AUBURN - An electrician renovating the lodge at Saddleback Ski Area lost his job because he blew the whistle on shoddy work performed by unlicensed workers. Or he was a disgruntled union member sore about jobs given to out-of-state workers.

Those are the two portraits painted by opposing legal counsel Monday of Robert Duggan Jr., a journeyman electrician who worked as foreman for an electrical subcontractor four years ago at the mountain resort in Rangeley. He was in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Monday presenting his case before a jury of five women and four men.

Duggan, 37, of New Gloucester, filed complaints against Saddleback Inc. and Farmington-based Integrity Electrical Installation and Service Inc. claiming he was wrongly fired after his company bowed to pressure from Saddleback.

An attorney representing the Maine Human Rights Commission opened the trial with a 20-minute statement detailing the problems Duggan allegedly encountered on the job in 2004 that was part of a $20 million project that included renovation of the ski lodge, new lifts and snowmaking equipment under new ownership.

The commission claimed that Integrity violated the Maine Human Rights Act because it discriminated against Duggan after he blew the whistle on code violations. Saddleback violated the act because it forced Integrity to fire or transfer Duggan because he blew the whistle, the suit says.

Saddleback Inc. told Duggan's employer to fire him and that's what happened, said commission attorney John Gause.

Duggan first reported improper work done by unlicensed workers to his supervisor, Gause said. Duggan also reported what he saw to the manager at Saddleback. He was told: "We're a small mountain. We do what we want," Gause said. Duggan also mentioned his concerns to a state inspector.

As work progressed and the alleged illegal activity continued, Duggan told his boss that he would alert the state electrical inspector, urging him to make a site visit.

The next day, his supervisor called Duggan into the company's office and told him Saddleback "wants you gone," Gause said.

When Duggan said he couldn't be fired for whistle-blowing, they agreed he would take the next day and the weekend to think it over.

He continued to work at the mountain, but the atmosphere at the site was tense. One night, he was having dinner with a co-worker. Staring at him from across the room were two workers for a Michigan company installing snowmaking equipment at the resort, the same company whose workers were not licensed in Maine, Gause said.

Duggan approached the men and told them about his concerns. Soon after, Duggan was fired, Gause said.

Saddleback "was very angry about his reporting," Gause said. The mountain was "way behind schedule" and feared Duggan's reporting could further delay the project.

"You'll hear threats made to take away all of Integrity's work as a result of Bob Duggan," Gause told the jury. Integrity couldn't afford to lose this job, Gause said, so they took away Duggan's.

But Steven Langsdorf, Saddleback's attorney, offered the jury a "very different version of what was going on."

For one thing, Langsdorf said, the project was "somewhat" behind schedule, but not as dire a situation as presented by Gause, Langsdorf said.

A state inspector visited the site, viewed the work performed by the Michigan company and found it was "acceptable," Langsdorf said. The company was reputable, had done work for the Winter Olympic Games in Utah and other notable projects, he said. No electrical work was done by Saddleback employees, as Duggan had claimed earlier, Langsdorf said.

Moreover, Langsdorf said the state inspector had asked that Underwriters Laboratory review the Michigan company's work. There was no concern the inspector might shut down the job, he said.

Saddleback added an electrical subcontractor because of the large amount of work that needed to be done, not because it was punishing Integrity, Langsdorf said.

There is "no evidence at all that Saddleback hinted, suggested or commented in any way" that Integrity fire Duggan, Langsdorf said.

As for the dinner confrontation, Langsdorf said Duggan had been drinking when he confronted the men from the Michigan company and insulted them.

Duggan wasn't fired, Langsdorf said. He was offered other work on other jobs in the area, Langsdorf said. "Bob chose not to take other jobs," Langsdorf said. And Duggan ended up working again a week later after finding a job through his union, Langsdorf said.

The jury is expected to decide whether Duggan was financially harmed by Saddleback and the general contractor on the project, Sargent & Sons Builders Inc., because they pressured Integrity into making Duggan leave his job at the mountain.

Justice Joyce Wheeler is expected to rule on the other counts, including whether Integrity discriminated against Duggan in violation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act and the Maine Human Rights Act. She is also expected to decide whether Saddleback coerced or compelled Integrity to fire Duggan because he blew the whistle.

The trial is expected to last about three days.