BUCKSPORT, Maine (From The Bangor Daily News) -- The sale of the Verso Bucksport mill to a subsidiary of scrap dealer American Iron & Metal for $58 million may go forward after a federal judge on Tuesday, 21 Jan. 2015, refused to halt it due to possible antitrust violations.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said in his 73-page ruling, issued about 2 p.m., that lawyers for the machinists union "have not met their burden to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claims."

That was the legal standard the judge said needed to be met for him to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to keep Verso from selling the shuttered paper mill.

The International Association of Machinists filed suit against Verso and AIM last month, alleging that Verso ignored inquiries from other paper companies so it could reduce competition in the North American coated paper market. Lawyers for the union wanted Woodcock to halt the sale and allow plaintiffs to have access to communications among Verso, AIM and other potential buyers under federal rules of discovery that they said would prove the sale violated antitrust laws.

Woodcock's decision may be appealed to the 1st U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston.

John Carr, spokesman for the machinists, said late Tuesday in an email: "We are conferring with our legal counsel on how, and if to proceed."

"We are truly disappointed in the judge's decision today," Carr said. "More so, his decision not to consider the resounding call from the Governor's office and others that Verso was not being completely candid in revealing the existence of potential buyers for the Bucksport mill. This fight is about the working families in and around the Bucksport mill, preserving the good jobs and the community of Bucksport."

At a status conference Tuesday morning, Woodcock encouraged representatives from Verso, buyer American Iron & Metal, the workers, potential buyers and the governor's office "to sit down in a room together" and "work something out."