Jim Justice outside The Greenbrier
BECKLEY – An Omni Hotels affiliate says it is only “cautiously optimistic” pending refinancing for The Greenbrier will close by August 7 and urges a hard deadline followed by prompt receivership proceedings if Sen. Jim Justice’s family misses it.
In a July 24 combined response, White Sulphur Springs Holdings tells U.S. District Judge Frank Volk the “defendants’ timeline for closing this transaction continues to grow longer with still no clear end date in sight.”
In the filing, WSSH notes the target date has slid from late June to early July, then late July and now August 7.
“Recent developments give WSSH cautious optimism that defendants’ plan will bear fruit by their newest August 7 deadline,” the response states. “Defendants’ opacity throughout this process – and the Justices’ long history of litigation to avoid paying their debts – tint WSSH’s view with judicious skepticism.”
Volk
WSSH tells Volk that on July 22, its counsel had its “first discussion with counsel for defendants’ lender KLIM,” referring to Kennedy Lewis Investment Management. It describes those discussions as “frank and professional” and says that same day it sent the defendants and KLIM “the detailed payoff letter requested.”
The filing says WSSH “will continue to do what is reasonable and customary for a senior secured judgment creditor on judgment obligations of almost $400 million in order to facilitate the closing” and notes it has already sent “five payoff statements.”
“WSSH has made it clear that if this transaction is going to close, it needs to close as soon as possible and WSSH will cooperate fully with KLIM and any other parties necessary to complete the transaction,” the company told Volk.
The payoff letter, as summarized in the filing, lays out four conditions WSSH says must be satisfied before it will release its liens on the collateral securing the Justice parties’ judgment obligations.
The first two conditions require “indefeasible payment in full of all judgment obligations, interest, and expenses” reflected in WSSH’s payoff statement, along with “indefeasible payment of all indemnity and expense obligations in accordance with the terms of the 14th FBA” – the 14th Forbearance and Business Agreement.
A third condition demands dismissal with prejudice of “all claims asserted in the action styled Greenbrier Hotel Corp. et al. v. Carter Bank & Trust, et al.,” by all plaintiffs as to all defendants in that Greenbrier Circuit Court case.
The fourth calls for execution by all Justice parties, including all parties to the 14th FBA, of “a comprehensive, general, and irrevocable release of all known and unknown claims against WSSH, TRT Holdings and certain affiliates and individuals associated with these entities.”
“These are not arbitrary demands,” WSSH writes. “Each of these points is entirely consistent with WSSH’s rights under the 14th FBA (including its payment, interest, release, and indemnification provisions), the related judgment documents, the independent deeds of trust in favor of WSSH and other contractual documents.
“These points are also commercially reasonable, and all are standard requirements for a senior secured judgment creditor to release its liens in such a transaction.”
The filing notes Volk’s own language from a May memorandum opinion, saying the defendants “repeatedly assert(ed) the financing transaction should be completed by the end of June.” It then traces the shift to early July, late July and now August 7 and adds that the defendants’ latest motion “expressly contemplates that August 7 will come and go without finality.”
“Further, WSSH has yet to see drafts of any necessary deal documents yet alone definitive closing documents,” WSSH tells Volk. It also points out that closing is conditioned on approval from the West Virginia Lottery Commission, “which may have its own ideas about the appropriateness of these matters.”
WSSH pointedly declines to re‑litigate in detail the parties’ settlement talks.
“There has been much retelling of attorney conversations and confidential settlement discussions in defendants’ court filings,” the filing states. “That is as unfortunate as it is unproductive. WSSH will only say that it disagrees with defendants’ version of events.”
The latest filing also introduces a new allegation about how Greenbrier revenues are being handled while the refinancing is pending.
WSSH says it “recently learned that the sales staff at The Greenbrier Hotel is reaching out to existing future group customers and offering credits (discounts) if the customers pay for their meetings in advance.”
“Moreover, the funds are being wired to the bank accounts of another entity which is not a defendant in this proceeding, and which is unknown to WSSH,” the company alleges. “This could result in this cash being unavailable to provide the promised services when the group arrives.”
“Any misdirection of proceeds that comprise a significant piece of WSSH’s collateral directly supports WSSH’s request for a receivership and injunctive relief,” the filing concludes.
WSSH again asks Volk to consider recent opinions and orders from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, saying those decisions “paint an ugly picture of certain Justice parties’ disregard for, and lack of adherence to, the rule of law.”
Those rulings were more fully described in earlier briefing, but the July 24 response uses them to bolster its argument that continued delay and expanded latitude for the Justice entities would further erode collateral and harm stakeholders.
As for scheduling, WSSH partially embraces the defendants’ latest request but highlights August 7.
“WSSH accedes to the first request,” the filing says. “The court should give defendants a firm deadline of August 7, 2026, to close and fund their transaction. …
“Conversely, WSSH strongly opposes the second part of defendants’ requested continuance,” the lender adds, referring to the proposal for a post‑August 7 “immediate inquiry by a magistrate judge” if the deal does not close on time.
“Defendants know full well that an ‘inquiry by a magistrate judge’ is nothing more than a recipe for further delay,” WSSH’s filing states. “Delay that will further waste the value of WSSH’s collateral. Delay that will give defendants further opportunities to misdirect revenues. Delay that will further damage The Greenbrier Resort and all stakeholders. …
“This refinancing process must have an end,” WSSH tells Volk. “Defendants have had their opportunity and thrice extended their own deadline. If defendants’ transaction does not close and fund by August 7, the court should promptly set a schedule to hear and determine the merits of WSSH’s request for a receivership and injunctive relief …”
In another aspect of the case, both WSSH and the Justice defendants filed responses in opposition of New London Tobacco Market and Fivemile Energy’s motion to intervene, though on somewhat different grounds. In a July 17 motion to intervene, those companies describe themselves as judgment creditors with “substantial and significant interests” in the litigation.
The companies filed civil lawsuits against James C. Justice Companies and Oakhurst Club, two Justice businesses, earlier this month in Greenbrier and Monroe counties allege fraudulent property transfers and unpaid bills tied to The Greenbrier.
WSSH argues those companies’ fraudulent-transfer claims are evidentiary thin, long-pending in other courts and lack a “significantly protectable” interest or common issues with its receivership and injunction claims, and may raise supplemental-jurisdiction concerns.
The defendants additionally characterize those companies’ claimed interest in Oakhurst Club’s properties as speculative, time‑barred under West Virginia’s fraudulent-transfer limitations and adequately addressable through any future receivership claims process, so intervention should be denied or deferred.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 5:26‑cv‑257
