Janel Grant's Team Responds To WWE & Vince McMahon Seeking To Throw Out Amended Lawsuit

Several weeks back Janel Grant and her team made several amendments to her lawsuit against WWE and Vince McMahon, making several new details public. WWE, Vince McMahon, and John Laurinaitis sought arbitration to throw out these new amendments for a variety of reasons, with WWE not deeming them relevant in their desire to seek private arbitration, and McMahon hitting out at it being a public relations tactic done in bad faith.

Grant and her team have since responded to the motions to her amendments to arbitration. 

"Following an extended stay of this action at the request of federal law enforcement, Plaintiff has moved to amend her pleading to describe with greater particularity the horrific sexual, physical, and emotional abuse she experienced at the hands of Defendants. She further details the predatory and dangerously coercive environment within WWE and its support system, which rewarded enablers at all levels of the organization who turned a blind eye to Defendants’ exploitation.

“She also seeks to inform the Court of material factual developments that occurred during the stay—including, among other things, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s finding that McMahon engaged in a scheme to cover up his misdeeds and mislead shareholders, with the NDA at issue here being central to that scheme. These are all valid reasons for Plaintiff to amend her pleading under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the resumption of this case is an appropriate time to do so.

“Defendants are not entitled to arbitrarily censor the complaint and suppress damaging facts. Defendants McMahon and WWE object to Plaintiff’s phrasing and claim the Amended Complaint is prejudicial because their own bad acts have come to light.  However, Defendants’ complaints are not legally cognizable objections that should prevent the Court from considering an Amended Complaint, which clarifies key issues and updates the facts following the lengthy stay—one Plaintiff did not initiate.

“Defendants attempt to downplay the permissive standard for leave to amend. They are well aware that such leave is to be freely granted, and Ms. Grant has demonstrated good cause. Her Amended Complaint incorporates key factual developments unavailable when she filed her initial complaint, sheds further light on the illegal and coercive non-disclosure agreement Defendants seek to enforce to keep her out of court, and pleads her claims with greater specificity. Plaintiff has shown good cause, her motion was brought without undue delay, and her proposed amendments are proper. Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court grant her motion for leave to file her First Amended Complaint."

It is also stated that McMahon’s image was not damaged any further by the revelation of new details, so this point in his argument is irrelevant. Grant’s attorneys also denied the idea that these amended lawsuits were filed too late. 

In response to McMahon’s settlement with the SEC, Grant’s team had this to say; 

"A criminal investigation implicating the facts underlying this case and an order addressing its resolution are undeniably relevant to this Court. Furthermore, the object of the agreements cited in the SEC Order was to conceal human trafficking. The SEC Order provides evidence that McMahon sought to silence multiple women, not just Plaintiff, in his scheme to conceal his predatory behaviors and avoid accountability from the Company’s board, potential merger partners, future shareholders, and the public. These facts are material to this Court’s assessment of whether the illegal NDA agreement can be enforced. Defendants hope to obscure these facts or at least avoid addressing them while operating under the Amended Complaint, all while invoking the arbitration clause contained in that illegal agreement as both a sword and shield in this case."

The Court will decide whether or not the case continues in court or moves to private arbitration, though the Defendant will have a chance to respond before then.

H/T PWInsider

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