SECAUCUS AND BEYOND — The state’s Division on Civil Rights on Monday issued a “probable cause finding against” the owner of a nine-unit Secaucus apartment building on Maple Street in Secaucus — and the real estate agency that lists the apartments — according to published reports. The finding means that the state’s preliminary evidence indicates a reasonable suspicion that the landlord (or the real estate agency that lists his rentals, which was also named) may have violated discrimination laws.
In this case, a couple filed a complaint because they said they were denied the right to live in one of landlord Ray Saoud’s apartments with an “emotional support dog” that they said was prescribed for the female half of the couple, who had undergone treatments for breast cancer.
The couple alleged that they were denied the rental after telling a real estate agent about the dog.
According to one article, “The [real estate] agency claimed that it passed along the Smarts’ documentation to the landlord, including information about the dog being medically allowed. Saoud denied ever receiving this documentation.”
The state’s finding is not a decision of guilt or innocence, rather a decision that there is enough preliminary evidence to support a claim.