BELFAST — On Dec. 2, UMaine announced that it is upholding its decision to sell the Hutchinson Center to the "highest-scoring bidder." despite a formal protest and a lawsuit, both filed by Calvary Chapel Belfast, the church that the University of Maine System (UMS) had originally picked as the next owner of the campus.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 19 in U.S. District Court on behalf of the church by attorneys with the Florida-based  Liberty Counsel.

That lawsuit was filed against UMaine, its Board of Trustees, and named individuals involved with the university's procurement processes.

Liberty Counsel attorneys also submitted an official protest through the university's bid process program after UMaine had said on Nov. 15 that it would sell the Hutchinson Center to Waldo CAP — Waldo Community Action Partners — a Belfast-based nonprofit that assists low-income Waldo County residents to alleviate poverty.

On Dec. 2, UMaine said it was sticking with Waldo CAP, despite the protest. According to the procurement process, the church has 10 business days to file another appeal, this time to the university's finance chancellor.

"If they do so, the ruling by the UMS Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration on the second appeal stage would be final," UMaine said.

Summarizing its decision to reject the church's appeal, UMaine said: "there was insufficient evidence to warrant overturning UMaine’s recent award to negotiate the terms and conditions of the sale to WCAP, which had proposed purchasing the property for $3.06 million — well above both the $2.52 million appraised value and the $1.1 million offer from CCB. WCAP also committed to leasing space back to the System for free so UMS can maintain internet connectivity in the Midcoast through Networkmaine."

Still, the real estate transfer will not take place until the protest is resolved, said Samantha Warren, director of Government and Community Relations for UMaine.

The lawsuit

On Nov. 19,  Liberty Counsel filed its complaint against UMaine on behalf of Calvary Chapel Belfast, citing breach of contract, violation of the First Amendment free speech clause, religious targeting and discrimination, and violation of the 14th Amendment equal protection clause. 

Calvary Chapel Belfast is part of the global Calvery Chapel association, "a network of churches committed to Biblical teaching and Christ-cenetered community outreach," according to the lawsuit.

A press release issued Nov. 21 by Liberty Counsel said, "Calvary Chapel Belfast is one of the six churches that birthed out of Calvary Chapel Bangor after Maine Governor Janet Mills ordered unconstitutional COVID-19 lockdowns for churches."

Attorneys are asking the court to direct UMaine to negotiate the sale of the Hutchinson Center to the church. 

They also requested a temporary restraining order to halt any ownership transfer of the Hutchinson Center to Waldo CAP.

In response to the lawsuit, UMaine said Nov. 25 it, "strongly disagrees with any allegations of discrimination."

UMaine and the listed defendants are repesented by attorneys with the Portland-based  Drummond Woodsum firm.

“As we have previously stated, every organization had the same opportunity to submit a proposal to purchase the Hutchinson Center, and every proposal received was scored by the same objective standards," said Warren. "The proposal selected provided the most favorable terms for our public university consistent with the evaluation criteria, including a purchase price that was nearly double that of any other offer."

Liberty Counsel, according to an Oct. 14 letter to a UMaine attorney from Counsel attorneys, is, “a national nonprofit litigation, education, and public policy organization with an emphasis on First Amendment liberties, and a particular focus on religious freedom and the sanctity of human life.”

In that letter, they noted that Liberty Counsel is accustomed to arguing in court, citing a case against the City of Boston over religious discrimination.

“We never tire, however, and we never give up,” the letter said.

UMaine said in response to the suit: “As we have previously stated, every organization had the same opportunity to submit a proposal to purchase the Hutchinson Center, and every proposal received was scored by the same objective standards. The proposal selected provided the most favorable terms for our public university consistent with the evaluation criteria, including a purchase price that was nearly double that of any other offer."

Liberty Counsel, however, is claiming in its suit that in the award to Waldo CAP, UMaine officials failed to act neutrally and fairly, and were pressured by those against the church.

"Local curmudgeons were outraged by the Hutchinson Center’s sale to a church that holds Biblical Christian beliefs," the suit said. "That being so, these purportedly 'inclusive' and 'tolerant' community members, along with the two disappointed bidders, unlawfully conspired together to pressure UMS’s officials to rescind the Church’s award because of the Church’s Christian beliefs.

"As demonstrated more fully herein, the conspirators and disappointed bidders did not hide their animus towards the Christian Church receiving the bid award, going so far as to say that the Church must not receive the property because its 'very design' as a Christian Church with Biblical views was discriminatory and had no place in the community. Some disappointed bidders went so far as to assert that a Church cannot even operate in 'good faith' concerning alleged nondiscrimination because the Church’s website espoused Biblical teachings and quoted Scripture."

The suit said that UMaine caved to the mob. There was, the church said in the lawsuit, no deficiency in the Calvary Chapel Belfast proposal, "only in the pretextual and discriminatory decision to rescind the award."

The resulting UMaine actions violated the First and Fourteenth amendments, and deprived the church of its civil rights, the suit said. The church asked for a temporary restraining order from the court to restore the status quo and, "prevent irreperable harm from befalling the Church."

The suit noted that Calvary Chapel Belfast had sold its current property in June 2024 for $100,000, sold a utility trailer for $15,000 and secured bank financing on Aug. 1 $750,000, all in anticipation of being awarded the bid to negotiate purchase of the Hutchinson Center.

The suit noted that community members, competitive bidders FHC-WA and Waldo CAP, and politicians attacked the church for its religious beliefs. Protests issued by the two other bidders included statements of religious animosity demonstrating overt hostility to the church in the community, the suit said.

The suit said that UMaine's reversal of decision to negotiate with Calvary Chapel Belfast was attributed to the relocation of an internet network hub on the campus, and despite the church's offer to negotiate terms of the relocation, UMaine switched gears.

"The sudden emphasis on the cost of the network hub's relocation — despite the Church's earlier offer to negotiate  — shows that the real motivation behind the rescission lay elsewhere," the suit said.

"Indeed, Defendant Low's [ UMS Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration] decision came when UMS was under intense public pressure from vocal opponents of the Church — including Democratic State Senator Chip Curry, who sits on WCAP's Board of Directors — and the disappointed bidders, both of which lobbed unsubstantiated claims of bigotry against the Church in their bid protest appeals," the suit alleged.

The abrupt shift in UMS's position, "shows that discriminatory animus — masked as a logistical and financial deficiency in the original RFP — was the driving force behind the rescission," the suit said.

The church also maintained that issues concerning the internet network hub would be negotiated with the winning proposal, per conversations with a UMaine procurement official that dated back to May 2024.

"Despite the Church's clear willingness to negotiate, and despite the actual negotiations between the parties, UMS later used the hub relocation issue as a pretext to cover its religious discrimination against the Church and to rescind the award to the Church," the suit said.

Should UMaine continue negotiating with Waldo CAP, the Calvary Chapel Belfast will be harmed by losing its opportunity to expand its mission in the Belfast community, including its outreach efforts, such as its homeschool co-op and addiction recovery program, the suit said.

"Through their rescission of the bid award to Plaintiff, Defendants acted to exclude Plaintiff from a government program solely due to its religious identity and the expression of its Bible-centered beliefs and viewpoint, including its beliefs on marriage and sexuality," the suit said.

In total, the complaint filed in federal court lists eight counts:

Violation of the 14th Amendment, equal protection clause, religious discrimination

Violation of the First Amendment, free exercise clause, religious discrimination

Violation of the First Amendment, free exercise clause, religious targeting

Violation of the First Amendment, free speech clause, viewpoint discrimination

Violation of the First Amendment, free speech clause, retaliation

Conspiracy to violate civil rights

Promissory estoppel

Breach of Contract

"As a direct result of UMS's failure to fulfill its promise, Plaintiff suffered financial damages and other harm, though that damages may be unrecoverable monetarily, thus mandating a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to preclude irreparable injury," the suit said.

Attorneys for the church are asking for a temporary restraining order, as well as halting the sale to Waldo CAP. They want the court to allow Calvary Chapel Belfast to move forward with purchasing the Hutchinson Center without delay.

"Anything else rides roughshod over the Church's fundamental constitutional rights," the suit said.

The attorneys are asking the court to restore negotiations of the Hutchinson Center to Calvary Chapel Belfast, and pay for the church's proposal preparation costs, appropriate interest on those amounts, the cost of the court action and attorneys' fees.

Reach Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657