GRAND MARAIS – A North Shore judge delayed an upcoming trial in a civil case against the embattled owner of Lutsen Resort due to possible interference the matter could have on the criminal charges Bryce Campbell is facing following the 2024 fire that destroyed the historic lodge.
During a spirited hearing Friday, Feb. 27, held remotely from the Cook County Courthouse, Judge Theresa Neo delayed the civil trial brought forward by Double Jack Design Workshop, a Minnesota architectural firm. The bench trial (meaning the judge is the jury) was set to begin March 9.
In a bizarre double-booking on the court calendar, Campbell’s omnibus hearing in the criminal case following his arrest late last year on arson and fraud charges is also scheduled for March 9. His Duluth-based attorney, Tom Torgerson, argued that Campbell could potentially make statements if called to the stand during the civil case that could jeopardize his ability to navigate the criminal charges he is facing following the December arrest. Even invoking the Fifth Amendment on the stand in the civil case could prove to be problematic for Campbell during the criminal case, Torgerson argued.
Judge Neo supported the notion, citing Campbell’s “freedom” and “liberty” and the right to a fair trial in a criminal case as being more important than the claims of people he owes money to. The trial in the civil case will be delayed until after the criminal case is resolved, the judge ordered last week.
In the civil case, which has largely proceeded under the radar in comparison to the high-profile criminal case, Double Jack is suing Campbell for a lack of payment for design plans for the remodel of the resort’s main lodge building. Double Jack says Campbell, operating as Lutsen Resort, owes the firm approximately $85,000 for architectural and design services. The final invoice for these services was sent to Campbell in late January 2024, less than two weeks before the resort burned to the ground.
Authorities arrested Campbell last December, charging him with arson and fraud stemming from the fire. He was released about a week after his arrest after posting a $100,000 bond ($10,000 cash) with conditions that include him not being able to leave Minnesota unless the court approves it. Campbell appeared remotely from what appeared to be a small motel-style room during the Feb. 27 hearing, thanking Judge Neo at the end of the proceedings for delaying the trial in the civil case.
Grand Marais-based attorney Tyson Smith represents the architectural firm (Double Jack) in the civil case. Smith pressed the judge for the trial to start March 9, saying a delay until after the criminal case Campbell is facing could push the civil trial years out. Smith emphasized that his client’s case, as well as that of the construction company Highmark, is rather cut and dried: Campbell received services and didn’t pay for them. Nonetheless, Judge Neo said the importance of Campbell to have a fair opportunity in the criminal case supersedes any such evidence in the civil case.
Campbell’s financial woes are well known along the North Shore, and now across most of Minnesota, as his notoriety intensified following his arrest in December. In 2018, Campbell and his mother purchased Lutsen Resort for $6.7 million. Campbell submitted a $16.5 million insurance claim shortly after the fire burned the resort to the ground. Campbell owed money to local businesses up and down the North Shore at the time of the fire, as well as to the National Bank of Commerce for the mortgage on the resort. There was talk of foreclosures and mounting debt in the lead-up to the fire, in the criminal charges against Campbell, and again during last Friday’s hearing regarding the civil case.
It will take time, potentially years, before the civil case goes to trial in a local courtroom following the delay Judge Neo approved last week. Smith – who said during the Feb. 27 hearing that he and his wife got married at Lutsen Resort about 10 years ago – dismissed the notion that having Campbell plead the Fifth during a civil trial could impact his standing to have a fair trial in the criminal case. Campbell told law enforcement and other investigators he did not start the fire, according to court records. He also expressed his innocence during an interview shared on the podcast “The Fire: A North Shore Story.”
