The Greenbrier Resort
BECKLEY – A federal judge has again extended deadlines for The Greenbrier resort, giving U.S. Senator Jim Justice’s family businesses until August 7 to close a pending transaction but setting firm dates in September to push the case toward a decision if the deal falls through.
In an order filed late on July 27, U.S. District Judge Frank W. Volk granted a motion by Justice, his wife Cathy, his son James C. “Jay” Justice III and several Greenbrier‑related entities to further continue briefing deadlines and scheduled hearings in the case brought by White Sulphur Springs Holdings.
The order keeps the current suspension of proceedings in place through August 7 while laying out a schedule for status reports and an evidentiary hearing if the anticipated transaction does not close.
Volk
The ruling comes after Volk in May granted an earlier suspension motion that paused deadlines and hearings through July 16. When defense counsel failed to seek another extension before that date, the court July 19 ordered the defendants to show cause why it should not set “further proceedings necessary for a prompt adjudication of the merits.”
In a July 21 response to the show‑cause order and in the new motion to continue, the Justice defendants told the court they and Kennedy Lewis Investment Management “are on the verge of closing” a transaction but still have three outstanding items to complete before closing. They represented that “all deal documents” would be finished the week of July 20 and that closing would occur on or before August 7, asserting they have diligently pursued the deal, complied with court deadlines and kept WSSH and the court apprised of its status.
WSSH, the Texas-based affiliate of Omni Hotels that is plaintiff in the case, responded July 24 by expressing skepticism that an August 7 closing will actually occur but nonetheless agreeing to a “further brief continuance” if the deadline to close and fund the transaction is firm.
WSSH said it “strongly opposes” the defendants’ request for an “immediate inquiry by a magistrate judge” should the deal not close, arguing additional delay would erode the value of its collateral, give defendants more opportunity to “misdirect revenues” and further damage The Greenbrier resort and its stakeholders.
Volk’s Monday order concludes that the request to extend deadlines and hearings until August 7 meets the “good cause” standard because the defendants have “diligently proceeded in securing the transaction” and have provided regular status reports reflected in prior filings.
He notes that, given WSSH’s acquiescence to a brief continuance, comparative prejudice supports granting the extension. But he emphasizes the case has now been suspended for more than two months and that the defendants’ timeline “has shifted considerably” since their original request.
To guard against further prejudice to WSSH if the closing does not occur, Volk directs the defendants to file a first status report by July 28 and a second by July 31 to update the court on completion of transaction documents and the remaining items.
Volk also sets a prehearing conference for Sept. 3 and an evidentiary hearing on the amended motions for Sept. 16.
The Justice defendants had asked that if the transaction is not closed by August 7, the court order a magistrate judge to immediately inquire into the reasons for the delay and recommend steps needed for closing or for the case to proceed. Volk does not adopt that request outright but instead signals that, if the deal fails to close by the defendants’ target date, the case will move forward under the new schedule toward adjudication on the merits.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 5:26‑cv‑257
