Owner of shuttered GNP mill counter-sues prospective buyer
Photo / James McCarthy
Demolition of several buildings at the former Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket, shown last fall, halted earlier this year after a federal court in Portland issued a temporary restraining order. On Monday, the mill's owner filed a counterclaim against the prospective buyer that had successfully halted the demolition.
The owner of the shuttered Great Northern Paper mill in East Millinocket has filed a counterclaim against the prospective buyer that was granted a temporary restraining order in February halting demolition of mill buildings the buyer said jeopardized its plans to develop a biofuel refinery on the site.
The Bangor Daily News reported that Florida-based Northern American Recovery Management and its subsidiary ACM NARM Maine LLC filed the counterclaim in U.S. District Court in Portland against EMEP LLC.
Northern American Recovery Management, which purchased the closed mill in March 2016, alleged that it had “missed opportunities to sell the property to a willing buyer” because it had relied on EMEP’s assurances in a June 2016 letter of intent that it would buy the property.
When those negotiations stalled, NARM successfully filed an application with the state to raze the mill's buildings and began the demolition in February. Shortly after, EMEP sued the Florida company, and was granted a temporary restraining order that halted the demolition.
Quoting from NARM’s counterclaim, BDN reported: “NARM has been harmed by its reliance on EMEP’s promise because it has missed opportunities to sell the property to a willing buyer,” the seller claimed, adding that some prospective buyers were willing to pay “millions” for the property.
An attorney for EMEP told the newspaper that the counterclaim “seems to be more of a strategic exercise” as a way to “get a better deal than the one it agreed to last year.”
EMEP has stated that it offered to pay $1.75 million for the property.
In March, BDN reported that EMEP is discussing with Stored Solar, owner of two biomass generating plants in Maine, the possibility of converting the East Millinocket mill into a refinery that converts biomass into liquid fuels that could be blended to make biodiesel, gasoline and jet fuel.
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