NJ City Ordered to Pay Millions to Victims of Anti-Gay Harassment

by Kilian Melloy The EDGE, Boston

A jury has awarded a gay couple nearly $3 million in damages as part of a lawsuit against the city of Seacaucus, NJ.

The couple, Peter DeVries and Timothy Carter, were awarded $2.84 million by the jury after the judge presiding over the case, which was heard in a state Superior Court, ruled against the city.

The plaintiff’s lawyer said that the city must also pay $2 million in legal costs, bringing the total to nearly $5 million.

Garden State Equality’s chairman, Steven Goldstein, said of the verdict and the award, "The considerable amount will send the appropriate signal to other government agencies and workers across the state that they dare not harass people because of their sexual orientation."

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