Janel Grant's request for a status conference regarding her lawsuit against WWE, Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis has been denied and the judge ruled on Thursday that Grant has until January 31 to present her argument to the court on why she should be allowed to amend her complaint.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics/POSTWrestling reported the update on Thursday.
New federal judge Sarah F. Russell was recently assigned to the case. At this time, Russell has denied the defendants’ motions to move the case into private arbitration. Those motions will be allowed to be renewed after the court decides whether to allow Grant to amend her complaint, should she do so.
It remains unclear what specific modifications Grant intends to make to her complaint.
After the SEC announced McMahon settled charges of payment in which he paid a $400,000 fine and reimbursed $1.3 million to WWE, Grant's attorneys wrote, "Plaintiff still intends to amend her complaint as of right. Though Plaintiff was prepared to on January 15, the recent SEC Consent Order and findings regarding Defendants’ nondisclosure agreement with Ms. Grant necessitate additional time for her counsel to assess these developments and incorporate these new (and still-developing) facts into her Amended Complaint. Plaintiff believes that submitting one, comprehensive Amended Complaint after a proper investigation of these developments will promote efficiency and best preserve judicial resources. It is clear that the Court’s guidance is needed to reach consensus on a schedule to move this litigation forward. Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court schedule a status conference at its earliest convenience, and enter an order clarifying that no further submissions are due until the Court instructs otherwise."
Grant's lawsuit was paused for six months in May as McMahon was under federal investigation. The stay on the lawsuit was lifted in December. Grant's team claimed in a statement on January 10 that prosecutors for the Southern District of New York are continuing their criminal investigation. McMahon's attorney says the investigation resulted in no criminal indictment.
