A state appellate court has declined to lift a contempt order against a Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorney who refused to comply with a subpoena during a subrogation dispute involving allegations that he improperly split his fee with a client.

The Commonwealth Court on Friday rejected attorney Larry Pitt’s arguments that he did not need to comply with discovery orders in the subrogation case because, he argued, resolution of the underlying claims had divested the workers’ compensation judge of jurisdiction.