Attorneys for Vince McMahon and WWE filed motions requesting the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut to move the lawsuit filed by Janel Grant to arbitration.
Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitus with accusations of sexual assault and sex trafficking. The lawsuit alleges that she signed a NDA with a payment of $3 million, but McMahon stopped paying after $1 million.
McMahon's motion claims that the agreement he and WWE entered into with Grant included a clause that “any dispute arising under or out of” that agreement to be arbitrated, arguing that Grant even filing her lawsuit was "in direct violation of her agreement to arbitrate."
The Motion includes a signed declaration from Vince McMahon stating that his version of events are true under penalty of perjury.
From the filing:
"The Settlement Agreement was drafted when Plaintiff and Defendant McMahon, who had engaged in a consensual, intimate relationship for approximately three years, sought to memorialize the end of that relationship. In January 2022, Plaintiff and Defendant McMahon, each represented by counsel, negotiated and executed the Settlement Agreement, with Defendant McMahon signing on his own behalf and, in his capacity as Chairman, on behalf of WWE. That agreement, which explicitly sought “to avoid any damage caused by public disclosure of private matters known to Grant and McMahon,” included, among other provisions, terms for Plaintiff’s departure from the company where they both worked (WWE), the payment of $3 million to Plaintiff, mutual releases, and a comprehensive agreement to arbitrate any and all disputes."
"When Defendant McMahon later learned that Plaintiff, despite her representations and warranties, had breached the Settlement Agreement by wrongfully disclosing both the existence of the Settlement Agreement and their relationship, he exercised his contractual right to withhold further payment otherwise owed under the Settlement Agreement. In response, Plaintiff sought to besmirch him. She intentionally violated the Settlement Agreement’s arbitration provision and filed a false and defamatory public lawsuit."
"As this is a pre-answer motion, Defendant McMahon does not specifically address the legal sufficiency or substantive merits of Plaintiff’s counts asserted against him. For the avoidance of doubt, however, Defendant McMahon vehemently and categorically denies all allegations of Case 3:24-cv-00090-JAM Document 85-1 Filed 12/23/24 Page 8 of 33 3 wrongdoing in the Complaint, including Plaintiff’s outrageous false claims intended for publicity. When the Complaint’s allegations are adjudicated in the proper forum (arbitration), witnesses are called to testify under oath, and all communications between the parties are produced (including those authored by Plaintiff, many of which were intentionally omitted from the Complaint), the allegations and claims will be disproven.2 Meanwhile, for the foregoing reasons and as set forth further below, Defendant McMahon’s Motion to Compel Arbitration should be granted."
Grant's attorney must respond by January 13.
Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit in January against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis. The lawsuit accuses McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking. On May 30, Grant agreed to pause the lawsuit for six months while the federal investigation continued against McMahon, who resigned from TKO/WWE following the lawsuit being filed. The stay has since been lifted.
Victim Resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline
Hours: Available 24 hours
1-800-656-4673
