A federal lawsuit against the Auburn Housing Authority brought by an Auburn woman who alleged racial discrimination over unhealthy living conditions was settled after a judicial conference earlier this week.

The agreement comes more than two years after Dominique Deschaine filed a complaint with a state agency over her treatment by the housing authority.

Court records don’t disclose the terms of the settlement.

An attorney for the housing agency had told a state commission investigating the matter early on that “an unfortunate disagreement” occurred between its workers and Deschaine, that included “a lot of difficult words,” but the dispute didn’t rise to the level of racial discrimination.

Over a three-month period in 2022, Deschaine and her four young children leased a Broadview Avenue apartment that was plagued by leaking pipes that damaged floors and created mold and mildew, poor air quality, and strong odors, according to court records.

Deschaine eventually sued the housing agency for civil rights and contractual violations and for personal injuries sustained by the minor children.

She had reported the apartment’s condition to the agency, but was ignored until the water damage migrated to neighboring apartments occupied by white tenants. Deschaine is Black.

It was only after Deschaine asked one of her neighbors to contact the maintenance department that technicians at the agency arrived at the apartment building to inspect the damage, according to the lawsuit.

Technicians first inspected damage to the neighbor’s apartment, then realized the problem originated in a hot water pipe in Deschaine’s apartment and discovered mold and “serious damage” to the flooring, according to the lawsuit.

Deschaine repeated her concerns about the water leak that led to the mold problem that had gone untreated by the agency.

One of the technicians, Daniel Jordan, who also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, told Deschaine to “shut up” and asked “why don’t you just move?” if she was unhappy and didn’t like the living conditions in her apartment, according to the lawsuit.

As he climbed into his truck, Jordan said to Deschaine: “SHUT THE F**K UP, YOU BLACK B***H.”

Deschaine “was very upset by Mr. Jordan’s comments. She told her neighbor about Mr. Jordan’s racist comment almost immediately. Ms. Deschaine’s neighbor confirmed that she heard Mr. Jordan make the aforementioned comment,” according to the lawsuit.

Citing the unsafe living conditions, the agency told Deschaine to leave the apartment with her children and she was forced to relocate to a local hotel, where the family lived for eight months.

Due to exposure to poor air quality and mold, two of her children developed health problems and sustained injuries, according to the lawsuit.

“As a result of the displacement and unsafe living conditions, all of the minor children were frequently sick or uncomfortable, fought infections, and endured emotional distress and physical discomfort,” according to the lawsuit.

The situation also caused thousands of dollars in damage to Deschaine’s personal property, the lawsuit said.

When Deschaine reported Jordan’s comments to the housing agency, her ill treatment was ignored or minimized and the agency refused to reimburse her for any of the damage it caused to her property or her family’s health, the lawsuit said.

Instead, the agency alleged, “without basis,” that her family had been in violation of agency policies, according to the lawsuit.

In August 2022, Deschaine filed a complaint of discrimination in housing with the Maine Human Rights Commission which, in May 2023, gave her the go-ahead to file a civil complaint in court.

Deschaine amended her complaint in June to remove her husband as a plaintiff because he hadn’t lived at the apartment the entire time.

She also removed as a defendant one of the housing agency’s workers.

The amended complaint removed five of the 11 counts against the agency.

Deschaine sued for racial discrimination in housing under the Maine Human Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, breach of contract and common law negligence, according to the amended complaint.