POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge says an auction to sell a failed polysilicon plant wasn't held in accordance with his order and so the facility can't be sold to the highest bidder.

The Idaho State Journal reports that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jim Pappas denied the motion from a trustee to sell the Hoku facilities in Pocatello based on last month's auction. JH Kelly Inc., a Washington state-based contractor that was among those that worked to build the site, had the winning auction bid at $5.27 million.

The company is suing Hoku's Chinese parent company in federal court, alleging that Tianwei New Energy Holdings still owes it about $25 million for work done at the defunct $700 million plant. It wasn't immediately clear on Tuesday whether the plant would be auctioned again.

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