A gay former partner improperly lodged bogus sexual orientation and other job bias claims in court to “attract media attention” and must instead arbitrate under the agreement he signed when he was hired, Polsinelli PC told a federal court in Houston.
Trey Monsour also failed to mention the real reasons he was terminated, including mistreating female colleagues, the firm said Tuesday in asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to dismiss his March 30 lawsuit under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The motion also seeks to compel Monsour to submit his claims to the American Arbitration Association.
Because Monsour “disregarded his obligations” under his employment contract, he should be required to reimburse the firm for its costs in bringing the motion, Polsinelli said.
Monsour alleges that Polsinelli’s push to increase diversity and inclusion was a smokescreen meant to help shed its image as a Midwestern, “good old boys” firm. That includes its recent creation of a chief diversity and inclusion officer position, he said.
The suit cited reports that in 2019, at least 72% of Polsinelli partners were White heterosexual males and 22% were White heterosexual females. Less than 2% of partners were LGBTQ community members, no more than 7% were members of other minority groups, and none were disabled, Monsour said.
But the firm said Monsour’s “salacious and untrue statements” are the real smokescreen.
Monsour failed to live up to his billing when he joined the firm in June 2017 as an equity partner, Polsinelli said.
He “patently misrepresented” the size of the book of business he would be bringing with him, generating business at a fraction of those levels and causing it to switch his status to income partner the following year, the firm said.
He also “caused a number of problems during his employment,” including underperforming and failing to collect from clients, the firm said.
It had to write off nearly 40% of Monsour’s time on one client matter during fiscal years 2019-2020 and 58% of his time across his entire book of business in fiscal year 2020, Polsinelli said.
But it was Monsour’s mistreatment of a female associate and a female shareholder “that tipped the scale” and caused the firm to fire him, the firm said.
It noted that Monsour “was both gay and 54 years old” when he was hired.
“Our client believes this filing is a transparent attempt by Polsinelli to deflect attention away from its treatment of members of the LGBTQ community by disparaging its former partner,” William A. Brewer III of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors in Dallas told Bloomberg Law in an email Wednesday. “Not only are the statements regarding his performance false, but he treated colleagues with respect and courtesy at all times.”
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP represents Polsinelli.
The case is Monsour v. Polsinelli PC, S.D. Tex., No. 4:21-cv-01046, motion to dismiss, compel arbitration 4/27/21.
