The lawsuit against Boyne USA was brought by condominium owners at three Big Sky properties.
Isabel Hicks MONTANA FREE PRESS
Boyne USA, the parent company that owns Big Sky Resort and several other ski areas in North America, agreed this spring to pay nearly $25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was brought by condominium owners in three Big Sky properties developed and managed by Boyne. The plaintiffs disputed the validity of condo rental programs and the requirement that rentals be exclusively managed through Boyne.
The suit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court in Butte more than three years ago. Chief District Judge Brian Morris approved the preliminary settlement agreement on Feb. 27, just weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial on March 10. The agreement will require the judge’s final approval in June.
The plaintiffs and class members are current or former owners of condo units in the Shoshone Condominium Hotel, the Summit Hotel and the Village Center Condominium who participated in Boyne’s rental management program. Class members are the unnamed parties who joined the lawsuit and will receive settlement payments from Boyne.
A condo hotel is a hotel where a portion of rooms are converted to condos, which are then sold to property owners. The condos remain available to rent to the public, and owners may use the unit for vacations and receive some of the rental revenue. In the three condo hotels, unit owners signed an agreement to exclusively use Boyne for rental management and pay Boyne 50% of net rental revenue for management services, according to court documents.
The original complaint alleged that selling condo units with a mandatory management program is illegal under state and federal laws and that the 50% fee was far above the typical management rate for properties at similar resorts. It also outlined grievances about imposing maintenance and repair fees on owners, shorting owners’ rental revenue and requiring owners to make units available for up to five nights of complementary use for Boyne business partners.
The settlement emphasized that Boyne does not admit the allegations.
Ben Alke, a Bozeman lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Montana Free Press the plaintiffs and attorneys are “very pleased with the proposed agreement.”
The plaintiffs were represented by firms Goetz, Geddes and Gardner and Crist, Krogh, Alke and Nord; Crowley Fleck and Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell represented Boyne.
Per the settlement, Boyne must pay $18.79 million by April 1 to establish a settlement fund, which will be dispersed among plaintiffs and class members and used to cover plaintiff attorney fees.
Any involved parties must file objections to the settlement before May 2. A hearing to consider any objections will be held at the Butte courthouse on June 12. Following that hearing, a judge will finalize the settlement agreement, and then checks will be mailed to class members.
There are approximately 377 class members, including the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit: Lawrence Anderson, trustee for the Lawrence T. Anderson and Suzanne M. Anderson Joint Revocable Living Trust, Robert and Nora Erhard, and Tjarda Clagett.
The plaintiff’s legal representation will propose a formula for calculating the payment to each class member, which will be based proportionally on their past transactions with Boyne. The formula will be vetted and approved by the court, according to the settlement agreement.
While the payouts will vary drastically based on how long people have owned units and worked with Boyne, Alke said some class members are expected to receive tens of thousands of dollars.
The named plaintiffs will also be able to request up to $10,000 in service fees for representing class members in the lawsuit.
Boyne also must pay a total of $6.2 million to the three homeowners associations in two equal installments. The first payment is due on April 1, 2026, and the second on April 1, 2027.
In each installment, the Shoshone Homeowners Association will receive $743,756, the Summit Homeowners Association will receive $845,534, the Village Center Homeowners Association will receive $477,570, and $1.03 million will go towards attorney fees.
The homeowners’ associations can use that money for capital improvements in common areas and to improve the attractiveness, functionality and operations of the condo hotels.
The settlement also removed the stipulation that Boyne must be the exclusive rental management company and hotel manager for the condo-hotels, stating that “exclusivity is unenforceable as written under Montana law as construed by the court.”
Stacie Harris, a spokesperson for Boyne, told MTFP the proposed resolution “reflects our shared commitment to maintaining Big Sky Resort’s exceptional guest experience and standards.”
“While we cannot comment on specific details until court approval is granted, this resolution allows us to move forward with clarity while maintaining our focus on continuing to build Big Sky Resort as a premier mountain destination,” Harris wrote in an email.
Boyne has disputed and continues to dispute the allegations, but believes the settlement “is the most effective and least costly resolution of this lawsuit,” the agreement said. “Boyne has agreed to enter into this settlement agreement to avoid the further expense, inconvenience, and distraction of burdensome and protracted litigation.”
