AUGUSTA — A human rights panel sided Monday with two tenants who said they were victims of unlawful discrimination in housing because of their sexual orientation.
By a 3-0 vote, the Maine Human Rights Commission concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe that Suzanne Rojas, a landlord from Newport, discriminated against Michael Fournier and Michael Sargent of Waterville. Fournier, who died on Oct. 27, 2010, and Sargent are described as a gay couple in an investigator’s report.
Fournier and Sargent rented an apartment in Dexter from Rojas from Aug. 5, 2009, to Aug. 1, 2010. They said that when they gave notice they were moving out, Rojas sent them a letter saying they would be charged $50 a day if they remained after Aug. 1. They claimed that a heterosexual couple indicated their intent to leave around the same time and were told to take their time finding other housing.
Fournier and Sargent also told the commission investigators that they were treated differently from other tenants.
Rojas denied the charge of discrimination and said “she treats every tenant on a case-by-case basis,” according to the investigator’s report.
The dispute now moves to a conciliation phase.
Commission findings are not law, but may become grounds for lawsuits.
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.