Maine’s high court upholds huge fine against Portland landlord

Maine’s top court has upheld a decision to fine a Portland landlord more than a half-million dollars for life safety and building code violations. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Sulan Chau forfeited her arguments against the fine when she did not show up for her January trial in the lower District Court. The justices also ruled that the penalty was warranted because Chau had ample time and opportunity to fix her Woodfords Corner apartment building and avoid the city’s legal action. Chau will now be required to pay $510,300 plus attorney’s fees and interest to the city. It is the largest fine imposed for code violations in recent memory and part of an effort by the city to get tough on safety standards after a deadly fire in 2014. “The evidence confirms that the city clearly identified multiple code violations on Chau’s property that posed immediate threats to the safety and health of her tenants; it advised her of those violations; it undertook reasonable efforts to work cooperatively with her to remedy those violations; Chau nonetheless failed to address many of the significant fire and life safety violations until after the complaint was filed; and Chau failed to appear… Read full this story

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