 PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The owners of a Portland-area bakery that denied service to a same-sex couple has paid more than $135,000 to cover a legally-binding order from the Bureau of Labor and Industries. Aaron Klein, co-owner of the shuttered Sweet Cakes by Melissa, walked into the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries' Portland office and handed over a check for $136,927.07, an amount including accrued interest, agency spokesman Charlie Burr said. Earlier this month, the labor bureau recovered nearly $7,000 additional funds from the Kleins with the help of the state Department of Justice and a private collections agency, Burr said. Aaron and Melissa Klein had refused to pay damages of $135,000 to Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer, claiming financial hardship despite three online fundraising accounts set up by supporters that netted them at least $515,000 as of late September. The Kleins closed their Gresham bakery in 2013 and now operate out of their home in Sandy.
– An Oregon bakery that refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple and then refused to pay the $135,000 damages award that ensued has decided to finally pay up. A spokesman for the state Bureau of Labor and Industries tells KOIN that Aaron Klein, co-owner of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, paid $136,927.07 on Monday to settle the damages and interest. The spokesman says that with the help of a private collections agency, the bureau had already recovered around $7,000 from a garnished bank account belonging to Aaron and Melissa Klein, who closed their bakery in 2013 and now run the business from home. The couple was ordered to pay damages after authorities decided they had violated the civil rights of the two women who ordered a wedding cake. The Kleins' lawyer tells the Oregonian that they still plan to appeal the ruling, but they decided it didn't make sense to rack up interest charges while the case was pending. "The prudent thing to do, given the generosity of people who have contributed funds, was to take care of it and continue the fight," he says. And supporters have definitely been generous: The Kleins have received more than $515,000 from supporters since their case became national news, including at least $400,000 from a Continue to Give campaign that's still receiving a steady stream of donations. (This baker in Denver refused to make a "God hates gays" cake.)