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Attorneys for Justice-owned Greenbrier file amended complaint against owners of Omni Hotels

An amended complaint filed in circuit court by attorneys for U.S. Sen. Jim Justices alleges an attempt by the owners of Omni Hotels and Resorts of enegaing in a hostile takeover of the Greenbrier Resort. (File photo)

CHARLESTON – Attorneys for U.S. Sen. Jim Justice and his family updated a lawsuit filed against a national hotel chain to accuse the company of attempting to replace employees of the historic Greenbrier Resort with workers from a nearby hotel and eliminate competition.

The Justice family, the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation and connected Justice-owned properties filed an amended complaint Wednesday in Greenbrier County Circuit Court against Texas-based TRT Holdings – owners of Omni Hotels and Resorts – and Virginia-based Carter Bank and Trust.

Steve Ruby, one of several attorneys representing the Justice family, held a virtual briefing Wednesday afternoon with reporters to go over the details of the amended complaint. The Justice family allege that the defendants engaged in a deceptive conspiracy to orchestrate a hostile takeover of the Greenbrier by unlawfully selling and acquiring the hotel’s debt.

According to the filing, the Justice’s allege that TRT Holdings used confidential information and violated standstill agreements to purchase loans at a discount, with TRT then subsequently declaring a sham default to seize the property.

Ruby went on to say that the amended filing includes new allegations that TRT Holdings intends to replace Greenbrier employees with employees of the historic Omni Homestead Resort and Spa in Hot Springs, Va., located 40 miles away. Ruby said the Greenbrier employs up to 2,000 workers during peak season.

“That would put the jobs of hundreds of West Virginians who work at the Greenbrier at risk,” Ruby said. “There are lots of West Virginia families … who have worked at the Greenbrier for generations. And it’s not fair and it’s not right for them to have their jobs placed at risk.”

At the beginning of April, White Sulphur Springs Holdings LLC – a company formed by TRT Holdings – filed a lawsuit against Jim Justice, former first lady Cathy Justice, son Jay Justice, the Greenbrier Hotel Corp., and other Justice owned companies affiliated with the Greenbrier.

White Sulphur Springs Holdings is asking a federal judge to appoint a receiver for the Greenbrier Resort and miscellaneous properties, as well as a permanent injunction against the Justice family to prevent further interference in the Greenbrier’s operations.

“(The Justice family) have been diverting substantial amounts of revenue generated from The Greenbrier Resort to their other, unrelated businesses,” wrote attorneys for TRT in their federal filing. “As a result, these defendants owe significant unpaid taxes for the Greenbrier Resort; they had not made all required payments to the employees of The Greenbrier Resort, including employees’ health insurance premiums and 401(k) employer matching contributions; and The Greenbrier Resort itself is not being properly operated and maintained.”

TRT Holdings purchased more than $300 million in remaining loan debts previously held by Carter Bank in a sale earlier in April. Justice and his family had settled with Carter Bank for a second time in the summer of 2024 after the bank filed 21 confessed judgments since April 2023 against Justice, Cathy Justice, Jay Justice, and multiple Justice-owned companies, seeking more than $301 million plus interest and attorney fees.

The 2024 settlement agreement between the Justice family and Carter Bank offered the family a pathway to paying off the more than $301 million owed to the bank by the Justices, an amount that had reduced to $291.1 million by June 2024. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Carter Bank, the Greenbrier liens were purchased by TRT Holdings for nearly $290 million.

Speaking Wednesday, Ruby accused TRT Holdings and its president, Blake Rowling, of having purchased second lien Greenbrier debt based on comments in the Dallas Morning News six days ago. Ruby said if true, that purchase of second lien debt prohibited TRT from purchasing any additional Greenbrier debt.

“The Greenbrier had no idea that TRT had done that until we read it in the Dallas Morning News,” Ruby said. “The debt … came with a restriction that the company that held it was prohibited from buying any other debt of the Greenbrier or any other Greenbrier loans without written consent, which is exactly what TRT did last month with no consent from the Greenbrier. So, it’s another reason that TRT couldn’t legitimately purchase the Greenbrier’s loans and another example of unfair deceptive behavior.”

According to WV MetroNews, the Justice family and TRT Holdings had been negotiating a deal that would have allowed the TRT to operate the Greenbrier with the Justice family retaining a 50% stake in the historic hotel. But TRT reversed course and decided to take the Justice family to federal court. A hearing between the two parties had been rescheduled for later in June.

TRT Holdings, through Omni Hotels, operates more than 50 hotels and luxury properties, including the nearby Omni Homestead Resort. Ruby said the amended filing accuses TRT of violating West Virginia’s antitrust laws.

“We believe that the evidence will show that TRT is attempting to eliminate the competition that currently exists between the Greenbrier and the Homestead,” Ruby said. “That would violate state laws on anti-competitive conduct, which is particularly important in this litigation because antitrust violations carry with them triple … damages.”

These issues mark a long history of Justice and his family-owned businesses running into tax problems or non-payment of large debts. The Greenbrier Resort was nearly on the auction block in 2024 after a Justice creditor – Beltway Capital/McCormick 101 – declared a $20 million loan balance transferred to the company from JPMorgan Chase Bank in default. That loan was bought by Fortress Investment Group, which is owned by a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the United Arab Emirates.

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