BECKLEY – A company owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family owes almost $10 million related to a federal court judgment that was handed down almost two years ago.
According to an Abstract of Judgment filed in U.S. District Court, judgment was rendered September 16, 2019, against Kirby Land Company after it had been sued the previous year by Komatsu, which manufactures construction, mining, forestry and military equipment as well as diesel engines and industrial equipment.
Gov. Justice and his daughter Jill Justice Long are listed as directors of Kirby Land Company with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, and his son Jay is listed as president. James T. Miller is listed as secretary and treasurer, and Stephen Ball is listed as vice president.
According to court documents, Komatsu originally loaned Kirby Land $8.15 million on April 8, 2016. That loan later was increased to $10 million.
Kirby Land defaulted on the loan, and Komatsu filed to collect. The Abstract of Judgement was filed November 6, 2019, in federal court seeking the amount of $9,301,029.80 plus late fees of $137,605.63 for a total of $9,438,635.43 not including post-judgment interest.
As of August 3, no entry in the federal court docket shows the judgment as being paid in any way by Kirby Land. No entries have been filed in the case since October 19, 2020.
This case is one of several recent ones involving companies owned by Gov. Justice and his family, such as them owing $100,000 in 2020 property taxes in McDowell County.
According to information from the McDowell County Sheriff’s office, the companies have at least seven tax tickets totaling $96,061.23 if they were by July 31.
The bulk of that amount is one for Bluestone Coal Corp. for $50,733.49. The next largest is one for Pay Car Mining for $14,891.51, and the third largest is one for Justice Highwall Mining for $10,516.84. The others are for Justice Low Seam Mining ($8,738.55), Bluestone Coal Corp. ($7,879.29), National Resources ($1,755.79) and Bluestone Industries ($1,545.76).
The one for National Resources is for real estate, and the one Bluestone Industries is for six vehicles. The rest seem to be for business machinery.
A tax expert who wished to remain anonymous said if taxes on real estate aren’t paid, it can go to a sheriff’s sale, usually in November, to sell the lien on the property. If someone buys the lien, that person has two years to perfect the lien and get the deed to the property.
If it’s for vehicles and machinery, the tax expert said it isn’t as simple.
“The county basically is f---ed,” the tax expert said. “You can go to circuit court to collect, but it’s very difficult to do. And the probability of success is low, so it’s not done often. And Justice and his people surely know that.”
He also said property taxes on coal company equipment often are huge compared to a company’s real estate and vehicle property taxes.
During his bi-weekly COVID press conference July 27, Justice was asked about recent media coverage regarding financial issues involving his businesses and family members. Instead of answering the question, he instead said such coverage should be positive.
“I’m super respectful and I try to answer any question,” Justice said during the briefing. “I’ve told everyone that if you’ll tend to the business of the state of West Virginia as I’m tending to the business of the state and you’ll just stay out of my family’s personal stuff, you’ll find the final outcomes will be exactly what I’ve told you they’ll be. They’ll be worked out. …
“From the standpoint of legality and everything else, you can continue to run down rat holes and try to come up with stuff here and there, but at the end of the day I hope and pray, at least, that you’ll report the final outcomes.”
In March, the Internal Revenue Service filed a tax lien of more than $1 million against The Greenbrier Hotel Corp., which is owned and operated by Justice’s family. The IRS filed several liens against Justice businesses and even his daughter Jill Justice Long in March.
The one against the Greenbrier, filed in Greenbrier County Clerk Robin Loudermilk’s office, is coded as 941, which designates employment taxes. It lists three different balances of $621,601.28 for the period ending June 30, 2018, $248,851.36 for the period ending December 31, 2018, and $206,530.59 for the period ending March 31, 2019.
The lien indicates the IRS can go after additional penalties, interest and costs. It also says it can collect on property and rights to property. It says an earlier demand for payment had been made but no payment was made.
Also in March, a lien of $80,224.22 was filed against The Greenbrier Clinic for employment taxes as well. In addition to serving as president of The Greenbrier, Jill Justice Long is a physician at The Greenbrier Clinic.
Another 941 tax lien was filed against The Greenbrier on June 22 for $395,722.
Also in March, a lien of more than $8 million was filed against Jill Justice Long over personal income taxes dating back to 2009, which is the same year the Justices’ Bluestone Coal Corp. was sold to a Russian company and the same year the family purchased The Greenbrier out of bankruptcy.
Until this year, Justice was listed by Forbes as the state’s only billionaire. That designation changed because of his company’s financial troubles, most notably with Greensill. Justice’s businesses sued Greensill regarding loans taken in 2018. Greensill sold the loans to investment funds managed by Credit Suisse, which now seeks to recover the money from major borrowers, which includes Justice’s Bluestone Resources.
In addition, Justice and his businesses also are fighting with Carter Bank & Trust over loans. Justice and his companies have sued the bank, claiming it became hard to deal with in recent years. The bank, in turn, has filed claims to $58 million in defaulted loans personally guaranteed by Justice and his wife Cathy for The Greenbrier Sporting Club and Oakhurst Club. Those loans went into default June 1.
Last week, Justice’s attorneys filed a motion saying the $58 million claim should be set aside until the lawsuit against Carter Bank & Trust is resolved. That lawsuit was filed May 31, a day before the loans went into default. Carter Bank called the lawsuit “a delay tactic.”
“If confessed judgment is not set aside, it will have sweeping consequences on the Justice family, their businesses and valued employees,” lawyers for the Justices wrote. “Given that any amount owed pursuant to the confessed judgment is entirely entwined with the outcome of the West Virginia action, Carter Bank should not be allowed to enforce the confessed judgment until such time as the Justice plaintiffs’ affirmative claims are fully resolved. …
“Before being elected governor, Mr. Justice founded and ran successful coal, farming and hospitality business. These operations employed thousands of individuals and have continuously operated for over 50 years. … Without a trial on the merits, Carter Bank seeks a personal judgment. This is a drastic and disfavored remedy under the circumstances and Virginia law affords deference to individuals in these circumstances.”
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 5:18-cv-01336