The Shadow
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV. (VR) — A federal judge has yet to rule on a request by U.S. Sen. Jim Justice’s family to push back the deadline for closing its $500 million refinancing deal in order to settle the legal battle over control of The Greenbrier, with a response from the resort’s current lender due Monday.
Attorneys for Justice, his wife Cathy, son Jay, and several Greenbrier businesses asked U.S. District Judge Frank Volk on July 21 for an additional 18 days, until Aug. 7, to complete the transaction with New York-based Kennedy Lewis Investment Management. The request came five days after an earlier deadline of July 16 set by Volk in a May 30 order.
Volk had paused proceedings in the case in May at the family’s request, giving them until mid-July to close the deal and warning that further delay could shift the balance of the case against them. When the July 16 target passed without closing, Volk ordered the family to show cause by July 21 why the litigation should not resume.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed in April by White Sulphur Springs Holdings, an affiliate of Texas-based TRT Holdings, the parent company of Omni Hotels & Resorts. TRT purchased about $300 million in Greenbrier debt from Carter Bank & Trust in March after acquiring the loan from the Virginia bank. White Sulphur Springs Holdings has asked Volk to place The Greenbrier in receivership and appoint an outside overseer, arguing its collateral is at risk.
In their July 21 filing, Justice family attorneys said the proposed $500 million loan, which would be secured by Greenbrier assets and equity in the borrowing entity, is nearly ready to close. Attorney Steve Ruby wrote that a required internal corporate reorganization had been delayed but was expected to be completed by July 21. The family also asked Volk to order an inquiry by a magistrate judge if the deal has not closed by Aug. 7 and proposed filing status updates on July 27 and July 31 in the meantime.
Kennedy Lewis, the prospective lender, backed the family’s account in a letter to the court from attorney Stephanie Lindemuth, who wrote that the transaction parties are working to close as quickly as possible, subject to the completion of definitive documents and other closing conditions. The letter stopped short of committing to a firm closing date.
The Justice family’s filing also disputed a payoff demand from White Sulphur Springs Holdings. Attorneys said the company’s lead counsel sought $387,692,135 in a July 15 email, roughly $100 million more than TRT paid to acquire the debt in March, and accused the company of trying to stall the refinancing to keep alive its bid for the resort. Attorneys for White Sulphur Springs Holdings have not publicly detailed their position on the new deadline. Volk ordered the company to file a written response by Monday.
Volk has repeatedly signaled reluctance to order a receivership except as a last resort, writing in his May order that placing an outside overseer in charge of a company is “the corporate equivalent of martial law.” The Justice family’s latest filing leaned on that language, arguing that resuming receivership proceedings now, with the refinancing “on the verge of closing,” could derail a deal that would pay White Sulphur Springs Holdings in full, plus what the family’s attorneys described as a profit of nearly $100 million for holding the debt for about four months.
What happens next is up to Judge Volk. Although TRT’s filing appeared to accept the Justice family’s extension request by stating that the court “should give the defendants a firm deadline of August 7, 2026, to close and fund their transaction,” doing so would effectively give the Justice family and Kennedy Lewis roughly two more weeks to finalize loan documents, secure regulatory approvals tied to The Greenbrier’s casino license, and satisfy other closing conditions before the proceedings resume. If the judge denies the Aug. 7 extension, White Sulphur Springs Holdings’ push for a court-appointed receiver could move forward immediately.
The Greenbrier, a 660-room resort in White Sulphur Springs, has been owned and operated by the Justice family since 2009. The outcome of the financing effort could determine whether the family maintains control of the historic property or cedes day-to-day management to a court-appointed receiver while the underlying debt dispute continues.
