A federal appeals court ordered the release Wednesday of a real estate mogul who was jailed last week in Montana after being found in contempt of court over his sale of a Mexico resort.
The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after onetime billionaire and Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth, 64, was jailed Thursday for not giving U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon a full accounting of a 2011 hotel property sale for $13.8 million.
Blixseth’s attorneys argued that the jailing was unconstitutional because Haddon had not given enough details about what he wanted.
The court said the incarceration order will be put on hold for 30 days while Haddon gives more specific instructions on how Blixseth can comply.
Creditors are trying to collect on $241 million in judgments against Blixseth stemming from the Yellowstone Club’s bankruptcy.
Blixseth claims he no longer has the money he received from the sale of the resort known as Tamarindo. He paid $40 million for the property.
“They’re never going to get anything out of Tim because there is nothing — that’s why they’re going after his wife,” his lawyer Philip Stillman said.
Creditors are asking a federal judge to hold Jessica Blixseth in contempt of court. Creditors’ trustee Brian Glasser said Tuesday that she unlawfully transferred more than $1 million from the sale of a 156-foot luxury yacht to her mother and other entities.
