It’s been clear from the beginning that it would be a long road to a resolution in the salacious lawsuit brought against venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers by one of its female partners, Ellen Pao. And as of now, it will continue to play out in the courts, and not behind closed doors.

This morning, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn ruled that Ellen Pao, the Kleiner Perkins partner who is suing the venerated Silicon Valley venture capital firm for the alleged gender discrimination and retaliation she says she encountered after complaining about sexual harassment and other purported issues at the firm, is not contractually obligated to settle her claims through arbitration as Kleiner Perkins has argued. This ruling, which has been widely expected, means that the case can move forward in the court system.

Pao’s lawyers reportedly expressed satisfaction with the ruling, while Kleiner Perkins has vowed to appeal. The firm issued this statement shortly after Judge Kahn’s ruling:

Here are other TechCrunch posts regarding the Ellen Pao/Kleiner Perkins suit:

• Kleiner Perkins Sued By Partner Ellen Pao, Alleging Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination

• Key Details Of The Kleiner Perkins Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
• Women At Kleiner Perkins: By The Numbers
• Kleiner Perkins Partner John Doerr Speaks Out On Lawsuit: “Our Firm Does Not Discriminate Based On Gender”

• Ellen Pao Breaks Her Silence: I’m Still At Kleiner Perkins, And I Don’t Plan On Leaving

• Kleiner Perkins Files Legal Response To Gender Discrimination Suit, Denies “Each And Every Material Allegation”
• Kleiner Perkins Discrimination Case Presses On, Publicly: Next Court Date Set For July 20