Three peninsula residents say they went to Portland in January to watch the Boothbay Country Club be auctioned off, but were turned away.

The Boothbay Country Club company is challenging the Bank of Maine's sale of the club, claiming, among other things, that the sale was supposed to be public, but wasn't.

In three affidavits Boothbay Country Club has filed in Lincoln County Superior Court, Frank Fassett of Boothbay Harbor, Laura Blake of Southport, and Edwin “Win” Mitchell, also of Southport describe their experiences at the Portland law office of Bernstein Shur, where the sale took place January 28.

According to their statements, all three were kept out of the auction.

“My friend Frank (Fassett) and I went to see what was going on and wanted to observe the auction,” Mitchell states in his affidavit. “We were told that we could only sit in the auction or sale if we paid $50,000 to show intent. We were told that we had to leave the room.”

“We left the room and waited outside a while and then we left,” Mitchell's affidavit continues. “While I attempted to attend the auction, I … noticed that the newspaper reporter from the Boothbay Register was there also and was denied access as well. Her name is Susan Johns.”

“I understood it was to be a public sale,” Blake, a realtor, states in her affidavit. “I did not have a client that I represented but as a realtor I like to know what is going on … I went to a floor and was told that the auction was a closed auction and I had to wait on the bottom floor.”

“While I was there, I also observed that Susan Johns of the Boothbay Register was told that she too had to wait on a lower floor. After a while, persons came out of the elevator and were asked by Susan Johns what happened and either stated 'No comment' or did not answer,” Blake continues. “Soon after, I departed and went back to the Boothbay region.”

The bank advertised the sale as public, but did not say people would only be admitted with the $50,000 deposit to bid, Boothbay Country Club's lawyer Sumner Lipman said. “The notice never said that. You can't tell people they can't come in,” he said. “If it's not a public sale, the sale is no good.”

Boothbay Country Club also claims the sale was held too far from the club and that the bank misused confidential information.

The bank maintains it complied with state law by advertising the sale in the Boothbay Register for three weeks, and notifying the club's owners as well as the Lincoln County Registry of Deeds. Boothbay Country Club's suit raises conspiracy theories that have no merit, the bank argues in court documents.

The bank is seeking to recoup about $1.09 million in losses from the foreclosure, in a separate suit against Boothbay Country Club, company owner Jim Reeves and Reeves' former business partner Clayton Longfellow of Edgecomb.

Maine's Business and Consumer Court has now agreed to have both suits transferred from Lincoln County to that court, superior court clerks said.

The business court is known for resolving disputes on a faster track than other Maine courts.

The bank requested the transfer. Lipman had opposed it.

The bank's own $1.5 million bid was the only one received at the January sale. Southport philanthropist Paul Coulombe later bought the club for $1.4 million. He plans to open it May 22 as the Boothbay Harbor Country Club.

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