Lawyers for the West Virginia branch of the Free Masons asked a Kanawha circuit judge Wednesday to throw out a lawsuit filed by a former grand master who claims that he was wrongly expelled for trying to make the organization more inclusive.

In June, Frank Joseph Haas, an administrative law judge from Brooke County, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was summarily expelled from the Masons without any notice.

Haas headed the statewide Grand Lodge from October 2005 to October 2006. During his tenure, he tried to make the policies of the state Masons less discriminatory and racist and more in line with the U.S. Constitution and the state's public policy, according to the lawsuit.

The suit contends that his immediate successor, Charles F. Coleman II, immediately reversed the progressive reforms enacted by Haas and approved by a majority of the members of the Grand Lodge. Coleman's successor, Charlie L. Montgomery, humiliated Haas by expelling him without warning at a meeting at his home lodge in Wellsburg, the suit maintains.

On Wednesday, defense attorney John Tinney asked Judge Irene C. Berger to dismiss the suit because Haas has not exhausted his appeals within the Masonic legal system.

"The appellate rights of [Haas] within the inner workings of the organization are extensive," Tinney said.

The edict expelling Haas would be part of a report presented by the grand master at the end of his term, Tinney said. Members of the Grand Lodge then have the opportunity to vote to accept or reject each part of that report.

Following that, Haas could appeal to the Grievance and Appeal Committee, who would also present their findings for the approval of Grand Lodge members, he said.

Haas could finally appeal to the Jurisprudence Committee, whose report would again be subject to approval of the Grand Lodge members, he said.

Tinney asked Berger to adopt a "hands-off" policy toward the Masons, saying that courts in West Virginia generally do not interject into an organization's processes until they have run their course.

Haas' attorney, Bob Allen, maintained that any effort by Haas to seek reinstatement in a Masonic setting would be a sham.

"If this court dismisses this complaint, he's a goner," he said.

Members of the committees that hear appeals serve at the will and pleasure of the grand master, and their findings could be easily influenced, he said.

Lawyers for the West Virginia branch of the Free Masons asked a Kanawha circuit judge Wednesday to throw out a lawsuit filed by a former grand master who claims that he was wrongly expelled for trying to make the organization more inclusive.

In June, Frank Joseph Haas, an administrative law judge from Brooke County, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was summarily expelled from the Masons without any notice.

Haas headed the statewide Grand Lodge from October 2005 to October 2006. During his tenure, he tried to make the policies of the state Masons less discriminatory and racist and more in line with the U.S. Constitution and the state's public policy, according to the lawsuit.

The suit contends that his immediate successor, Charles F. Coleman II, immediately reversed the progressive reforms enacted by Haas and approved by a majority of the members of the Grand Lodge. Coleman's successor, Charlie L. Montgomery, humiliated Haas by expelling him without warning at a meeting at his home lodge in Wellsburg, the suit maintains.

On Wednesday, defense attorney John Tinney asked Judge Irene C. Berger to dismiss the suit because Haas has not exhausted his appeals within the Masonic legal system.

"The appellate rights of [Haas] within the inner workings of the organization are extensive," Tinney said.

The edict expelling Haas would be part of a report presented by the grand master at the end of his term, Tinney said. Members of the Grand Lodge then have the opportunity to vote to accept or reject each part of that report.

Following that, Haas could appeal to the Grievance and Appeal Committee, who would also present their findings for the approval of Grand Lodge members, he said.

Haas could finally appeal to the Jurisprudence Committee, whose report would again be subject to approval of the Grand Lodge members, he said.

Tinney asked Berger to adopt a "hands-off" policy toward the Masons, saying that courts in West Virginia generally do not interject into an organization's processes until they have run their course.

Haas' attorney, Bob Allen, maintained that any effort by Haas to seek reinstatement in a Masonic setting would be a sham.

"If this court dismisses this complaint, he's a goner," he said.

Members of the committees that hear appeals serve at the will and pleasure of the grand master, and their findings could be easily influenced, he said.

Haas tried to appeal his expulsion within the organization, but received no formal acknowledgement of his grievance until he filed the lawsuit, Allen said.

Berger told attorneys from both sides to contact her if they had not received her ruling within two weeks.

On Monday, the grand master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia filed an amicus brief in support of Haas. Prince Hall lodges - named after Prince Hall, an African-American man who fought in the Revolutionary War and founded a lodge in Massachusetts in 1784 - accept black members, who are traditionally not welcome in mainstream Masonic lodges, according to the brief.

West Virginia is one of only 10 states where the Grand Lodge does not recognize the state's Prince Hall lodges, according to the brief.

The brief asked the judge not to endorse the defendants' position that a grand master's authority is absolute by dismissing the case.

On Wednesday, Tinney maintained that a grand master does not have unlimited power.

"He has the authority to maintain the peace and harmony of the lodge," he said.

Allen said that grand masters cannot act in "an arbitrary and oppressive manner, and that's exactly what he's done."

The unsubstantiated allegations against Haas include his involvement in Masonic Crusade, Allen said. Masonic Crusade is a message board Web site for West Virginia Masons.

In their court filings, the defendants have asked Haas to identify the names, e-mail addresses, aliases and/or pen names of all individuals who contribute or comment on the Masonic Crusade site.

The interrogatories specifically ask for information on individuals who post under the names "I.M. Hiram" and "A Mason," and ask Haas to describe his involvement in "the mass e-mailing campaign of the individual or individuals" writing as I.M. Hiram.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 348-1723.