SAM Magazine-Billings, Mont., Aug. 19, 2010-A federal judge has ruled that Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth caused the Club's bankruptcy in 2008. However, the judge also found Credit Suisse partly to blame for the spectacular collapse, and it seems likely that Blixseth will be liable for "only" $20 million to $65 million of the more than $200 million claims against the Club that are still outstanding, according to the Associated Press.

In a 135-page ruling, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher roasted Blixseth for "self-dealing" and "deception" and for pocketing hundreds of millions from a $375 million loan from Credit Suisse. But Kirscher found that Credit Suisse was aware that Blixseth planned to take a large portion of the loan for himself.

The judge wrote that "the Credit Suisse loan was created so that resort owners, such as Blixseth, could extract large distributions from their development projects, without the need for any personal guarantee. Thus, the overall purpose of the loan was not for development of the Yellowstone Club, but instead, the purpose was to permit Blixseth to take money out of the Yellowstone Club and in fact, the record shows that very little, if any, of the Credit Suisse loan proceeds were used to fund development and construction at the Yellowstone Club."

Since the loan was written on a nonrecourse basis, Blixseth is not individually liable. However, it's possible that the trustee for the creditors, Marc Kirschner, could appeal the decision. Kirschner has been trying to obtain a judgment for $286 million against Blixseth. The trustee's attorney is reviewing the latest court order, according to the Associated Press.

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