Cyclist LeMond sues ritzy Yellowstone Club

BOZEMAN – Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond is among several people suing the millionaires-only Yellowstone Club and its owner, alleging Tim Blixseth tried to buy out their investments in the club at a fraction of the value and then refused to turn over financial records so they could determine the actual value.

LeMond, his in-laws, a company they own, and a friend of LeMond filed the lawsuit in Madison County on Wednesday. All own homes in the exclusive Yellowstone Club, a gated community south of Big Sky, with many huge homes valued at $10 million or more, private golf, skiing and other amenities.

When fully occupied, the community will contain a maximum of 864 homes on 13,400 acres.

Blixseth said he was “pleased and relieved that they have filed the lawsuit. … I’m relieved that it will be resolved in a court of law by reasonable minds.”

The lawsuit said LeMond, David and Sacia Morris, Sacia Enterprises and LeMond’s friend, Jorge V. Jasson, each invested $2 million to purchase 1 percent of the Yellowstone Club in 2000.

In May 2005, Blixseth offered to buy out LeMond and the other plaintiffs, offering them each $1.25 million in cash and one undeveloped lot at the resort, valued at about $2 million.

However, Blixseth refused the plaintiffs’ request to see the club’s financial records. Since LeMond and the others are part-owners of the resort, Montana law says that financial records must be available to them, the lawsuit contends.

By one appraisal, the Yellowstone Club is worth $1.16 billion, according to the lawsuit, meaning a 1 percent share should be worth about $11.6 million.

Blixseth later withdrew his offer to buy the shares. The lawsuit asks that $209 million in loan proceeds that was paid to The Blixseth Group Inc. be fairly divided among investors; that BGI, Yellowstone Development and Yellowstone Mountain Club provide full and complete access to financial records; and that the plaintiffs be paid a fair value for their shares.