Before his political career, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice inherited a mining business, and he eventually became the owner or CEO of more than 50 companies.
As governor, Justice’s businesses have faced increased scrutiny… and now one is being fined $2,500 every day.
The company, Southern Coal Corp., was found in civil contempt Monday for flouting a court’s five-month-old order to pay an insurance company.
BrickStreet Mutual Insurance first took Southern Coal to court in September. The insurance company — specializing in workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance — claimed to have been owed a whopping $503,985 in collateral and attorneys’ fees.
At the time, Southern Coal claimed to be unable to pay the insurance bills. The company claims to have no income, due to a pause on mining.
However, the court sided with the insurance company, and it ordered Southern Coal to pay the $0.503 million.
After Southern Coal’s failure to pay, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon found Southern Coal Corp. in civil contempt Monday. She will fine Southern Coal $2,500 per day until completion of the order, and she’ll issue the first fine on March 4.
Dillion also remained skeptical of Southern Coal’s claims about its failure to pay. She demanded more evidence.
Justice, a former billionaire, was once the wealthiest person in the state. He resigned his executive positions before taking office as governor in 2017, and he’s since seen his net worth decline by about half.
He made headlines for switching parties in 2017 to join the GOP, and he’s currently running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the outgoing Joe Manchin.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.