See Who's Taken Billionaire Gov. Jim Justice to Court Over Unpaid Bills
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire and the state's richest man, has a long list of debt-collection cases. In the most complete analysis of his legal record to date, ProPublica found dozens totaling more than $128 million
SOURCE: ProPublica.org, 2020-05-27
See also (companion article): The Billionaire Governor Who's Been Sued Dozens of Times for Millions in Unpaid Bills. Gov. Jim Justice is West Virginia's richest man. Over the last three decades, lawsuits over unpaid bills have cost his constellation of companies more than $128 million in judgments and settlements.
By: Ken Ward Jr. is a ProPublica reporter covering West Virginia. Previously, he was a longtime environmental and investigative reporter at the Charleston Gazette-Mail, where he worked on this story and others as part of ProPublica's Local Reporting Network. He is also co-founder of Mountain State Spotlight, an investigative nonprofit and civic news organization launching this year in West Virginia.
By: Alex Mierjeski is a former research fellow for the Local Reporting Network at ProPublica.
Claire Perlman contributed reporting.
Disclaimer: Ken Ward's wife is an unpaid board member of Mountain State Justice, a nonprofit legal organization in West Virginia. The group represented miners in their cases regarding layoffs and the Justice companies, but she had no role in the litigation.
[Image source. Click image to open in new window.]
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire and the state's richest man, says his business experience qualifies him for the post. Despite a long list of debt-collection cases, the governor maintains his companies always pay what they owe.
But in the most complete analysis of Justice's legal record to date, ProPublica found hundreds of lawsuits, including many brought by workers, vendors, business partners and government agencies, all alleging they weren't paid. In all, plaintiffs have won judgments or reached settlements worth more than $128 million in cases against the Justice business empire.
Below is a breakdown of 32 lawsuits in which the governor's companies have been ordered to or agreed to pay at least $500,000.
The amounts reflect the best available information about how much a Justice company owes. In some cases, it's unclear what those firms ultimately paid; Justice companies sometimes worked out settlements after a court order that could result in a lower amount, but the terms of the agreements were confidential.
Lawyers for the Justice companies have said they plan to appeal the $35 million judgment in the case of New London Tobacco Market, which alleged unpaid coal royalties. And an appeal could still be filed in the case of Drummond Coal Sales, which last month won a $6.9 million judgment in a coal shipping dispute.
Representatives of Justice's companies declined to comment. Justice and his reelection campaign did not return emails, letters and phone calls seeking comment. Last week, after a ProPublica reporter sent a list of detailed questions, the governor's campaign sent out a preemptive email to supporters, calling this line of reporting "fake news."
JUSTICE COMPANY PLAINTIFF BUSINESS SECTOR AMOUNT OF JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT LEGAL DISPUTE STATE DATE FILED Kentucky Fuel Corp. New London Tobacco Market Coal $35,021,800.00 Unpaid coal royalties. | Judgment or Settlement Kentucky 2012 A & G Coal Corp. Integrity Coal Sales Inc. Coal $21,074,300.30 Coal shipping dispute. | Judgment or Settlement New York 2012 James C. Justice II The Jacobe Co. LLC Coal $9,497,035.59 Default on a loan. | Judgment or Settlement Kentucky 2014 Kirby Land Co. Inc. Komatsu Finance Coal $9,438,635.43 Nonpayment of a loan. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2018 Southern Coal Corp. Drummond Coal Sales Inc. Coal $6,860,000.00 Coal shipping and storage dispute. | Judgment or Settlement Georgia 2017 Mechel North American Sales Corp. Severstal Dearborn LLC Coal $5,458,034.66 Nonpayment of coal shipment settlement. | Judgment or Settlement Illinois 2014 Southern Coal Corp. U.S. Labor Department Coal $5,130,125.47 Unpaid mine safety and health fines. | Judgment or Settlement Virginia 2019 Bluestone Coal Corp. West Virginia Bureau of Employment Programs Coal $5,069,535.00 Unpaid workers compensation premiums. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 1996 James C. Justice II Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Coal $3,255,897.00 Unpaid legal fees. | Judgment or Settlement New York 2016 Kentucky Fuel Corp. Celtic Marine Corp. Coal $3,100,011.25 Coal shipping dispute. | Judgment or Settlement Louisiana 2013 Justice Aviation LLC Citizens Asset Finance Inc. Private aircraft $2,550,000.00 Nonpayment of helicopter loan. | Judgment or Settlement New York 2017 Tams Management Inc. Thomas K. Lampert Coal $2,454,970.99 Unpaid coal royalties. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2015 Kentucky Fuel Corp. Commonwealth of Kentucky Coal $1,782,952.72 Unpaid taxes. | Judgment or Settlement Kentucky 2017 Justice Farms of North Carolina LLC Middletown Valley Bank Farming $1,479,791.13 Nonpayment of bank loan. | Judgment or Settlement Maryland 2017 Justice Low Seam Mining Inc. Virginia Drilling Co. LLC Coal $1,396,297.11 Unpaid bill for goods and services. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2017 Southern Coal Sales Corp. RockTenn CP LLC Coal $1,344,949.96 Coal shipping dispute. | Judgment or Settlement Kentucky 2015 Pay Car Mining Inc. Dougie Lester Coal $1,270,800.00 Lack of layoff notice. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2017 Southern Coal Corp. Phillips Machine Service Inc. Coal $1,265,970.27 Unpaid bill for mining equipment and services. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2013 Justice Energy Co. Inc. James River Equipment Virginia LLC Coal $1,230,000.00 Contempt fine. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2013 Bluestone Coal Corp. Frank Treadway Coal $1,050,000.00 Lack of layoff notice. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2016 Mechel/Dynamic Energy David Jordan Coal $1,108,249.62 Lack of layoff notice. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2016 Virginia Fuel Corp. Lambert Coal Co. Inc. Coal $1,001,706.94 Failure to pay on financing of coal mining venture. | Judgment or Settlement Virginia 2013 Kentucky Fuel Corp. People's Bank Coal $950,000.00 Overdue payments from previous settlements. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2018 Justice Family Farms LLC Guess Farm Equipment Co. Inc. Farming $646,670.55 Nonpayment for farm irrigation system. | Judgment or Settlement South Carolina 2011 Southern Coal Corp. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Coal $843,403.85 Unpaid insurance premiums. | Judgment or Settlement New York 2017 Justice Family Farms LLC Monsanto Co. Farming $814,444.59 Unpaid bill for seed. | Judgment or Settlement Missouri 2018 Greenbrier Hotel Corp. Select Event Group Inc. Tourism $820,906.30 Nonpayment for event services. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2018 Justice Farms of North Carolina LLC CLAAS Financial Services LLC Farming $740,110.69 Nonpayment of farm equipment loan. | Judgment or Settlement Virginia 2017 Greenbrier Hotel Corp. Special Event Service and Rental Inc. Tourism $667,352.50 Unpaid bill for equipment rental. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2017 Greenbrier Hotel Corp. BMS Cat Inc. Tourism $551,243.17 Nonpayment for flood cleanup work. | Judgment or Settlement West Virginia 2016 Southern Coal Corp. Doug George Coal $548,243.17 Nonpayment for tax consulting. | Judgment or Settlement Kentucky 2013 Justice Family Farms LLC Helena Chemical Co. Farming $527,534.80 Unpaid bill for farm chemicals. | Judgment or Settlement South Carolina 2013
Return to BuriedTruth.com