BILLINGS, Mont. — Attorneys and others involved in bankruptcy proceedings for Montana's ultra exclusive Yellowstone Club have requested more than $10 million in fees and expenses - including some charges billed at more than $900 an hour.
More than half the fees were racked up by the dozens of lawyers, accountants and consultants hired under former club owner Edra Blixseth. She sold the millionaires-only resort last month for $115 million.
Attorneys in the case describe their fees as reasonable given its complexities.
Attorneys for Credit Suisse racked up the steepest charges- $930 an hour. The financial company has so far recovered only a fraction of $375 million in loans it arranged for the club in 2005.
A spokesman for Blixseth said most the legal fees in the case stemmed from efforts to make sure other creditors got paid before Credit Suisse. That's because Credit Suisse allowed Blixseth's ex-husband, Tim, to divert a majority of the loans to other entities under his control.
Bill Keegan, the spokesman for Edra Blixseth, said most of the remaining legal fees were incurred defending against Credit Suisse's "baseless claims" that Edra had conspired to drive the resort into bankruptcy.
Business, Pages 30 on 08/28/2009