chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party.
“If a sitting U.S. Senator is suggesting that our courts are compromised because of his influence, that is not just unethical, it is a direct threat to the integrity of our judicial system and the rule of law.”
Pushkin called on Justice to immediately clarify those claims.
“If Jim Justice is going to make or allow claims that he ‘controls’ judges in West Virginia, then he owes the public full transparency,” Pushkin said.
“He should immediately name the specific judges he believes he influences, and those names should be submitted to the West Virginia Supreme Court for review. Judges in this state are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct to remain impartial. Any suggestion otherwise demands immediate scrutiny.”
West Virginia MetroNews reached out to the communications team at Justice’s Senate office as well as to the outside PLUS Communications firm that the Justice family has retained for communications work during the ongoing Greenbrier dispute.
The senator’s communications team released a statement from Justice that did not address the specifics of the courtroom influence claim but instead focused on the motivation of the West Virginia Democratic Party.
“For me, serving West Virginia has never been about a title. It’s been a lifelong mission. As a businessman, as Governor, and now in the Senate, my only goal has been to work for the people of my state,” Justice said.
“It’s a shame to see that kind of dedication questioned for the sake of a political point, but I know the people of this state know my heart. I’ve never wavered in my commitment to them, and I’m certainly not going to start now.”
The West Virginia GOP also addressed the politics of the matter.
“Once again, the state Democratic Party is putting outside interests ahead of local jobs, local ownership, and the long-term economic future of West Virginia communities to play politics,” said Josh Holstein, a state delegate who is also chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party.
“Senator Justice’s record of selfless service to our state through eight years as governor and now in Washington speaks for itself. The West Virginia Democratic Party should be ashamed of themselves.”