Judge Denies Vince McMahon's Motion To Arbitrate Janel Grant Case
The civil case between Janel Grant and WWE, Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and others has been officially put on hold.
New court documents, found by Wrestlenomics Brandon Thurston, state that the judge in the case has granted Grant's attorneys' request for a stay in the trial so that the US federal government can continue its criminal investigation into McMahon. In granting the stay, the judge also denied McMahon's attorneys' motion to force the case into private arbitration, as per the stipulations of the unfulfilled NDA between McMahon and Grant, though the motion was denied without prejudice, meaning it could be granted at the court's discretion later on. There are also a number of sealed documents attached, likely pertaining to the government's criminal investigation.
The docket in the Grant v. WWE et al lawsuit has been updated. The new filings are sealed and not viewable.
But the judge seems to have made a ruling, which is readable on the docket, approving the six-month stay on the case. The defendants' motions to compel arbitration are... pic.twitter.com/9ncVvems1x
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) June 11, 2024
Grant's complaint claims that she was sexually harassed, abused, tortured, and trafficked while employed by WWE as an assistant to McMahon. It was later revealed that the federal government was also investigating McMahon, Laurinaitis, and WWE for abuse and trafficking, with the motion to stay Grant's civil case revealing that the Department of Justice was looking into Grant's claims.
In a statement to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, a representative for McMahon said, "Mr. McMahon is eager to prove Ms. Grant's claims are false and expose her lies, but did not object to the government's request to pause the matter in connection with the investigation regarding disclosures at WWE. Following the six-month stay, when his legal team is able to get discovery and depose Ms. Grant and others, the evidence will show the relationship was consensual and Ms. Grant's allegations are malicious fabrications of a jilted lover."
McMahon resigned from WWE and TKO Group Holdings in January, after news of his abuses became public. McMahon had initially stepped down from WWE in 2022, after it was revealed he'd been using company funds to make hush money payments to alleged victims like Grant, but McMahon returned in 2023 to help complete a merger between WWE and UFC, forming TKO Group Holdings under UFC parent company Endeavor.