The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday rejected Mason Station’s appeal involving Wiscasset’s efforts to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. The Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in declining to spare Mason Station from a 2013 judgment that went in the town’s favor, according to the decision Maine’s highest court issued May 12.

Wiscasset Selectmen’s Chairman Pam Dunning said she was delighted.

“I think it was the right thing to do,” she said about Tuesday’s decision. “The taxes are due to the town of Wiscasset and (Mason Station has) refused to work with us in any way, and I’m delighted that the court recognized that.”

By failing to respond to Wiscasset’s complaint that sought the back taxes, Mason Station admitted the allegations, the supreme court ruling states.

“(Mason Station) offered no excuse for failing to answer in a reasonable time or at all, and it did not move for relief from the default judgment until nearly 18 months after the judgment was entered,” the ruling continues.

Attorney Benjamin Smith has represented Wiscasset in the matter along with attorney Bryan Dench. After speaking with Dench following Tuesday’s ruling, Smith said: “We believe the court really boiled things down (and) agreed with the Superior Court that Mason Station had not presented any excuse.”

Asked how optimistic he was that Wiscasset will be able to recover the back taxes, Smith called that a different issue. The town will need to evaluate the ruling and decide how to proceed, he said.

Dunning declined to comment on the likelihood the town will see the taxes. The new select board that comes on board in June will work with Town Manager Marian Anderson to bring the matter to a close, she said, adding that she was glad the ruling was issued while she is still on the board. “We worked so hard.”

Dunning did not seek reelection.

Attempts to reach Mason Station’s attorney Brian Willing for comment on Tuesday’s ruling were not immediately successful. In oral arguments on April 10, Willing told the law court’s justices that, because the town had gone through the lien process on the properties, Mason Station had believed the taxes were no longer owed.

According to the new ruling, setting aside the default judgment that favored the town would have taken a good excuse from Mason Station.

“Whether or not Mason Station had a meritorious defense, Mason Station has offered no excuse, much less a good excuse, for failing to file a timely answer to the town’s complaint,” it states.