GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) — A transgender woman who claims a Gresham U-Haul employee discriminated against her by refusing to rent her a van is now suing the company for $75,000.
Annah Smith reserved a U-Haul van to pick up at the company’s Gresham store at 704 NE Hogan Road on January 15, 2015.
When she arrived at the store around 5 p.m., an employee reportedly “looked at her in disgust… then informed [her] that there were no vans available for rental at that location,” court documents show.
Smith was allegedly told her reservation was transferred to another location. The employee then rushed her out the door, according to the lawsuit.
Once outside the store, Smith recalled seeing 3 U-Haul vans just like the one she reserved. She reportedly asked the U-Haul employee about renting one of them but was told no, “because he already transferred her reservation to another location.”
Smith’s partner reported the incident the following day and filed a discrimination complaint, court documents show.
“U-Haul’s customer service representative stated that vans were available to rent at the location in question and the customer service representative could not figure out why U-Haul’s representative would not rent to Ms. Smith,” the lawsuit states.
Smith is now suing the company for discriminating against her based upon her gender, gender identity and/or sexual orientation.
She claims to suffer from humiliation, anxiety, distress and impairment of her personal dignity as a result of the incident. She is asking for $75,000 in damages.
