The Greenbrier, founded in 1778 and designated a National Historic Landmark, has long been a point of pride across West Virginia. It has hosted U.S. presidents, royalty, and the wealthy who come for golf and $3,500 executive physicals. The resort is among the region’s largest employers, with a staff of up to 2,000.
The takeover fight began in March, when the Rowlings — through their Omni Hotels chain, which operates more than 50 luxury properties — paid $289 million for Justice family debt that was partly secured by the Greenbrier. The debt had been held by a Virginia-based bank.
In their federal lawsuit, the Rowlings allege that the Justice family has siphoned revenue from the resort to pay bills at their coal mines and other businesses, allowed the hotel to fall into disrepair, skipped payments to contractors and employees, and risked the resort’s value as collateral.
Sen. Jim Justice said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on June 5 that the resort has been profitable and retained its clientele, and he plans to continue investing in it. “I’ve poured about everything I’ve got into the Greenbrier, and I’d do it again tomorrow,” he said. “I love that place beyond all good sense. It’s not just bricks and mortar to me.”
Steve Ruby, an attorney for the Justices, said allegations in the Rowlings’ lawsuit are baseless and designed to justify an illegal effort to take control of the Greenbrier. The family said it has new financing to retain control.
The fight has turned personal. In legal filings, Justice portrays the Rowlings as rivals trying to “pilfer one of West Virginia’s crown jewels.” The Rowlings, in turn, say an April meeting between the two sides devolved after Justice told them he “had influence over or had appointed all the state court judges” and that the Rowlings “could not get a fair trial in West Virginia,” according to the federal lawsuit. The Justice family attorney called that allegation “categorically false.”
Many locals are rooting for the Texans. “Personally, I’ve been praying for someone to take over that hotel and run it properly,” said Nancy Fife, who lives a few blocks from the Greenbrier and worked there through the 1990s.
Justice, 75, is a larger-than-life figure in West Virginia. He became a billionaire after selling the family coal business, Bluestone Resources, to a Russian company in a cash-and-stock deal worth more than $400 million in 2009. That same year, he bought the Greenbrier out of bankruptcy for $20 million, promising to restore it to its former glory. He added a casino, wedding chapel, tennis center, and attracted PGA and LIV Golf tournaments. In 2015, he bought Bluestone back for $5 million in cash and assumed hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental liabilities, saying he wanted to keep miners employed.
Financial problems have dogged the Justice family. In 2023, a judge ordered Justice’s wages as governor be garnished to repay a loan for mining equipment; another judge ordered U.S. Marshals to seize a company helicopter to help repay a separate loan of more than $10 million. It sold for $1.4 million.
In November, federal prosecutors sued Justice and his wife over $5.1 million in unpaid federal income taxes. The couple settled the case by agreeing to pay those taxes, costs, and interest.
A Louisiana bank alleged in a December court filing that the Greenbrier owes $47.7 million on a loan made under the pandemic-stimulus Cares Act, saying the balance is growing $20,000 a day. The Justices’ attorney denied any wrongdoing and said commercial disputes will be addressed through the legal process.
Additionally, Justice businesses owe $35 million from a 2020 court judgment to a Kentucky coal operator, which alleged in a lawsuit that the Justice family is hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in assets among its dozens of businesses. “We strongly reject the suggestion that the Justice family is hiding assets,” the family’s lawyer said.
The Greenbrier itself shows signs of strain. A recent visit revealed peeling paint on the hotel’s facade, worn upholstery on some chairs, and patched carpets. Some flower beds had yet to be planted. A sign outside a shuttered Ralph Lauren shop read, “Pardon Our Appearance.”
Charles Ikner, who stays at the Greenbrier every year, said his most recent visit was “gut wrenching.” He saw chipped paint and thought service had declined. “He did a really good job with it at first,” Ikner said of Justice. “They have leveraged the property over time, and the upkeep is just not there. It’s sad to see it go downhill.”
The Justice family’s attorney said “all historic resorts—including five-star properties—face ongoing maintenance needs,” and said the Greenbrier makes “significant” investment in new plantings each year. “Isolated anecdotes do not fairly describe the full guest experience.”
The Greenbrier Clinic, which offers a $3,500 cash-only Executive Health physical, has also faced problems. In February, the Food and Drug Administration found it failed to meet image-quality standards for mammograms. The clinic has said there is “serious concern” about images from October 2023 to February 2026, according to a lawsuit filed by a patient on behalf of 1,000 others. The Justices’ attorney said they believe the FDA’s finding is erroneous and have appealed it. The clinic has notified affected patients and is cooperating with regulators, he said.
The Greenbrier Sporting Club, an exclusive gated community on the resort grounds, counts some 400 members, including Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and former Intuit CEO Brad Smith. Some members said the Snead golf course hasn’t been maintained as well in recent years, and they are bothered by a 9.75% historical preservation fee. The Justices’ attorney said member feedback is taken seriously and the fee supports ongoing preservation.
Kevin Workman, a Sporting Club member since 2003, said he believes the course is in good shape “other than the tiredness of a 20-year-old golf course.” He said the fee doesn’t bother him. “I see people nitpicking.”
Last month, the West Virginia tax division filed a motion to intervene in the federal lawsuit, saying the Greenbrier and the Justices owe the state $4.4 million in sales and personal income taxes from 2025.
The Justice family announced last month that they have secured up to $500 million in new financing and provided details to the federal judge. The plan will enable them to pay off the debt held by the Rowlings, retain control of the resort, and support its long-term future, they said.
The Rowlings called the new Justice loan “highly speculative” in a court filing — financing that “could vanish at any moment.”
Last week, a judge ordered the Justices to inform him within 24 hours if the new financing should fall through.
Greenbrier’s fate remains uncertain. The Rowlings’ takeover attempt, the Justice family’s legal and financial entanglements, and the resort’s physical condition have converged in a high-stakes battle over one of Appalachia’s most storied landmarks.