US Sues West Virginia Governor’s Coal Empire, Seeks Payment Unpaid Mining Penalties

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it is prosecuting the son of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and 13 coal companies he owns to collect "unpaid civil penalties."

Justice, a two-term Republican governor, declared his candidacy for Joe Manchin's US Senate seat in 2024 in April. He will oppose incumbent US Representative Alex Mooney in the Republican primary, according to Washington Examiner.

DOJ Sues West Virginia Governor's Coal Empire, Son

The Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice filed the 128-page lawsuit against James C. Justice III and 13 coal companies he owns and operates for "over 130 violations of federal law" that posed health and safety dangers to the public and environment.

The lawsuit seeks to recover "$4,376,328 in uncontested corporate civil penalties, $1,419,959 in uncontested individual civil penalties, and $190,759.97 in uncontested AML reclamation fee and audit obligations," and unpaid pre-judgment interest, late payment penalties, and administrative expenses.

Per ABC News, the administration was accused of retaliation by Justice, who was not named in the lawsuit. The defendants owe approximately $7.6 million in penalties, fees, interest, and administrative costs, according to the lawsuit.

The US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, Christopher Kavanaugh, stated that the defendants were ordered more than fifty times to cease mining operations until the violations were rectified.

The companies failed, among other things, to ensure the seismic stability of a dam, to maintain sediment-control measures, to remove rock and debris from a haul road following a rock fall, and to dispose of non-coal refuse appropriately.

On a financial disclosure form, he filed this year with the state Ethics Commission, Justice listed 112 coal, agricultural, and other enterprises, including seven that were deposited in a blind trust in 2017.

In recent years, his net worth soared to $1.7 billion, but he was removed from Forbes' prestigious list of billionaires in 2021. The enterprises of the governor have been perpetually embroiled in litigation over unpaid debts.

NRSC Asserts Suit as Politically Motivated

A spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee expressly asserted the lawsuit was politically motivated and accused Democrats of "weaponizing the federal government to attack the family of a Republican Senate candidate."

The federal lawsuit involves unpaid penalties related to mining operations, violations that "pose health and safety hazards or imperil environmental damage," according to the US Department of Justice.

On a financial disclosure form submitted to the state ethics commission this year, Jim Justice listed 112 coal, agricultural, and other businesses, seven of which were deposited in a blind trust in 2017.

Never-ending litigation over unpaid fees has plagued the justice industry. The governor has attempted to distance himself from the enterprises by asserting that his two adult offspring are now in charge of them.

The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit identify Roanoke, Virginia, as their principal place of business. Per Guardian, Justice stated on Wednesday that he was unaware of the suit's specifics but that he expected his son to inform him.