Bellanger v. American Music Co: How The Montana Supreme Court Caught Abby Kelman Portney Intentionally Concealing Business Information
By Michael K. Portney
I. Introduction
Most families sweep their dirty laundry under the rug. Mine launders it through court filings, technical motions, and confidential settlements. For years, I thought my struggle was unique—an autistic son being silenced, disinherited, and even targeted for institutionalization when he asked the wrong questions. Then I dug into the archives of Cascade County, Montana, and discovered a case that reads like a rehearsal for my own: Bellanger v. American Music Co. & Zollie Kelman.
This case—filed in 1999, litigated into the mid-2000s, and ultimately remanded for trial by the Montana Supreme Court—laid bare the same pattern I am now exposing in Arizona and Montana: abuse behind closed doors, family complicity, and attorneys working not to fix problems but to bury them.
The parallels aren’t abstract. They involve the same businesses, the same family members, and the same lawyers. Understanding Bellanger’s story is essential to understanding mine.
II. The Facts of Bellanger v. American Music Company
1. Who Was Linda Bellanger?
Linda Bellanger worked at American Music Company (AMC) in Great Falls, Montana from 1990 until 1999. By all accounts—including letters of commendation from my grandmother Evelyn Kelman and my mother, Abby Portney—she was a competent, even valued employee.
What drove her out wasn’t performance. It was Zollie Kelman, my grandfather, who despite supposedly “retiring” as an owner in 1989, continued to run AMC as if nothing had changed.
2. The Abuse
Bellanger documented Zollie’s escalating abuse in handwritten notes, sworn affidavits, and deposition testimony:
He would storm into her office, scream inches from her face, slam his fists into desks and walls, and threaten her job.
On April 20, 1999, he accused her of leaking company information, yelled so close she feared being struck, and slammed the wall so violently she felt physically ill and had to leave work.
By May, after months of abuse and no relief from management, she resigned, stating she feared for her safety.
Other employees corroborated her account. Andrea Baker, AMC’s office manager, testified in 2006 that she worried for Bellanger’s physical safety whenever Zollie entered her office.
3. Abby’s Role
Here’s where it hits home. Abby Portney—my mother—was AMC’s manager and owner of record. She admitted under oath:
She knew Zollie was aggressive and abusive.
She told Bellanger to “ignore him.”
She told Bellanger directly: “I do not blame you for leaving because I cannot guarantee he won’t do it again.”
In other words, Abby admitted complicity. She didn’t protect her employees. She protected her father’s power.
4. The Legal Defense
Instead of addressing the abuse, AMC’s attorneys—Susan Rebeck for Abby/AMC and Steve Potts for Zollie—filed motion after motion to limit what the court and jury could hear:
Excluding evidence of Zollie’s past crimes and gambling violations.
Excluding testimony from other employees who experienced or witnessed abuse.
Excluding financial records that showed Zollie’s ongoing control as AMC’s landlord and creditor【Affidavit 90.pdf】.
They argued technicalities: service defects, burdensome discovery, inadmissible character evidence. Anything to avoid the jury seeing the whole picture.
The 8th Judicial District Court of Cascade County awarded AMC and Zollie summary judgment.
5. The Montana Supreme Court Steps In
In 2004, the Montana Supreme Court reversed summary judgment in AMC’s favor and ordered a trial【Notice 20250930T162443.450.pdf】. The Court found Bellanger had presented enough evidence that a reasonable jury could find constructive discharge due to intolerable conditions.
The Court also noted Abby’s own statements created the appearance that Zollie was acting as AMC’s agent, even though on paper he had “no authority.” Abby had told employees to keep Zollie’s role quiet. That’s not a misunderstanding—that’s intentional concealment.
III. How Bellanger’s Case Maps Onto Mine
The Bellanger case is not ancient history. It is the prologue to my current fight.
1. The Players Never Changed
Zollie Kelman – De facto operator of AMC long after “retirement.”
Abby Portney – On paper the owner/manager, in practice enabling Zollie’s abuse.
Steve Potts – The family’s attorney/fixer, aware of the abuse but working to minimize exposure.
David Kelman – Court filings quote Zollie Kelman as saying “David Kelman robbed this company blind”, referring to David's time as owner and operator of AMC.
These are the same names that surface in my case, whether in estate transfers, fraudulent filings, or attempted institutionalization.
2. The Abuse Template
In 1999, the victim was an employee (Bellanger).
In 2001, the victim was me—a 14-year-old autistic kid woken by escorts, handcuffed, and shipped to Utah’s troubled teen industry.
In 2025, it was me again—this time as an adult—targeted for transport to Cirque Lodge when I started asking questions about the estate.
The mechanism is the same: intimidation, institutionalization, silencing inconvenient voices.
3. The Legal Strategy
In 1999, Potts and Rebeck tried to hide abuse with motions in limine.
In 2006, they pushed settlement over trial when discovery unearthed damaging facts.
In 2024, Abby hired RM Warner to threaten me with defamation claims over MisinformationSucks.com.
The pattern is consistent: conceal the misconduct, intimidate the whistleblower, settle if cornered.
4. Fraudulent Transfers Then and Now
Zollie swore in a 2002 affidavit that he was no longer an owner but still AMC’s largest creditor and landlord【Affidavit 90.pdf】. He was directing employment decisions in 1999, more than a decade after “retirement.”
I know—and would testify—that Zollie ran AMC until his death in 2007. His office was in the AMC building, and he worked 40 hours a week there in an executive capacity until the week before he died. Abby and Natalee were paper shields, used to enable Zollie to continue running AMC. That is the same scheme now used to cut me out of promised assets.
In comparison to Zollie's consistent 40-hour Plus work weeks, Abby's three to ten hour workweeks were all logged from the couch with a phone in her hand. She did not have a desk. She was in a different state. Natalee was a mentally handicapped Special Olympics participant. Despite being owner on paper of AMC, she had no role nor was she capable of holding a role in management of the business.
So if Abby was in Houston, and Natalee was not competent, who managed the day-to-day operations of AMC?
Zollie Kelman.
This was so clear and obvious the Supreme Court of Montana made sure to point out that Abby herself had told Linda Bellinger AMC would “get in trouble” if anybody found out Zollie's actual role.
IV. What’s Unusual and Why It Matters
The Bellanger case is not just another employment dispute. What’s unusual—and damning—is the continuity:
Same Actors Across Decades
Most families rotate attorneys, managers, strategies. Not mine. Potts has been the fixer since the 1990s. Abby has been the enabler since the 1990s. The cast never changed, even when they were conflicts of interest and fiduciary duties owed.Two Realities of Ownership
On paper: Zollie retired in 1989.
In practice: Zollie ran AMC until 2007.
Abby herself told Bellanger to “keep it looking like he wasn’t in.” That’s concealment.Judicial Recognition
The Montana Supreme Court already acknowledged Abby intentionally created the appearance of Zollie’s agency while denying his authority on paper. That’s not my theory—that’s case law.Repetition of the Abuse Pattern
Employee silenced → Child institutionalized → Adult targeted again. The same solution applied to different “problems.”
V. Implications for Arizona
When I walk into an Arizona court, I’m not bringing a private family squabble. I’m bringing 25 years of documentary evidence that the same individuals used:
Fraudulent filings to misrepresent ownership.
Attorneys as shields, not as problem solvers.
Settlement to avoid exposure when discovery got dangerous.
Institutional abuse as a tool of control, whether of employees or children.
For Abby, this is catastrophic. She can’t argue ignorance—her sworn testimony shows complicity. She can’t argue credibility—the Montana Supreme Court already said her statements created agency for Zollie. She can’t argue the pattern isn’t real—because it’s been playing on repeat for decades, with her as the common denominator.
VI. Why I Write This
I run a site called MisinformationSucks.com. The Bellanger record shows why it exists. Because misinformation isn’t just something governments or media spread. Families spread it. Lawyers spread it. Corporations spread it. And if no one documents the truth, the pattern wins.
The irony is that Abby and her lawyers called my website a “conspiracy theory site.” Yet here, in sworn affidavits, deposition transcripts, and Montana Supreme Court opinions, we see exactly what I’m documenting: abuse, concealment, and fraudulent representation.
VII. Conclusion: From Bellanger to Portney
Linda Bellanger’s case should have been the red flag that stopped this family pattern in its tracks. Instead, it was quietly settled after seven years of litigation, mountains of discovery, and a Supreme Court reversal. Zollie died in 2007 having never faced a jury. Abby went on to own casinos, rack up a $75,000 discrimination fine, and continue the same tactics in estate matters. Potts stayed in the picture.
Now it’s my turn. Unlike Bellanger, I’m not walking away. I’m not settling quietly. I’m documenting everything, connecting the dots, and bringing it all into Arizona court.
The question for the judiciary isn’t whether this family engaged in misconduct. The question is whether courts will finally stop enabling it.
Because what happened to Linda Bellanger wasn’t just her story. It was the opening act of mine.
