Governor Jim Justice is facing a legal battle to prevent a historic West Virginia hotel at his luxury resort, The Greenbrier, from being auctioned off due to unpaid debts. The hotel has around 400 employees who recently received a letter warning them of potential loss of health insurance coverage by Aug. 27 if the Justice family doesn’t pay $2.4 million in missing contributions to the health care provider, Amalgamated National Health Fund.
The looming auction of The Greenbrier has sparked concerns among Justice family attorneys, with arguments made that the auction could negatively impact the local economy and jeopardize hundreds of jobs. The family has not made contributions to the employees’ health fund for four months, and an additional $1.2 million in contributions will soon be due, as stated in the letter from Amalgamated National Health Fund’s attorney.
The letter also highlighted concerns that some contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks were never transferred to the health fund, which has raised worries among union officials. Peter Bostic of Workers United Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board expressed disappointment over The Greenbrier’s delinquency in meeting its health insurance obligations, putting employee benefits at risk.
Democratic opponent Glenn Elliott criticized Justice’s handling of the situation, accusing him of displaying a “sense of entitlement.” Justice, a wealthy businessman with a net worth estimated at $513 million by Forbes Magazine, has faced legal issues related to late payments on family business debts and fines for safety violations at coal mines.
The auction of The Greenbrier, including the hotel and parking lot, was prompted by a loan default after JPMorgan Chase sold the loan to a credit collection company. In response, Justice attorneys have argued that the auction would violate the company’s obligation to act in good faith due to a defective 2014 deed of trust that lacked proper consent.
Despite attempts to halt the auction through legal avenues, neither the Justice family’s attorneys nor The Greenbrier’s CFO and Treasurer have commented on the situation. The story has been corrected to reflect that about 400 employees, not exactly 400, received the insurance letter about the potential loss of coverage.
