Walzer lawyer denies unethical questioning of TL publisher in deposition

WILKES-BARRE – An attorney representing former Times Leader editor Alison Walzer in a lawsuit against the newspaper denies he engaged in unethical conduct in questioning the paper’s owner and publisher, calling the allegations “highly offensive and defamatory.”

In court papers filed Tuesday evening, attorney Neil Hamburg of Philadelphia said the questions he posed to Richard L. Connor regarding his past sexual behavior were relevant because they probe his treatment of women in the workplace.

“In light of the fact that Mr. Connor’s credibility is a major issue in this case, my questioning of him at his deposition was entirely proper; all questions were relevant to either facts in the case, his discriminatory and retaliatory intent and/or his credibility,” Hamburg wrote.

The court papers were filed in response to The Times Leader’s attorney Susan Valinis’ motion seeking a protective order that would prohibit Hamburg from continuing his deposition of Connor in connection with a gender and religious discrimination suit Walzer filed against the newspaper.

Hamburg notes he only agreed to continue Connor’s deposition at the request of Valinis. Now the paper is trying to renege on that agreement, he said.

Walzer’s suit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, alleges former publisher Patrick McHugh fired Walzer in January 2005 because she is female and Jewish. The newspaper maintains Walzer violated the company’s code of ethics by pressuring a staff photographer to take personal pictures of her children.

Walzer has also filed a separate claim against Connor, alleging he has refused to rehire her in retaliation for the lawsuit, which he inherited when he purchased the newspaper in July 2006.

Connor was ordered by a federal judge to submit to the deposition, which took place on March 21. During the testimony Valinis repeatedly objected to Hamburg’s line of questioning that focused on Connor’s connection to two women with whom he worked at The Times Leader and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

According to excerpts of the testimony included in court filings, Hamburg questioned if Connor had ever had sexual relations with the women and whether he had been the subject of a harassment or discrimination complaint.

Valinis argues the questions are irrelevant to Walzer’s complaint. But Hamburg said the questions go to Connor’s “motive and discriminatory bias, including the abuse of power and degradation of women” that discrimination laws are meant to remedy.

Hamburg also alleges Connor was evasive and made “repeated falsehoods” during his first deposition, noting Connor refused to answer several questions, including the identity of local investors who provided the funding for him to purchase the paper. The identity of those people is relevant, he said, because Connor testified he has not rehired Walzer because “people in the newspaper” and community have told him hiring her back “would have negative effect on the newspaper.”