President Trump and a company affiliated with him filed court papers on Monday wanting to force the pornographic film actress Stephanie (AKA Stormy) Clifford to raise her disputes through private arbitration instead of lawsuits.

Clifford, was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about her claims of an affair with Mr. Trump. She sued last month to get out of the nondisclosure agreement she signed in October 2016, alleging that it was void because Mr. Trump had never signed it. That raised the issue of possible further embarrassing revelations for Trump who has already been rocked by Ms. Clifford’s public TV conferences.

Lawyer, Michael D. Cohen asked the United States District Court for the Central District of California to compel Ms. Clifford “to arbitrate any and all disputes arising� from the confidentiality agreement she signed. In a separate document filed on the same day. Mr. Trump formally joined the motion.

A lawsuit could be potentially embarrassing for Mr. Trump, bringing embarrassing information into the public eye through the discovery process and trial. Arbitration would be beneficial to Mr. Trump because it is a private process in which a third party resolves a legal dispute after all parties agree to be bound by the decision.

Michael J. Avenatti, a lawyer for Ms. Clifford, said on Monday that they would “vigorously oppose the motion by Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen to have this case decided in a secret arbitration, in a private conference room, purposely hidden from the American public.�

https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/californiamanadatoryarbitration.aspx