Lawsuit Against Vince McMahon And WWE Dismissed
The Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System vs. WWE lawsuit has been dismissed.
The lawsuit, filed in the Court of Chancery in Delaware, was voluntarily dismissed on March 10, 2020, according to @Wrestlenomics on Twitter.
"Pursuant to Court of Chancery Rule 41(a)(1), Plaintiff Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System hereby files this Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, dismissing the above-captioned case with prejudice, each side to bear its own costs and expenses," the Notice of Voluntary Dismissal reads.
As noted back in December, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and WWE had been sued on behalf of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System as the pension fund, which owns stock in WWE, claimed there was "a credible basis to believe" that Vince and other senior WWE officials had diverted resources to Vince's XFL football league, which would be a breach of their commitments to WWE shareholders. It was also alleged that WWE's Board of Directors failed to conduct a reasonable investigation to make sure that Vince wasn't engaging in financial transaction for the XFL that would be a conflict with WWE interests. The lawsuit was seeking documents that explained WWE's ties to the XFL.
A fan asked @Wrestlenomics if there was any way of knowing what changed with the lawsuit, and if the coronavirus pandemic may have invited a longer and costlier battle in court.
"It's difficult to know because there wasn't really anything filed leading up to this which indicated why they were dropping the case. Likely there was some behind-the-scenes negotiations. Also, the claimed XFL valuation they were using in the case didn't appear to be sound," @Wrestlenomics responded.
Vince's XFL league recently canceled the remainder of their 2020 re-launch season, which was considered by some to be a success in the 5 weeks that it ran. The league remains committed to running a season in 2021 and beyond.
You can see the full notice and related tweets from @Wrestlenomics below:
The OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTERS PENSION AND RETIREMENT
SYSTEM, v. WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT, INC. lawsuit filed in COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE regarding XFL was voluntarily dismissed on 3/10/20. pic.twitter.com/cR4unfAbJ7— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) March 31, 2020
It's difficult to know because there wasn't really anything filed leading up to this which indicated why they were dropping the case. Likely there was some behind-the-scenes negotiations. Also, the claimed XFL valuation they were using in the case didn't appear to be sound.
— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) March 31, 2020