BRETT FRENCH | bfrench@billingsgazette.com
In a legal Mexican standoff over a southeastern Montana ranch sale, somebody blinked first, but the parties involved aren’t talking.
A Texas couple purchasing the Diamond Cross Ranch has dropped a complaint filed last recently against a Forsyth hunting outfitter.
Billings attorney Emily Cross, representing DC Montana Holdings LLC created by David and Crystal Watts, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of their complaint in Billings District Court on July 27.
The couple, who own oil and gas drilling companies as well as two other ranches, have a contract to buy the Diamond Cross Ranch, according to the complaint filed on July 21.
The ranch, located in portions of Big Horn and Rosebud counties, is composed of 95,867 acres of deeded land, 149 square miles. The seller is a Belgian baroness, Charlotte de Mevius, a member of one of the richest families in the European country.
The baroness formed Heal Holdings LLC when she purchased the 119,500-acre Diamond Cross Ranch (186 square miles) in 2017 from candy heir Forrest Mars Jr. The asking price was $64.8 million.
With the land sale to the Watts set to close on Aug. 24, the couple sought to keep Trophies West Outfitters from utilizing the ranch this hunting season, expecting “any and all existing hunting agreements and/or leases” terminated immediately.
Trophies West, owned by Troy and Tina Sams, claimed they had a binding contract that required them to be notified of the sale last year, otherwise the hunts they sold for this season were to be allowed. The Sams’ attorney, Bryant Martin, threatened to file a breach of contract lawsuit if the new owners attempted to bar them from the property, as well as file a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
The Watts argued the contract was not legally binding because it wasn’t signed by the owner or the ranch’s management company.
A proposed buyout of the outfitter contract was rejected by Martin, saying it would devastate the business by damaging the Sams’ reputation as well as destroying the dreams of the hunting clients who had booked trips.
Emails and calls to the Sams, Martin and the Watts’ Billings attorney went unanswered. The document filed in court said only that the “parties believe they have reached a resolution of this matter” and that Trophies West “had not yet filed an answer or a motion for summary judgment.”
“Therefore, DC Montana’s filing of this notice of voluntary dismissal automatically terminates this action,” the document stated.
The complaint drew attention to what are often private transactions that occur beyond public view, including how much an outfitter pays to a landowner for an exclusive lease (an estimated $92,750 for 33 hunts), a large land sale between wealthy individuals and how wildlife — especially elk — have become a prized resource that’s driving up the cost of land transactions in southeastern Montana.
As an example of the crazy land market, a recent Facebook post by a Montana land broker said he had a buyer with a budget of up to $30 million for an off-market ranch of 1,000 contiguous acres with “strong hunting and recreational opportunities” and a “healthy elk population.”
“The money that can be made in income from elk on an annual basis is not that high,” appraiser Andy Rahn told the Billings Gazette. “The income itself doesn’t justify the land values. It’s recreation for the owners.”
That’s because the region could produce another record-book trophy bull elk, some hunters speculated, in a region that a few decades ago saw only scattered herds of the large ungulates.
The region already has three record book bull elk entries: a bull shot by an archery hunter in 2000 that scored 411 points; another in 2016 killed by an archery hunter on public land that scored 430 points, the current Pope and Young typical world record; and a bull shot in 2017 with nontypical antlers that scored 431 7/8 inches.
The Boone and Crockett Club, which keeps records of trophy game animals, considers any bull elk scoring a minimum of 375 points for entry into the all-time record book, 360 points for entry into its awards book. The animals are scored based on measurements of their antlers.
The Diamond Cross Ranch’s new buyers tout their family’s passion for hunting, including safaris to Africa, and they claim to specialize in “land and wildlife management.”
A hunt for a trophy bull elk in southeastern Montana with a guide can now cost $18,000 or more, which includes lodging, transportation and meals for five to seven days. This price doesn’t include the cost of the tag, which for nonresidents is more than $1,100.
The buyer of a Montana elk tag auctioned off by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation this year for a record-high $158,000 reportedly booked a guided hunt with Trophies West on the Diamond Cross Ranch this season.
According to RMEF, the 2025 tag sold for $90,000, down from a record high of $126,000 in 2024. The conservation group can retain up to 10% of the sale price for expenses with the rest going to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
“Troy is truly heartbroken that the parties are in this situation,” wrote attorney Bryant Martin in a letter to de Mevius and her ranch managers. “Troy believes he had a good working relationship with Diamond Cross, and he wants Diamond Cross to (be) able to sell their ranch as they see fit. A simple buy-out of Troy’s Lease will not work here.”
As a resolution, Martin had suggested delaying the closing of the sale until after the hunting season as the “least expensive and most ethical way” to solve the legal standoff.
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