U.S. Senator Jim Justice and his family are punching back in a battle over control of the historic Greenbrier Hotel.
The family ownership group filed a local lawsuit at 11:12 p.m. Sunday in Greenbrier Circuit Court against longtime lenders Carter Bank & Trust and TRT Holdings, which is the parent company of Omni Hotels.
Also named are Robert and Blake Rowling, the father and son billionaire owners of the Omni properties, plus Michael Smith, executive vice president of TRT Holdings.
The complaint alleges that Carter Bank & Trust and TRT Holdings “are attempting to snatch The Greenbrier resort from the local ownership of the Justice family by unlawful and deceptive means.”
Justice and his family bought the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs out of bankruptcy in 2009. The complaint specifies that Jim Justice, the senator, has the largest share of Justice Family Group, 49 percent. The other two major shareholders are son Jay Justice with 30% and daughter Jill Justice with 21 percent.
Carter Bank & Trust of Martinsville, Va., was the major lender, and financial conflict between the bank and the Justice family over and over during the past decade. Carter regularly reported that the loans were considered “nonaccrual status,” drawing no interest payments and that the debt had become an anvil.
Earlier this month, Carter Bank sold the loans to “an unaffiliated third party,” according to a filing last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The loan principal was $209.48 million, and Carter received $289.48 million in cash in the transaction.
The company that bought the debt was newly formed White Sulphur Springs Holdings under the authority of TRT Holdings, which owned and operated by Dallas billionaire Robert Rowling and his son Blake.
TRT’s best known asset is the luxury hotel group Omni, which operates more than 50 unique hotels and resorts across North America, known for authentic local experiences, personalized service and a distinct loyalty program.
The relationship between TRT and the Justices appeared to get off to a relatively promising start before quickly turning sour.
“On or about March 27, 2026, Plaintiff Jim Justice had a telephone conversation with Defendant Robert Rowling in which Defendant Robert Rowling claimed that the TRT Defendants wanted to work cooperatively with the Justice family and identify ways to work together at The Greenbrier,” the Justice family lawsuit states.
“On or about April 6, 2026, Defendants Robert and Blake Rowling and Defendant Smith traveled to The Greenbrier to meet with Plaintiff Jim Justice. During the meeting, Defendant Blake Rowling claimed that Defendant TRT wanted to find a way to work cooperatively with The Greenbrier and the Justice family.”
During the meeting earlier this months, the Justice lawsuit contends, Jim Justice and Robert Rowling discussed a potential framework to cooperate.
Under that possibility, TRT and its affiliates would forgive $200 million of the loans and TRT would receive a 50% ownership interest in The Greenbrier. A joint venture would be formed with TRT acting as the general partner and managing the resort’s operations while the Justice family would retain a “significant role” at the resort.
Jim Justice, according to the filing, agreed to that offer on April 6, noting he had “few palatable options” after TRT’s acquisition of the loans. The parties broke for lunch and, according to the filing, TRT committed to providing a written term sheet by the morning of April 8.
However, on April 7, TRT reversed course and reneged on the offer via email without further discussion, according to the Justice family lawsuit. After that, the Justice family attempted to pay off the loans in full, according to the filing, but TRT instead issued a Notice of Default on April 9.
Late last week, TRT’s White Sulphur Springs Holdings filed in federal court to move The Greenbrier to receivership, potentially wresting control from the Justice family.
Beyond seeking a receiver, the motion requests a permanent injunction to prevent the Justice family from further interfering with the property or its financial records.
“The track record of these Defendants more than justifies this request,” wrote lawyers for White Sulphur Springs Holdings.
Late Sunday night, the Justice family ownership group responded with the lawsuit in the local courthouse. The lawsuit was filed there, the complaint says, because that’s where The Greenbrier Hotel is located. The lawsuit also notes Greenbrier County is where Jim Justice resides.
The Justices, the 21-page civil complaint filed by Charleston attorney Steve Ruby, contend that the bank acted in bad faith by blocking multiple refinancing attempts before secretly selling longstanding debt on Greenbrier properties to TRT Holdings at a significant discount.
The lawsuit further claims that the defendants reneged on a settlement agreement and issued a fraudulent default notice to prevent a full loan payoff.
The filing contends TRT Holdings illicitly obtained proprietary financial data under the guise of being advisors to exploit the Justices.
“In or around September 2024, representatives of Defendant TRT Holdings (“TRT”), including Defendant Blake Rowling and Defendant Smith, visited The Greenbrier under the pretense of serving as advisors to the Private Equity Firm, which was considering entering into a financing relationship with The Greenbrier,” the lawsuit states.
The allegation continued, “During the visit in or around September 2024, Defendant TRT acquired confidential information that included proprietary pricing information, proprietary marketing and reservation information, confidential financial records, and access to areas of The Greenbrier resort complex that are off-limits to the public.”
So the family is seeking judicial intervention to void the sale of the loans and block any foreclosure efforts against the historic property.
The case includes counts for fraud, breach of contract, and violations of the West Virginia Uniform Trade Secrets Protection Act.
The case has been assigned to Greenbrier Circuit Judge Robert E. Richardson. The Justices are demanding a jury trial.
“The public interest strongly favors the issuance of a preliminary injunction against the TRT Defendants’ further prohibited conduct as alleged herein,” wrote the lawyers for the Justice family.
