Law firm seeks private arbitration for antibias suit

The Center City law firm of Blank Rome has asked a Philadelphia judge to refer an LGBT antibias lawsuit to private arbitration.

 

Alfred W. Zaher, a former partner at Blank Rome, claims anti-LGBT bias caused him to leave the firm. He maintains his problems intensified after he organized an LGBT-equity event at the firm in early 2014. Zaher also claims that co-workers plotted to steal his clients, and that Blank Rome continues to improperly withhold funds owed to him.

He’s suing in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages. 

But this week, attorneys for Blank Rome asked Common Pleas Judge Gary S. Glazer to refer the matter to private arbitration. If the request is approved, the case no longer will be litigated in open court. 

In court papers, Blank Rome argues that the firm’s partnership agreement mandates the matter be handled confidentially by a three-member panel of the American Arbitration Association.

The filing contends that Zaher “has done little more than delay the inevitable and squander this court’s precious time. This court should immediately stay this matter and compel arbitration.” The filing also accuses Zaher of “improperly attempting to extort unwarranted and unreasonable monetary damages from the firm.”

Moreover, the filing dismisses some of Zaher’s claims as “mere shams, asserted in an effort to bypass the arbitration provisions of the parties’ contract.” 

The filing emphasizes that case law clearly supports Blank Rome’s request for private, binding arbitration.

“There is no basis for permitting Zaher to violate his commitment to resolve any claims he believes he has against [Blank Rome] through confidential arbitration. Well-established Pennsylvania case law clearly supports the enforceability of the partnership agreement’s arbitration provision, as well as the need to compel Zaher to submit to confidential arbitration,” the filing states.

The filing goes on to note that Pennsylvania courts “strongly favor” arbitration as the preferred method of dispute resolution.

“With increasingly crowded dockets, Pennsylvania public policy and its courts strongly encourage using arbitration to avoid protracted litigation.”

The filing emphasizes that all of Zaher’s claims can be handled by a panel of arbitrators: “A better fit between [Zaher’s] claims and the ambit of [Blank Rome’s] arbitration provision would be difficult to contrive.”

Zaher currently works at the Center City law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll, specializing in intellectual-property rights.

Alan B. Epstein, an attorney for Zaher, said he’ll respond to the filing in due time. “We expect to refute their allegations by way of a formal response shortly,” Epstein told PGN. 

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Tim Cwiek has been writing for PGN since the 1970s. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from West Chester State University. In 2013, he received a Sigma Delta Chi Investigative Reporting Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his reporting on the Nizah Morris case. Cwiek was the first reporter for an LGBT media outlet to win an award from that national organization. He's also received awards from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, the National Newspaper Association, and the Keystone Press.