PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that a Portland bar owner must pay about $400,000 in damages to patrons he told to stay away.

The state investigated a bar formerly known as the P Club after the owner left a voice message for one of the Rose City T-Girls, a group of transgender customers that frequented the bar Friday nights.

The message said business was down Fridays, likely because people incorrectly assumed the P Club was a gay or transgender bar. He asked the group to stop visiting.

The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ruled in 2013 that the bar violated a law that prohibits discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Appeals Court upheld the ruling Wednesday.

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