AUBURN - A couple who lived in Ricker Hill Orchards' worker housing in Turner are suing the apple growers, claiming their accommodations were infested with cockroaches and they were forced to pay rent they shouldn't have had to pay.

A family representing the farm disputed many of the claims in the lawsuit.

A complaint filed by Megel and Wendy McKellar of Norway in Androscoggin County Superior Court says they lived as tenants on Buckfield Road for most of a 7-year period, ending in 2004, when Megel worked at the farm.

The farm labor housing was supposed to be free, the lawsuit says. But the McKellars say Megel's pay was docked as much as $2 per hour while he, his wife and their children lived there.

When they moved into their worker housing, they were told by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that all utilities would be paid by his employer, who also was made aware of the arrangement, the suit says.

Instead, his employers required that the McKellars pay several utility charges, including heating and electricity, the suit says.

During their tenancy, housing conditions were substandard, impairing their health and safety, the suit says. Defective plumbing and electrical fixtures, lack of adequate heat, mold growth and cockroach infestations degraded their living conditions, the suit says.

By the time they moved out of the housing, they had to abandon much of their personal property due to cockroach infestation, the suit says.

The plaintiffs claim they are owed back pay for the amount that Megel McKellar's wages were garnished for rent, plus interest and penalties.

The orchard owners also owe the McKellars for the diminished value of their accommodations and damage caused by the cockroach infestation, according to the suit.

Because of contractual obligations not to charge for utilities without approval of the USDA, the orchard owners should reimburse the McKellars for the money they paid for utilities, they also say.

The McKellars also claim that they suffered ill health and are due compensation from when the orchard owners allowed another tenant to use toxic pesticides to spray for cockroaches over a period of roughly nine months. Their suit says the other tenants were not properly trained in the application of the pesticides.

Although the farm owners hadn't filed a response in court, family farmer Harry Ricker said Thursday the business never charged rent on the apartment inhabited by the McKellars.

Megel and his family were expected to pay their own utility bills as provided under the terms of the government loan used to build the quarters, which includes separate heating systems for each apartment, Ricker said.

A cockroach infestation was eradicated by a professional exterminator once Ricker was made aware of the problem, he said.

"It cost us a lot to get rid of them," he said.

Ricker said the McKellars several years ago had raised some of the issues spelled out in the suit but hadn't acted on them. "We always do our best to do everything legally," he said. "We don't see where we've done anything wrong."

He said McKellar was a good worker, but he and his family didn't take good care of the apartment.