The Bank of Maine bid $1.5 million on the Boothbay Country Club before selling it to Southport philanthropist Paul Coulombe.

The previously unannounced bid amount is revealed in the bank's new lawsuit against the club's former owners, James Reeves of Cheshire, Conn., and Clayton Longfellow of Edgecomb.

The bank is seeking to recoup money it claims it's still owed on a $2.89 million loan the men took out to buy the club in 2008.

Before the bank's January 28 auction on the club, Reeves, Longfellow and the Boothbay Country Club owed $2.59 million, including the loan's principal, interest and other costs, the suit claims.

The bank's bid was the only one received. That $1.5 million lowers the amount owed to $1.09 million, according to documents accompanying the suit. However, costs continue to mount daily, the suit states.

Reeves and Longfellow owned Boothbay Country Club when the bank issued the loan, according to the suit.

Reeves later bought out Longfellow's part of the company, Reeves' lawyer Sumner Lipman said. Longfellow could not immediately be reached for comment.

Lipman provided the Wiscasset Newspaper and Boothbay Register with the bank's suit.

The suit is not surprising, Lipman said March 15. However, he wasn't aware of it when he filed a separate lawsuit for Reeves, against the bank. Reeves is trying to get the sale voided, claiming it was supposed to be public, but wasn't, and that it took place too far from the club property. He also claims the bank misused confidential information.

Both suits were filed March 6 in Lincoln County Superior Court, according to docket records.

Eventually, the court will probably consolidate them into one suit, Lipman said. If the court ends up voiding the sale, that could affect aspects of the bank's claims regarding the loan, he said.

A lawyer representing the bank in its suit declined to comment March 15. He deferred comment to the bank. A bank spokeswoman did not immediately return a message, and still had not responded to a prior message regarding Reeves' suit against the bank.

Neither suit discloses what Coulombe later paid for the club; On February 18, the Knickerbocker Group announced Coulombe had bought it.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com