A woman who alleges she was forced to quit her job as an executive at a West Los Angeles private equity firm in 2022 because she endured gender discrimination, was paid less than male peers and was not granted deserved promotions will have to take her claims to binding arbitration, a judge has ruled.
Plaintiff Tracy Ann Chow further maintains in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed against Solace Capital Partners LP that she was forced to forfeit years of incentive compensation. Judge Douglas W. Stern heard arguments May 18 on a Solace motion to compel arbitration, took the issues under submission and ruled in favor of Solace on Monday. The judge stayed all further court proceedings and scheduled a post-arbitration status conference for Jan. 9, 2025.
Chow maintained in a sworn declaration that she did not sign an arbitration agreement, but Solace attorneys argued in their court papers that the plaintiff “knowingly and voluntarily entered a binding arbitration agreement.”
Chow was hired in February 2017 and resigned in May 2022.
“Despite her stellar performance as a vice president and principal at Solace, Solace has subjected Ms. Chow to discrimination because she is a woman, including by paying her less than her lesser-performing, less qualified and less experienced male peers and depriving her of promotions as compared to her lesser-performing, less qualified and less experienced male counterparts,” according to Chow’s lawsuit filed Feb. 3.
When Chow complained of gender-based disparity in pay and promotional opportunities to management in mid-December 2021, Solace retaliated against her and forced the plaintiff to quit and forfeit the incentive compensation she had earned over the years, the suit alleges.
In their court papers, Solace Capital attorneys called Chow a “highly compensated investment professional” and said her claims would be “refuted by the facts and evidence.”