August 12, 2024 - Despite a 2020 agreement with federal attorneys to pay towards eliminating past mine safety penalties and another agreement last summer after his companies fell behind, companies owned by WV Gov. Jim Justice could be held in civil contempt over non-payment.

U.S Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh filed a motion Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia Roanoke Division to hold Justice-owned Southern Coal Corp. and 22 other Justice-owned companies in contempt over non-payment of Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) civil penalties.

“Defendants have shirked their payment obligation and breached the settlement agreement,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Despite the government’s numerous reminders about Defendants’ tardy and missing payments, Defendants refuse to pay. This blatant violation warrants a finding of civil contempt.”

Companies owned by Gov. Jim Justice could be held in civil contempt over non-payment.

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According to a joint status report filed in July 2023, 23 Justice-owned companies reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Roanoke to resume making payments in a 2020 settlement, plus an additional $51,221 per week beginning in August for 10 weeks to pay more than $409,000 on overdue payments.

On June 20, 2023 – West Virginia’s 160th birthday – Chief Judge Michael F. Urbanski issued an order giving Justice’s companies 10 days to make more than $409,000 in overdue payments as part of the 2020 agreement. The companies had missed payments in 2023 in February, March, April, May and June, bringing the past due total to more than $512,000, though the companies did make their July payment last year.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and MSHA brought a lawsuit against 23 Justice-owned companies in 2019 seeking more than $5.1 million in unpaid mine safety penalties. According to the 2020 settlement, the companies made a one-time payment of $212,909.44 and agreed to pay $102,442 per month by the first of every month until the $5.1 million is paid in full.

But Kavanaugh criticized Justice’s companies for their inconsistent payments since the 2020 settlement. There have been numerous letters to the companies from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reminding the companies about missed payments, with notices of non-compliance filed several times to force Justice’s companies to make the required payments.

“The only thing consistent about Defendants’ payments is the fact they are consistently late,” Kavanaugh wrote. “The United States has notified Defendants’ counsel of past due amounts at least monthly since August 14, 2023, when the first catch-up payment was late. Despite these considerable efforts, Defendants have failed to make their required payments or otherwise indicate why they are unable to comply with the Consent Judgment and Court’s Order Compelling Compliance.”

The full remaining amount of unpaid MSHA penalties became due on March 1, with $579,041 remaining. Kavanaugh is asking the federal judge to hold Justice’s companies and its representatives in civil contempt.

MSHA, which conducts inspections at mines, penalties are meant to provide a legal means for coal miner operators to remain compliant with federal rules and regulations. Between May 3, 2014, and May 3, 2019, the 23 companies named in the suit were issued 2,297 citations and civil penalties by federal mine inspectors.

“Defendants appear to believe they are above the law,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Defendants failed to comply with the Mine Act, which resulted in millions of dollars of penalties. They then refused to pay those penalties for years. The government was forced to file suit to collect the unpaid debt. Defendants then agreed to pay the debt in a written settlement agreement. Numerous court orders have been entered requiring Defendants to comply with the settlement agreement. Yet time and again, they have not done so.”

Justice reported ownership in 108 companies according to his 2024 financial disclosure report with the West Virginia Ethics Commission, with eight of those companies placed in blind trusts. Daughter Jill Justice manages Justice’s hospitality businesses, such as the Greenbrier. But the bulk of Justice’s businesses focused on coal, agriculture, and real estate are managed by his son, Jay Justice.

Last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove issued an order holding Jay Justice and Stephen Ball, the general counsel for several of the Justice-owned business, in civil contempt of court and fining them $250 per day until they file required discovery showing the financials of Kentucky Fuel Corp. and James C. Justice Companies Inc.