A split en banc state Superior Court panel has barred a venue change from Philadelphia to Dauphin County in a suit against Harrisburg law firm Keefer Wood Allen & Rahal and other defendants.

The panel, hearing the case on reargument, ruled 6-3 to reverse Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Mark I. Bernstein’s ruling, which had granted the defendants’ petition to transfer the case to Dauphin County on the grounds of forum non conveniens.