A federal judge has ruled to move a civil court case involving Gov. Jim Justice from West Virginia to Virginia.
A federal judge has ruled to move a civil court case involving Gov. Jim Justice from West Virginia to Virginia.
A network of Justice’s businesses filed the suit against his longtime banker, Carter Bank & Trust, saying the bank engaged in unfair banking practices.
Justice is suing Carter for about $1 billion.
The bank asked the court to move the case out of the Mountain State’s federal courthouse in Beckley, contending the majority of the business had been done in Virginia, and that is where the majority of the stakeholders reside.
Judge Frank Volk ultimately agreed, and the case has been moved to the Western District of Virginia’s federal court in Roanoke.
This will also move the case out of the state where Justice is the sitting governor and a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat.
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.
Bluestone has a 2009 Bell helicopter, valued at about $1.2 million, and Caroleng sought a court order for the U.S. Marshals to seize it where it was housed in Roanoke, Virginia.
A federal judge has cleared the way for the sale of a helicopter owned by one of Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies.
Last year, Caroleng Investments, an offshore shell company, went to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to recover about $10 million owed by Bluestone Resources.
Bluestone has a 2009 Bell helicopter, valued at about $1.2 million, and Caroleng sought a court order for the U.S. Marshals to seize it where it was housed in Roanoke, Virginia.
Bluestone and another Justice creditor, First Source Bank, sought a stay of that order.
This week, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Ballou denied the stay, giving the parties seven days to arrange for a sale of the helicopter.
In the meantime, Ballou’s order said, the helicopter is not to be moved. Publicly available flight tracking information showed the helicopter was moved in October from Roanoke to Burlington, North Carolina.
The case is one of many where Justice’s creditors have taken his businesses to court to recover millions of dollars. Justice is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate this year.
Roanoke photographer Chelse Warren is documenting Roanoke’s thriving hardcore scene under the name “Openhead Takes Photos.” The Virginia city’s burgeoning DIY music scene is growing, based around Flying Panther, a venue that doubles as a skate shop.
This story originally aired in the Dec. 10, 2023 episode of Inside Appalachia.
Roanoke photographer Chelse Warren is documenting Roanoke’s thriving hardcore scene under the name “Openhead Takes Photos.”
The Virginia city’s burgeoning DIY music scene is growing, based around Flying Panther, a venue that doubles as a skate shop. Its two-day festival called The Floor is Gone featured music, a local zine, an underground book distro, skateboarders and a local punk podcast. Warren was in the middle of it all, shooting photographs and dodging flying bodies in the mosh pit.
Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams reached out to learn more.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Adams: Chelse Warren, thank you so much for coming on Inside Appalachia today.
Warren: Thank you for having me. I’m happy to be here.
Adams: For people who’ve never been, can you set the scene and describe a Flying Panther show?
Warren: Flying Panther is a warehouse and skate shop in northwest Roanoke. The owners, who are fantastic, decided to turn the warehouse area into a mini-ramp and a venue. It’s all ages, they allow anyone to come. I’ve never felt so safe before at a venue. You go there, [and] everyone’s there for the right reasons. It’s a sense of camaraderie, and it’s always a fun time.
It’s mostly punk and hardcore music, but they’ve had country artists, they’ve had bluegrass artists, they have a goth night every month. So you can pretty much guarantee a full spectrum of music at some point.
During the month at Flying Panther, there are a ton of different people from all walks of life that come to shows. They’re there every show. You have your alternative and your punk kids, but you also have what I would describe as normal people that you wouldn’t expect to see at these shows. It’s nice to all inhabit the same space for music.
Adams: When I first went to that show, there’s people jumping around, the singers jumping around and you’re right there in the middle of it shooting photos. What’s that like?
Warren: I’ve seen a trashcan thrown, I’ve seen chairs, I’ve seen a couch pushed in the pit, rolling chairs, pillows thrown — you name it, I’ve seen it. That’s something that I always have to take into account, is I’m constantly aware of my surroundings. I’m looking at my peripherals.
That is hard, because I have to focus a manual lens and plan my routes. I’m very, very lucky to have the vast majority of those people always looking out for me, and I find comfort in that. I’ve had a lot of close calls. On day two of The Floor Is Gone. I got tackled. I saw it, and it was just so fast happening that I couldn’t move. I came like an inch away from banging my head on the floor. But my camera went up, it’s fine, I’m fine. And I just got up and laughed it off. Because that’s just part of hardcore and punk. It’s just something to expect.
Dimension Six plays at Flying Panther.
Photo by Openhead Takes Photos
Adams: So what’s your strategy when you go into these shows, when you walk in and see the stage and crowd there? How do you approach that as a photographer? It seemed like you had a system.
Warren: Yes. I try my best to get there early, which doesn’t always work, because I’m usually late. I plan my route as best as I possibly can. Within reason, I try my best to do one side and then the other side. I’ve had to perfect taking a photo as I’m walking right across the stage. I’ve gotten some of my best photos just from doing that.
I mentioned the focusing thing — like, okay, I want to go there. Next I need to focus my lens to that point. So when I get there, it’s in focus, and I can get the photos. But because it is like punk and hardcore, you never know when someone’s going to jump or do something else bizarre that you want to document. I try really, really hard to always get jumps, because those are what the people in the band want. I try to listen to the music and try to map out, do I think they’re going to jump? I may be right once out of every five times that they might jump, but I still try my best to get it no matter what.
Gaol, playing at Flying Panther.
Photo by Openhead Takes Photos
Adams: How did you get into this culture?
Warren: My friend in probably sixth grade showed me a band on Napster, if that tells you my age. Which spiraled to another band, and then another band, and just kind of snowballed after that. I would say I was around like 15 when I started going to DIY shows that really helped broaden my spectrum and idea of heavy music. And it all just branched into like hardcore punk.
I suppose what really fed the fire and started it all in the early 2000s was my friends playing music. Watching them play music and doing what they love inspired me, who already loved taking photos, to start documenting shows. DIY is so, so important, and it’s important to document it so that it lasts longer than us, and people can look back and see a history on how things were.
Adams: What keeps you in this? You talked about getting tackled at a show, and that’s a deal breaker for a lot of people. What keeps you coming back? What keeps you so engaged?
Warren: It’s just exciting. It’s exhilarating. It pushes me and my art to new levels every time, because no situation, even if it’s at the same venue, is the same. Even if I’ve shot the same band five times. It’s been different every single time, and I just love the music, and I love our scene here, and it’s important to me to make sure that it’s documented.
Roanoke hardcore band Collective Action.
Photo by Openhead Takes Photos
Adams: You’ve been doing this for awhile and you’ve shot all these bands. What have you learned from all this?
Warren: It’s definitely pushed me past my limits of what I thought was possible. Several years ago, my goal was, I want to shoot bigger bands, bigger venues. I just took pictures of [bassist] Victor Wooten at the Jefferson Center this past weekend. That was amazing and incredible that I got the opportunity to do that, but it’s nothing like DIY music. I really think DIY seems like a critical part to communities. It offers a safe space for people who feel like they don’t fit in elsewhere, or feel like they have no friends like them, a space where they can feel loved, welcomed and accepted, and witness music that they love. It’s really important.
On this West Virginia Morning, we take a deep dive into the mosh pit and the hardcore music scene of Roanoke, Virginia with music photographer Chelse Warren. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams has more.
On this West Virginia Morning, we take a deep dive into the mosh pit and the hardcore music scene of Roanoke, Virginia with music photographer Chelse Warren. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams has more.
Also, in this show, this week’s episode of Mountain Stage is a special featuring the 70 plus member West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, under the musical direction of Maurice Cohn. Our Song of the Week is “Michael from Mountains” sung by folk music icon Judy Collins. The song was written by Joni Mitchell and released on Collins’ 1967 landmark album Wildflowers.
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.
Our Appalachia Health News project is made possible with support from CAMC and Marshall Health.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.
Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.
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
LM Insurance, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, says Bluestone Resources and affiliated Justice companies owe $1.75 million in payments.
A company owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice has been sued over workers compensation.
LM Insurance, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, says Bluestone Resources and affiliated Justice companies owe $1.75 million in premium payments.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, says Bluestone filed an application in 2020 for a workers compensation insurance policy for its operations in Virginia and West Virginia.
In 2021, LM Insurance canceled the policy for non-payment of premiums.
In 2022, Bluestone made a payment toward the premiums of $50,000, the court filing says.
LM Insurance asked Bluestone to pay the remaining balance of $1.75 million, but Bluestone has not done so, the filing says.
LM sued Bluestone for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It seeks compensatory damages, interest, court costs and further relief if the court sees fit.
Neither Justice nor any of his family members are named in the suit. Bluestone is based in Roanoke, Virginia.
Another company has sued Bluestone in the same Virginia court. Caroleng Investments, an offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands, says Bluestone owes it $13 million.
Last month, Caroleng’s attorneys sought a court order for the U.S. Marshals to seize a helicopter belonging to Bluestone that was housed at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
Bluestone and another of its creditors, an Indiana bank, asked the court to stay the order. Meanwhile, the helicopter was moved from Roanoke to Burlington, North Carolina.
A judge issued the stay. A hearing will be held Friday to work toward settling the dispute.
