A dispute that began inside a small local ATV club and lingered for years has come to an end after working its way through the court system and ultimately being decided by a jury.
At the center of the case was the Bluff Country ATV Club and a question that proved far more complicated than it first appeared: who was actually in charge. The conflict traced back to an April 21, 2018, meeting at Stumpy’s in Rushford, a routine gathering that, years later, would end up at the center of a courtroom fight.
At the time, there was nothing unusual about the meeting. Members gathered, dues were paid, and an election was held. It looked like any other night for a small-town club.
That changed later.
As the dispute developed, accounts of what happened at that meeting began to split. What may have seemed like small procedural details at the time took on much greater importance. Who was eligible to vote became a central issue, along with whether individuals who were not physically present were counted and whether proper procedures were followed during the election.
On one side were Heidi Halvorson and others who believed control of the club had been improperly taken. On the other were Mitchell Bublitz, JanDeen Bublitz, and Scott Robb, who maintained they were the rightful officers following the election. What started as an internal disagreement gradually hardened into a legal dispute.
By 2022, the conflict had moved into the courtroom.
The Bluff Country ATV Club alleged that the Bublitz group had mishandled funds and improperly assumed control of the organization. According to the complaint, approximately $19,000 in club funds had been transferred into an investment account, along with another $4,200 that had been withdrawn. The club claimed that money was not returned.
The defendants denied those allegations, stating the payments were legitimate reimbursements for work performed on behalf of the club, including excavation work, and not misuse of funds.
As the case moved forward, it became clear the financial dispute was only part of the story. The larger issue was control of the organization itself, with the validity of the 2018 election sitting at the center of it.
By the time the case reached trial, it had turned into a full legal battle. Testimony stretched over several days as both sides laid out their version of events. Witnesses were called, documents were introduced, and the timeline of the club’s decisions was pulled apart piece by piece.
Halvorson described her time on the witness stand as intense, saying she was questioned for more than an hour. Her experience reflected how personal the dispute had become after years of conflict.
In the end, everything came back to that 2018 meeting.
Jurors were asked to decide what actually happened that night and whether the election had been conducted properly. Their answers settled the question that had hung over the club for years.
Jurors found that individuals who were not physically present at the meeting were not properly added as members and did not properly assign proxies to vote on their behalf. The jury also determined that Mitchell Bublitz, JanDeen Bublitz, and Scott Robb did not act in good faith in relation to the contested election and their roles within the club.
Those findings resolved the dispute over control.
Following the verdict, the remaining issues were settled through an agreement between the parties. According to court records, Bublitz agreed to pay $150,000 and relinquish all rights to the Bluff Country ATV Club, including its name, website, and social media presence, while retaining a dump trailer. The remaining claims were dismissed, and each party agreed to cover its own legal costs.
With that, a case that had stretched on for years was over.
For those still involved, the focus now shifts back to what the club was originally meant to be.
Halvorson said the goal is to rebuild and move forward. Because of a non-disparagement agreement tied to the resolution, she declined to discuss details of the case, but made clear where the club is headed. “We want to do more things for the community,” she said.
The club currently has around 18 adult members and continues to hold monthly meetings. Plans are in place for ATV safety trainings in the Rushford area this spring. The group is also working with other communities including Cannon Falls and Hastings to expand those efforts.
Locally, the club plans to participate in the Rushford parade and the America 250 celebration, signaling a return to community involvement after years defined by internal conflict.
Leave a Reply