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WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Glade Spring property owners want answers from Justice-appointed board

State Court
Gladesprings

BECKLEY – Property owners at a Raleigh County resort have filed a lawsuit against its board of directors, which were appointed by a company owned by Gov. Jim Justice.

The Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association filed its complaint Aug. 14 against Emco Glade Springs Hospitality LLC and former board members Elmer Coppoolse, James Terry Miller and R. Elaine Butler in Raleigh Circuit Court.

In the complaint, the property owners say the board, which was created when Justice Holdings became the lead investor of the properties in 2010, have failed to answer several financial questions.


Justice

Glade Springs Village is a planned community with more than 750 homes and several undeveloped lots on nearly 3,000 acres. It also features golf courses, a lake and other amenities. These common properties are property of the homeowners association.

When Justice Holdings purchased 92.5 percent of the resort in 2010, it became the declarant, which meant it could set up a board of directors.

Coppoolse is general manager of The Resort at Glade Springs as well as COO of The Greenbrier Resort, which also is owned by Justice. Coppoolse also is the majority owner and CEO of defendant Emco.

Miller is vice president of operations for The Greenbrier Hotel Corp. and treasurer for Justice’s gubernatorial re-election campaign. Butler is the CFO of Justice Holdings.

On May 1 of this year, an independent board of directors took control of the homeowners’ association.

The complaint alleges Coppoolse “exerted extraordinary power and control over all of the affairs, assets and operations of GSVPOA” until the new board took control. It also says Miller and Butler “failed to exercise independent judgment” on behalf of the homeowners.

The plaintiffs say they never received a proper accounting of funds from the Justice-appointed board. Some of the examples include money collected from resort guests using golf facilities at Glade Springs and money from pro shop, food and beverage facilities at Woodhaven Golf Course.

The complaint also alleges Emco continually submitted late payments to the homeowners’ group and still owes money.

The defendants are accused of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty,

The plaintiffs want the court to appoint an expert special commissioner in accounting to examine the financials. They also seek compensatory damages, applicable pre- and post-judgment interest as well as potential punitive damages

Justice put the resort up for sale last year. The 400-acre resort includes 201 guest rooms, an 18-hole golf course, hiking and biking trails, a spa and restaurants.

The plaintiffs are being represented by Ramonda C. Marling and Mark A. Sadd of Lewis Glasser in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Robert Burnside.

Raleigh Circuit Court case number 19-C-357

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