AEW, Tony Khan, and Ian Riccaboni have filed a motion to dismiss the claims brought forward by Kevin Kelly and The Tate Twins (Brandon Tate and Brent Tate) and to enforce the arbitration clauses in the contracts.
John Pollock of POST Wrestling reports that AEW, Khan, and Riccaboni filed a 40-page response on Friday.
Kelly and the Tate Twins filed a lawsuit against AEW, Khan, and Riccaboni in August. They claimed declaratory judgment, breach of contract, tortious interference with a contract or business relationship, and defamation and false light among the allegations.
In the suit, the plaintiffs seek to void the arbitration clause of their talent contracts and request the court to certify a class-action suit against AEW over claims the company is misclassifying its wrestling talent as independent contractors rather than employees.
The defendants are requesting that the plaintiffs’ claims be dismissed due to an improper venue and to enforce their AEW contracts that call for arbitration. They argue that only Kelly and Riccaboni, are residents of Pennsylvania and that the case should be tried in Florida where AEW is based and where the contracts were executed. They argue that the plaintiffs agreed to resolve all disputes in Duval County, Florida, and that their contracts state disputes would be resolved in arbitration privately.
Kevin Kelly joined AEW in June 2023 as the new play-by-play announcer for AEW Collision alongside Nigel McGuinness. Kelly's time at AEW was short-lived, as the company released him in March 2024. Before his time officially ended, Kelly made a series of social media posts that called out Ian Riccaboni for libel and trying to sabotage his career.
Attorney Stephen P. New said that Kelly had a three-year deal with AEW.
AEW released The Boys in April. Tony Khan claimed that The Boys no-showed multiple bookings and stood by these comments after The Boys denied Khan's claims.
