CHARLESTON – The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has sued the governor’s office demanding the release of records related to Gov. Jim Justice’s office schedule or calendar since he took office in January 2017.
The complaint was filed May 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court by DSCC Research Director Diana Astiz against the State of West Virginia Office of the Governor. It followed Freedom of Information Act requests and a litigation hold and notice sent to the office.
“Jim Justice cannot hide his work schedule -- or lack thereof -- from West Virginians, and this is an area which is sure to receive further scrutiny in his nasty primary and in a court of law,” DSCC spokesman David Bergstein said.
The group says the refusal to produce the records is an open violation of FOIA laws.
“Governor Jim Justice declared his candidacy for U.S. Senate last month,” the complaint states. “His actions as governor will no doubt be of keen interest to voters as they decide who they want to support in that race. But, in the face of a request properly issued under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), his office has refused to produce the most basic records from his time as governor: lists of the official meetings scheduled for him and his most senior staff.
“Notable, the last time he produced such records – in 2019 – they showed that Governor Justice ‘almost never meets with his Cabinet, is rarely at the capital and was largely missing at one of the most critical points of (the) year’s legislative session.
“The Governor may understandably desire to avoid another round of similar criticism, but he is the chief executive of the state and has the duty to ensure that its laws are faithfully executed.”
In the complaint, Astiz says she issued a FOIA request to the governor’s office on April 13 seeking the records of official meetings involving Justice, Chief of Staff Brian Abraham, Deputy Chief of Staff Ann Urling and General Counsel J. Berkeley Bentley. That request was denied April 20 even though the office said it located such documents.
“It refused to produce a single one,” the complaint states. “The governor’s office provided no adequate justification for this refusal. Instead, it cited exemptions that do not apply to the requested records and cases from other jurisdictions which do not track West Virginia law.”
The DSCC says no exemption applies to its request.
It seeks to schedule a hearing as soon as possible so the records can be produced in a timely manner. It also seeks to have the refusal declared unlawful, and it seeks injunctive relief to keep the office form withholding records without justification. The DSCC also seeks court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The governor's office, through its general counsel and chief of staff, did not return messages seeking comment for this story.
The DSCC is being represented by David R. Fox and Marilyn Gabriela Robb of Elias Law Group in Washington, D.C., and by Teresa Toriseva of Toriseva Law in Wheeling. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
This isn’t the first time Justice’s work schedule has been discussed in a lawsuit.
In 2018, attorney and former state lawmaker Isaac Sponaugle filed legal action as a private citizen seeking to force Justice to reside in Charleston, which is the seat of government, according to state Constitution. Justice voluntarily agreed to settle the case in 2021 by agreeing to reside in Charleston instead of commuting from his home in Greenbrier County.
“Jim Justice needs to decide what he wants to do with his time," Sponaugle said at the time. "He's a part-time governor, part-time businessman and part-time basketball coach. The only thing that he's doing full-time is residing in Greenbrier County. That's going to end, and he will abide by the Constitution whether he likes it or not. …
“Jim Justice hasn't lived up to his word that he would reside at the seat of government. It's his choice on how this will proceed, but he will reside at the seat of government, either voluntarily or involuntarily, as long as he remains governor of the State of West Virginia."
The latest lawsuit comes just days after a federal judge says coal companies owned by Justice’s family are responsible for almost six years of unpaid premiums related to a union retiree health benefit plan.
U.S. District Judge Frank Volk issued the ruling May 18 saying the Justice family companies are responsible for unpaid premiums accrued since July 2017 under a United Mine Workers of America benefit plan. The Charleston Gazette-Mail first reported the ruling.
Volk gave the plaintiffs 30 days to calculate amounts for Bluestone Coal, Bluestone Industries and Keystone Service Industries to pay. The ruling includes interests and liquidated damages for 20 percent of the principal. Last fall, the plaintiff trustees of the plan said the total was about $130,000. Volk told the parties to try to reach an agreement on the final judgment order within 30 days.
Four trustees of the benefit plan sued in August 2021, accusing the Justice companies of failing to pay monthly premiums to the benefit plan, which was part of the Coal Act of 1992.
And that came just days after a Virginia bank filed a second round of Confessions of Judgment against Justice-owned companies for more than $300 million in defaulted loans.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-P-218
