Posted on 06/07/2019 12:31:46 PM PDT by buckalfa
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — A financial services company coming after Gov. Jim Justice personally for $2.79 million is asking the Greenbrier County sheriff to seize personal property and for Justice assets in a dozen banks to be checked.
Meanwhile, a legal ad says the sheriff of Logan County has been authorized to sell shares of two Justice-owned companies to settle yet another debt in the court system.
This has been quite a week for Governor Justice and his family’s vast holdings.
Court cases, including some from afar, keep resulting in local law enforcement officers being asked to assess what personal property is available from Gov. Jim Justice, said to be the state’s richest man — and seize it.
In Greenbrier County, the multi-million dollar collection attempt comes after Justice signed off on a court agreement to pay down almost $4 million in debt to Siemens Financial Services.
The debt originally belonged to one of Justice’s companies, Southern Coal. But Justice had earlier personally guaranteed the debt would be paid down.
He didn’t do so fast enough to satisfy the company. It’s now trying to force the collection of what’s left.
The legally-binding agreement took place in Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. A lawyer for Siemens Financial Services filed a notice of foreign judgment in Greenbrier County.
On May 28, the sheriff of Greenbrier County received a writ of execution: “we command you that the goods and chattels of the defendant, James C. Justice II, in your bailiwick, you cause to be made the total sum of $2,790,156.81, plus continuing per (diem or annum) interest rate of 3.5 percent.”
A request for execution filed the same day with the circuit clerk in Greenbrier County had this direction: “Please direct the sheriff to levy any and all personal property of the defendant at the following address.”
The name and address belonged to James C. Justice, the governor of West Virginia, in a Lewisburg neighborhood.
That same day, a dozen banks were listed in a suggestion of personal property, indicating they might hold some of Justice’s personal property being sought.
Each bank was sent notification that the writ of execution would apply to any accounts up to the amount being sought.
The banks included Premier Bank, Huntington Bank, First National, First Citizens, First Bank of Charleston, City National, Chase Bank, BB&T, Bank of Monroe, Wesbanco, Summit Community Bank and United Bank.
MetroNews obtained the documents through a visit to the Greenbrier Circuit Clerk.
That’s not the only seizure order affecting the governor and his family businesses.
In Logan County, a court order has resulted in the sheriff being ordered to sell shares of Southeast Cotton and Wilcox Industries, each wholly owned subsidiaries of James C. Justice companies.
The shares will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder at 11 a.m. June 28, according to the legal notice published in West Virginia newspapers.
That is an outcome of a Logan Circuit Court case contending Justice-owned companies owed more than $160,000 to creditors.
After an agreed judgement order, the sheriff concluded no personal property could be seized. The sheriff was ordered to try again, this time with the aid of testimony that Justice owns 100 percent of the stocks of Southeast Cotton and Wilcox Industries.
These aren’t the first counties or courtrooms where these kinds of personal property seizures have been attempted.
In a federal court case, U.S. Marshals were authorized to collect $662,101.42, plus any further $1,000-a-day penalties from Justice’s Bluestone Coal. The marshals haven’t yet reported back on their level of success.
That case is a class action suit filed in 2016 by coal miners who said they were laid off without adequate warning under federal law.
In another case that wound up in Greenbrier County, a Maryland-based bank came after Justice for $1,479,791.13.
The case against Justice Family Farms of North Carolina was originally in Circuit Court for Frederick County, Maryland, in 2017 and then was reopened later that year. The result was several related confessed judgments for hundreds of thousands of dollars each, plus interest.
The plaintiff, Middletown Valley Bank, has spent more than a year trying to collect from the company and Justice himself.
Dozens of writs of garnishments of property have been issued. The sheriff of Greenbrier County has gotten a few.
One, stamped Nov. 30, 2018, includes a handwritten note that says, “I have been contacted by attorneys representing Middletown Valley Bank. I have been instructed to return the within writ of execution due to an agreement made.”
It’s unclear if the agreement stuck.
The file at the Greenbrier courthouse included another writ of execution with a fresh stamp: Jan. 7, 2019.
“We command you to seize and sell, in the manner provided by law, such personal property of the Defendant James C. Justice II, the defendant.”
Headline sounded like the sheriffs were seizing Justice department assets.
A Rockfeller was governor of Arkansas in the 1970's as I recall.
Then the Clintons's came to power in Arkansas in the 1980's.
Just curious.
Headline sounded like the sheriffs were seizing Justice department assets.
According to Wiki, he was (D) before running for governor.............
... and people wonder why Manchin won’t switch to R ...
That sumbitch!
NO.
He ran for Gov as a "D" and after he was in office, the GOP sold him the "R" brand.....not sure for how much or even IF he paid.
Is he a deadbeat of a guy that put his personal assets on the line to financially secure a company?
I miss the suggested West Virginia - Arkansas connection.
No relation to the Rockefellers. Justice is a native born West Virginian. Inherited much of his wealth, but parlayed it into a business empire built on debt but not cash flow. His holdings include the Greenbrier Resort. He had a long documented history of stiffing creditors and non payment of businexs taxes and fines.
we had Justices in Logan County in the 1950s and probably well before that. I remember the name when i was a kid. Don’t remember if they were rich. One neighborhood was called Justice Addition.
How can anybody vote for someone who changes parties like that?
It means they have no core values...............
Not a blood relationship, but with Jay Rockefeller being both a former governor and longtime US Senator from WV, as well as his Rockefeller Group, I'm sure they've "touched base" once or seven times.
Aw c'mon...you expect "core values" from a deadbeat...OR a politician?
Even Rockefeller was an "R" until 1966 when he realized that he had to be a "D" to get elected to the state House of Delegates. IMO party affiliations in WV are only a matter of convenience.
...and then there is President Trump. Boy howdy, that one sure turned around and bit the Republican party on the ass. LOL!!
He had never run for office, wasn't an established politician and the GOP needed a foil for JEB so they were more than happy to take his entree fees for the various primaries. After all, there was NO WAY he could win the nomination!!!
“... and people wonder why Manchin won’t switch to R ...”
Exactly. This Gov. went (R) from (D) after he was voted to office, and the (D) are providing their typical payback in their typical way IMO.
Actually, Justice was “R” until 2015, switched and ran as a “D” in 2016 and went back to “R” in 2017
Ya just gotta love “mountain” politics.
Manchin won’t switch because he still wants invites to the family Thanksgiving dinners. LOL!!
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