Lawsuit Story Archives - Page 2 of 25 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Updates One Year Later On State Police Investigation, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, it has been a year since allegations of illicit recordings of cadets and other women at the West Virginia State Police barracks launched federal and state investigations into the law enforcement department. We speak with the superintendent of state police for an update.

On this West Virginia Morning, it has been a year since allegations of illicit recordings of cadets and other women at the West Virginia State Police barracks launched federal and state investigations into the law enforcement department.

In the aftermath, Col. J.C. Chambers was named superintendent of the state police. He spoke with Chris Schulz to provide some updates on the investigations, as well as to discuss reforms he has implemented during his tenure.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Chris Schulz produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

New Lawsuit Names Justice, Involves More Properties Near Greenbrier

First Guaranty Bank of Hammond, Louisiana, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia last week against People’s Bank of Marietta, Ohio.

Gov. Jim Justice has been named in a new lawsuit involving multiple banks and claims on two properties adjacent to his Greenbrier Resort.

First Guaranty Bank of Hammond, Louisiana, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia last week against People’s Bank of Marietta, Ohio.

The complaint also names as defendants Carter Bank, the Virginia lender that’s one of Justice’s biggest creditors; three additional West Virginia banks; the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation; the Greenbrier Medical Institute; Justice and the Justice Family Group.

First Guaranty seeks to restore its claim to liens on two properties in Greenbrier County, the Old White Lot and Kate’s Mountain, totaling more than 2,800 acres.

The properties were collateral for a $6 million loan made by a predecessor of People’s Bank, Premier Bank of Ravenswood.

First Guaranty alleges that People’s Bank prepared a document in 2022 without First Guaranty’s knowledge stating that the loan had been paid in full and releasing the liens on the properties.

First Guaranty’s complaint calls the People’s Bank declaration “unauthorized and improper.”

First Guaranty seeks at least $75,000 in damages and for the court to declare that the $6 million has not been paid in full and that the properties have not been released.

It also asks for “further relief as the nature of this cause and the interests of justice may require.”

Justice, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, faces multiple lawsuits in multiple states involving his business empire. The creditors of his numerous companies have sought the repayment of millions of dollars.

Among them, Carter Bank has sought to claim other properties near the Greenbrier Resort as collateral for unpaid loans.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Roanoke, Virginia, ordered Justice’s Bluestone Resources to surrender a helicopter to partially satisfy a debt owed to a Caribbean investment firm.

Lawsuit Over New Air Quality Regulations Filed

Attorneys general from West Virginia and Kentucky filed a lawsuit against the EPA over new air quality standards. They allege the standards burden manufacturing and infrastructure projects.

Attorneys general from West Virginia and Kentucky have sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a recent policy that raised air quality standards nationally.

Filed Wednesday, the lawsuit claims that adjusting to the new standard would financially burden manufacturing and infrastructure projects. EPA officials have said the new policy reduces major public health risks.

Controversy grew in February after the EPA lowered the maximum concentration for particulate matter in the air by 25 percent, requiring companies to reduce their levels of air pollution.

Particulate matter refers to particles invisible to the naked eye, like some forms of soot and smoke. When inhaled, these particles can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, blood abnormalities and even lung damage.

The EPA has stated that raising air quality standards will reduce these health risks and the costs associated with them.

EPA officials have already stated that all 55 counties in West Virginia already meet the new air quality standards. Some regions with major industrial activity, like parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio, might not.

But in a press release Wednesday, Morrisey said the new measure marks an EPA attempt “to advance [President Joe] Biden’s radical climate agenda.”

The new rule is being enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a federal agency tasked with monitoring financial markets and watching for financial fraud. Companies are now being asked to estimate their potential greenhouse gasses to the SEC.

“How is the company supposed to know if greenhouse gas emission will affect its finances?” he said. “How many trucks are going to be too many? How much coal to use versus natural gas or other forms of energy?”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 24 states in the D.C. Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Wednesday’s lawsuit also listed EPA Administrator Michael Regan as a defendant. Beyond the lawsuit, EPA intervention in state air pollution standards stands on shaky ground.

Last month, members of the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments against another EPA policy from representatives of several different states, including West Virginia.

Some have said that the justices are poised to overturn that policy, which cracks down on the emission of air pollution across state lines. This could mark the third Supreme Court case lost by the EPA recently.

Justice Coal Company Ordered To Surrender Helicopter In 72 Hours

The sale of the 2009 Bell helicopter, valued at $1.5 million, would help to partially settle a $10 million debt Bluestone Resources owes to a Caribbean investment firm.

A federal judge in Virginia has ordered one of Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies to surrender a helicopter to a third party in Texas.

The sale of the 2009 Bell helicopter, valued at $1.5 million, would help to partially settle a $10 million debt Bluestone Resources owes to a Caribbean investment firm.

In his Friday order, Judge Robert S. Ballou of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, gave Bluestone 72 hours to turn over the helicopter to Heli-X of Colleyville, Texas.

If Bluestone fails to do so, U.S. Marshals would seize the helicopter.

Bluestone, based in Roanoke, Virginia, is one of numerous companies owned by the Justice family that owe vast sums of money to their creditors.

There are multiple cases involving Justice’s companies in the Western District of Virginia.

Last month, 1st Source Bank, of South Bend, Indiana, sued Bluestone in the court, charging breach of contract and seeking $4.5 million in damages.

The complaint accuses Bluestone of defaulting on loan agreements and also seeks attorney’s fees and possession of collateral.

According to the complaint, that collateral consists of “equipment owned by Bluestone Coal” and three properties that are part of the Wintergreen Ski Resort near Charlottesville, Virginia.

Another federal judge in Roanoke late last month held Southern Coal in civil contempt. That Justice company failed to reimburse a Charleston insurance company for more than $500,000 in workers’ compensation payments.

Judge Elizabeth Dillon gave Southern Coal seven days to repay BrickStreet Mutual Insurance. After that, the court will impose a $2,500 daily penalty on Southern Coal until it complies.

Justice is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Indiana Bank Sues Justice-Owned Coal Company, Seeks $4.5 Million

1st Source Bank, of South Bend, Indiana, filed a complaint this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

An Indiana bank that’s a creditor of Bluestone Resources, a coal company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice, has sued Bluestone in federal court for breach of contract.

1st Source Bank, of South Bend, Indiana, filed a complaint this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. 1st Source seeks $4.5 million in damages.

The complaint accuses Bluestone of defaulting on loan agreements and also seeks attorney’s fees and possession of collateral.

According to the complaint, that collateral consists of “equipment owned by Bluestone Coal” and three properties that are part of the Wintergreen Ski Resort near Charlottesville, Virginia.

Bluestone, based in Roanoke, Virginia, was ordered by a federal judge last month to surrender a helicopter to partially settle a $13 million debt owed to another creditor, Caroleng Investments.

Court filings revealed Caroleng to be an offshore shell company incorporated in the Caribbean tax haven of the British Virgin Islands.

1st Source had also claimed a senior interest in the Bell Textron Canada helicopter. Caroleng and 1st Source reached an agreement last month for the sale of the helicopter. The judge must still approve the sale.

Justice, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate this year, faces new questions about his businesses and numerous lawsuits seeking repayment of what his companies owe creditors.

Appeals Court Again Rejects Suit Against Mountain Valley Pipeline

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Virginia landowners cannot sue developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for taking their land through eminent domain.

A federal appeals court has again rejected a bid by Virginia landowners to challenge the construction of a natural gas pipeline.

The same court had earlier rejected the landowners’ case, but the U.S. Supreme Court sent it back for further review.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a siting certificate to the pipeline’s builders in 2017. It enabled them to use eminent domain to acquire property for the 303-mile pipeline.

The $7.2 billion project is over its original budget and past its scheduled completion. When finished in the coming months, it will transport as much as two billion cubic feet of gas a day.