Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Cyclist Greg LeMond, the Yellowstone Club member who first raised questions about the bankrupt enclave for billionaires in a 2006 lawsuit, returned to a Montana court to collect a $13.5 million debt.

Club owner Edra Blixseth in August paid LeMond and three others $8 million to resolve claims that the club jilted them out of a dividend for investors. She missed a Nov. 15 deadline to pay the balance of the $21.5 million settlement.

Montana state court judge Loren Tucker on Nov. 17 granted LeMond's request to turn the settlement with Blixseth into a judgment against her. The Yellowstone Club, a private ski area in the Montana Rockies that boasts members like Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates, became a casualty of the global credit crunch when it declared bankruptcy on Nov. 10, with $40,000 on hand.

``The situation now facing the Yellowstone Club is that we must take dramatic steps to protect our members, employees and the future of the club,'' Blixseth, 54, wrote to members on Nov. 10. ``The filing is a critical step in our efforts to stabilize YC's financial position.''

Most of the club's revenue came from real-estate sales, which stalled as financial markets plunged and credit became scarce. Many of the club's members work in finance, including Robert Greenhill, founder of investment bank Greenhill & Co. and Todd Thomson, former head of Citigroup Inc.'s private banking unit.

In her filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Butte, Montana, Blixseth tallied the club's debts at about $350 million. The biggest liability is $307 million, not including interest, to Credit Suisse Group. The Zurich-based bank loaned the club $375 million in 2005.

LeMond's Lawsuit

That loan is what prompted LeMond to sue the club, which Edra and her then-husband Tim co-founded in 2000. In his 2006 complaint, LeMond claimed that the Blixseths took $209 million as a dividend for themselves and didn't share it with other investors, including LeMond, his wife's parents, and his friend, investment banker Jorge Jasson.

Edra won the club this year in her divorce from Tim, 58, and promptly settled with LeMond. As part of the settlement, Edra signed an agreement with LeMond and his group allowing them to seek a judgment against her if she didn't make the second payment, according to LeMond's court filings.

The judgment puts LeMond closer to the front of the line of people seeking money from Blixseth. She didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment and her spokesman, Bill Keegan of Edelman, a public relations firm, wasn't immediately available.

The settlement was backed by a lien on Blixseth's 160-acre private residence on the grounds of the Yellowstone Club, according to documents filed in Montana state court. The Yellowstone Club is located 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) north of Yellowstone National Park near Montana's Big Sky ski area.

Second in Line

LeMond is second in line for that property, though, according to his lawyer, Chris Madel.

First is Sam Byrne, founder of CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC, a private-equity company based in Boston. Byrne is a member of the club and has developed a cluster of townhouses there called Sunrise Ridge.

Byrne also has a lien on Blixseth's 30,000-square-foot (2,800-square-meter) mansion near Palm Springs, California. It's surrounded by a private golf course. Byrne got the lien when he loaned Blixseth $35 million in August.

Blixseth's repayment to Bryne was due Sept. 30, according to documents describing the terms.

Byrne considered buying the Yellowstone Club earlier this year. He halted the effort after negotiations with Tim Blixseth, who was then in charge, broke down, according to a letter Tim sent to club members.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony Effinger in Portland, Oregon, at aeffinger@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 21, 2008 00:01 EST