A judge has dismissed a state lawsuit against Richardson Hollow owner Linda Hertell of Auburn because the Maine Attorney General’s Office did not file the paperwork required to keep the complaint against her alive.

The state’s lawsuit against Richardson Hollow as a corporation, however, will continue.

The Maine Department of Labor brought suit against Hertell as an individual and Richardson Hollow as a company in October, alleging 133 former employees were owed more than $177,000 in back pay and unpaid vacation time when the mental health service provider suddenly shut down last fall.

The lawsuit sought the $177,000, plus interest and attorney fees. It also asked the court to order Hertell and Richardson Hollow to pay employees twice the amount owed because of the losses they suffered when Richardson Hollow breached its contract with them.

As state counsel, the Attorney General’s Office represents the Department of Labor in legal matters. It filed the lawsuit.

Soon after, Hertell’s lawyers asked Androscoggin County Superior Court to dismiss the complaint against her. In court papers, they said Richardson Hollow was its own entity and Hertell, as an individual, was not responsible for back pay or wages because she never personally employed anyone.

The Attorney General’s Office had 21 days to respond. It did not, and a judge dismissed the suit two weeks ago.

Adam Fisher, a spokesman for the Department of Labor, which brought the suit on behalf of employees, was surprised to hear Thursday that the complaint had been dismissed and that the Attorney General’s Office had let it drop.

“I was not aware of that,” Fisher said.

The Attorney General’s Office declined to talk about the case or say why it didn’t respond to Hertell’s motion to dismiss.

“I’m not going to comment because it’s pending litigation,” spokesman David Loughran said.

The governor’s office learned about the situation from the Department of Labor on Thursday. Spokesman David Farmer said the Governor’s Office has faith that the Attorney General’s Office knew what it was doing when it let the Hertell suit drop, and that it did not miss the filing deadline by mistake.

“We have confidence that the AG’s Office is pursing this in an appropriate manner,” he said.

Because the suit against Hertell was dismissed without prejudice, the state can refile. Loughran declined to say whether the Attorney General’s Office will.

Based in Lewiston, with offices throughout central and coastal Maine, Richardson Hollow provided support services to adults and children with mental health issues. At its peak, the 10-year-old company had about 1,000 clients and more than 200 employees.

But in 2007, Richardson Hollow faced growing financial problems. Paychecks ran late, and workers weren’t fully reimbursed for mileage. Top managers were laid off. Workers in the “daily living support services” program were told to give up their benefits or quit.

Then, in mid-September, Richardson Hollow closed. Former employees said they never received their last paycheck and were never paid for unused vacation time, mileage driven for the company or raises they were promised. The Department of Labor’s suit covers unpaid wages for that last week and unpaid vacation time.

If the remaining lawsuit is unsuccessful – or if the suit is successful but there are no assets to pay employees – the department can ultimately pay former employees out of the state’s Wage Assurance Fund. Legally, however, the fund can only reimburse employees for the wages they earned that last week of work, not unpaid vacation time or other money owed.

Fisher said he’s still hopeful the lawsuit will resolve the situation.

“We’re anxious to get these workers paid,” he said.

Hertell could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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