Think of the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV, and the word “classic” comes to mind. According to an article by Bradley Klein at GolfWeek, relations between the resort’s owner and the architect who helped get the Old White golf course ready for the PGA event earlier this year have turned into a classic legal battle. A separate landscaping firm is also suing the Greenbrier for non-payment.
The lawsuits by architect Lester George, who oversaw the restoration of the entire Old White
According to Klein and other reports, Justice claims the recent work done by George and Aspen was “completely sub-par” and that Justice and his staff had to take the jobs over to ensure the course and landscaping was ready by the time of the Classic. (Aspen was a subcontractor for a firm that built the resort’s new underground casino and itself had a lien against the resort that was cleared up recently.) The attorney who is handling both the George and Aspen suits has responded that his clients’ work was “excellent” and delivered on time. He added that the architect and landscaper “worked under constant pressure and change orders directed by Mr. Justice, who was told that such change orders would result in extra expenses that he would be billed for.” Justice, the attorney said, agreed to pay for the changes.
Aspen is claiming that Justice owes it $1.275 million for the landscaping work; George claims he is owed $199,885 for his redesign of the 16th hole on the Old White golf course; for a book he was commissioned to write about Old White; for design of the landscaping plan for the golf course; for a logo design; and to perform other work, including the landscaping designs for the tournament entrance and bus drop off.
In a speech delivered to a Charleston, WV, Rotary Club on Monday, Justice called the lawsuits “a typical deep-pockets thing,” according to the Charleston Daily Mail. But he also admitted that the resort’s accounting department had had trouble keeping up with bill payments and, in some cases, may have paid twice on the same invoices.
"When you've got 17,400 on your master vendors' list, you're going to have disputes," Justice told the Rotarians, admitting that invoices in the accounting department were “piled to the ceiling.” The Daily Mail did not indicate if Justice's attorney was in attendance when he made the admissions, but perhaps he should have been.
Justice is something of a folk hero among the locals for having saved the Greenbrier and created hundreds of jobs in the economically strapped mountains. He may be looking elsewhere, though, for a few good accounting people. At the Rotary Club, Justice admitted he had to fire some employees in the accounts payable department. Should the plaintiffs' cases reach court, Justice may get to face those former employees again as witnesses for the prosecution.
Lester George designed the wild and wonderful Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke, VA (above). He is suing the Greenbrier Resort for non-payment of work he did on the Old White course prior to the Greenbrier Classic.