A Northeast Portland homeowner who rents a room to a woman who has been volunteering during the coronavirus outbreak is suing the woman for potentially increasing her exposure to the virus.

Carole Lee, 77, has filed a $100,000 lawsuit against tenant Jeane Gaiennie. She also wants Gaiennie to be required to leave her home until the state declares the coronavirus health emergency is over.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Multnomah County Circuit Court, says Gaiennie has volunteered at one or more Portland homeless shelters, helped with a Union Gospel Mission search and rescue team, and offered to assist others in a time of need.

Lee told her tenant that she felt imperiled, according to the lawsuit, but Gaiennie refused to stop helping out.

Lee also asked Gaiennie to use disinfecting wipes to clean parts of their home that might become contaminated, but Gaiennie said she couldn’t afford the cleaning products, the suit says.

The suit also claims Lee hasn’t seen Gaiennie use masks, gloves or outerwear that might prevent contamination.

Lee doesn’t feel safe in her home, according to the lawsuit. She has spent less time in shared areas, including the kitchen, or stopped using shared spaces altogether.

She “has begun prophylactically cleansing” portions of their shared space, the lawsuit says, and “has experienced mental suffering, emotional distress, and diminished use and enjoyment of her home.”

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Gaiennie, for her part, said she moved to Oregon in November 2017 and has since volunteered for organizations including the Oregon Food Bank, Meals on Wheels People and Union Gospel Mission. Her volunteerism is not new.

“This is me," she told The Oregonian/OregonLive. "This is who I am.”

Gaiennie said she wears the best personal protective equipment she can get her hands on while she’s volunteering — and at times, that equipment is more than the organizations she volunteers for can provide.

She said her landlord has not requested that she wear personal protective equipment at home and that neither her landlord nor her housemates wear PPE there.

Gaiennie has not experienced any coronavirus symptoms.

The lawsuit asks for money totaling three times Lee’s noneconomic damages, up to $100,000, and for Gaiennie to be required to leave her home until the public health emergency is over. The suit also asks for “reasonable” attorney fees and other costs, as well as any other relief the court finds appropriate.

Gaiennie said Friday afternoon that she had yet to be served the lawsuit.

She said she has not considered leaving the house because she calls Northeast Portland home, lives near public transit and has friends in the neighborhood.

KGW-TV first reported about the lawsuit.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

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