Cate Street Capital, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based investment firm intending to develop a renewable energy plant in a defunct Maine paper mill, is suing the publisher of a paper industry newsletter on three charges of defamation.

According to a suit filed Tuesday in federal district court in Bangor, Cate Street is charging Verle Sutton, the editor of The Reel Time Report, with making several false and defamatory statements in an article published in the May edition of the newsletter, titled “The Maine Problem.” The company is seeking $75,000 in damages.

Among the charges are that Sutton made factual errors such as claiming the Millinocket mill has operated occasionally since Cate Street purchased the mill and its sister facility in East Millinocket in 2011, and that the investment firm was incompetent in its management of the facilities.

The suit says The Reel Time Report, published by Industry Intelligence, offers its subscribers analysis of global paper markets and serves more than 300 clients, including Fortune 500 companies.

No hearing date has been set.


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