A former billionaire, Tim Blixseth, has filed a lawsuit against Montana’s Department of Revenue seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages along with attorneys fees after a federal judge ruled the state wrongfully tried to force him into bankruptcy to collect taxes the state said he owed. . Blixseth and his ex-wife, Edra, founded the exclusive Yellowstone Club resort near Big Sky in the late 1990s. The private ski hill and golf course in the mountains near Yellowstone National Park attracts celebrities and other wealthy members. The club spiraled into bankruptcy in 2008 following the couple’s divorce. That launched a legal saga that pitted Blixseth against the club’s creditors, Montana tax authorities and banking giant Credit Suisse, which had loaned the club $375 million it was unable to fully repay.
Much of the 2005 loan went to Blixseth, who used it to bankroll a jet-setting lifestyle he said was part of efforts to create an international luxury vacation club modeled after his Montana resort, which eventually emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under new ownership. The Yellowstone Club’s creditors suspected Blixseth had hidden assets. They spent years pursuing him, but collected only a small fraction of the $286 million they once sought. Federal courts had issued judgements against Blixseth totaling $525 million.
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